“Bread & Whine"

April.2008

Guess what time it is? It’s Gut Check! time.  Let’s get this fire roaring right form the start by taking a nice stroll through the bowels of uncertainty.  The uncertainty in this case is going to be devoted to a food stuff that is very commonly seen lining the walls of many mouths and stomachs across the nation today by the wheel barrow full.  For some it is an addiction, for some it is an obsession, and for others it is a necessity.  For me, it is one of the most useless, worthless, overrated, unneeded gatherings of wannabe nutrients that I have ever had the pleasure of not swallowing.  I hold it right up there with potatoes, rice, and iceberg lettuce.  If you haven’t caught on just yet, I am referring to bread.  Oh, it gets talked about all the time, and it looks really pretty sitting up there on your local supermarket’s shelf, but when it is all said and done and you break down the nutritional content, you are left with empty promises, empty calories, and very low return on investment.

I know what you’re thinking.  What do you mean bread is bad for me?  I’ve been eating it my whole damn life.  I never had a problem. Hmmm…Are you sure about that?  Have you ever felt sluggish or lethargic?  Brain fog or inability to concentrate?  Bad memory?  Do you ever get a runny nose or mucus in your throat?  A lot of colds, sinuses, flu, sneezing, burning itchy eyes? Or how about dry skin, brittle nails, unhealthy hair, mood swings, head aches, migraines…?

Dude, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s time for a nice slice of Rail Reality Pie.  Your body is not designed to break down bread.  This especially goes for any form of white bread.  I don’t care if it’s Italian, French, Jewish, German, Hungarian, Australian, Czechoslovakian, or Lithuanian.  They all have gluten.  This is the protein portion of wheat.  Notice the first syllable of gluten – glu.  How more obvious can that be?  If you eat gluten, you might as well eat glue. Because that is exactly what it is like when your body tries to break it down.  It’s like glue in the system.  It can then lead to some or all of the above indications.

If I haven’t mentioned before, I am going to mention it now.  You and I were, and some of us still are, brainwashed to believe this grandiose illusion that bread is good for you. Your body doesn’t need bread to survive.  Trust me, there are so many better forms of carbohydrate on this earth that it’s not even funny.  But I’m not going to sit here and give you a list to choose from.  Instead I am going to tell you about alternative measures you can take if you just can’t give up your ham and cheese, turkey, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  You ready?  Let’s go for a walk.

Rail's "Rip Trip" Down the Aisle

First things first; when you pick up a loaf of bread, DO NOT look at the fancy schmansy advertising on the front of the package that tells you how much fiber it has. ALWAYS consult with the ingredient label before buying it.  If it says bleached, enriched, bromated, unbleached enriched, or has high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, or any artificial ingredients in it, then throw it on the floor and walk away.  I would also recommend sprouted bread over any other bread, even 100% whole wheat.  It is bursting with nutrients, it’s more enzymatically active, and it gets digested as a vegetable.  Allow me to elaborate for those of you who have been sitting in the back of the class all day long talking to your friends instead of paying attention.

When wheat is harvested, it is bleached, processed, and then enriched.  The bleaching process allows the wheat to get a lot more mileage in production and it also strips away all the healthy nutrients.  So, the geniuses that own these huge bread companies then go through a process where they “enrich” the bread with the nutrients that were lost.  Well that’s great.  But in doing so, you still are only getting a fraction of these nutrients back.  That is why I recommend sprouted.

So here’s the story…The wheat gets harvested as it is sprouting.  It then gets turned into bread.  At this stage in the game, it is still very alive and bursting with nutrients, fiber, protein, etc.  When you eat it, it gets recognized and digested as a vegetable. This is what I mean when I say “enzymatically active.”  It is also lower on the glycemic index and it has a totally different texture and feel than your regular bread.  And above all, it is refrigerated to preserve freshness.  As a matter of fact, when you first buy it, you will only find it in the freezer section.  After you bring it home and open it, it should then be refrigerated.

I love this stuff.  And the greatest thing about it is, you can also get it in the form of bagels, buns, tortillas, cereal, muffins, pizza crust, and even cookies.  Yeah, imagine that Jack.  The cinnamon raisin English Muffins are my favorite.  Being that I care so much about you, I am even going to give you a few companies to check out.  Of course, you will most likely need to go to your local health food store to find these.  But do it.  Do it with a smile on your face, and tell them K/Rail sent you.  OK, here are a few of my favorite brands: French Meadow Bakery, Alvarado St. Bakery, and Food For Life Baking Company. *Coach RJ Comments:  Support these companies because they are HELPING America instead of killing us!

Rail’s Recipe of the Weak

I can’t think of a more fitting way to close out the show then with a recipe.  So here we go. This is quick, easy, delicious, fun, and rather self explanatory: PBS - Peanut Butter Sprouted Bagel: Sprouted bagels average about 11 g of protein and 5 grams of fiber each.  If you are really in a hurry, this would be a great item to just grab and go out the door.  They come in different kinds.  As I alluded to earlier, cinnamon raisin is my favorite.  After you throw a splat of peanut butter on there, you’re talking about 350 kcals.  That is called success my friend.  You are now well on your way to greatness.  Whoo hoo!  I’m excited for you.

Wow how time flies.  Another Gut Check! down and another one to come.  Keep your ear up really close to the record player because next month we’re going to talk about a HUGE problem in society today…soda!

See you when the sun falls…

My name is Rail. I tell it like it is and say it like I see it.
 

Comrades in Arms A+ Approval Rating French Meadow Bakery Alvarado St. Bakery Food For Life Baking Company

Learn more about Kevin Rail

Kevin Rail has a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management-Fitness & Wellness, is a certified Wellcoach with the Wellcoaches Corporation, and a personal trainer in Park City, Utah that is ACSM, NASM, ACE, and WITS certified.

*This article was featured in Coach RJ Health e-News!

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(Updated 4.2.08)