Grains and Bodybuilding

i am currently reading this thread on grains and humans. http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/diet_performance_nutrition_supplements/_122?id=3947747&pageNo=2

some say grains are bad because we have not evolved enough to eat them and some say grains are only bad for some people. so i have two questions.

  1. how do you know if you have a wheat/gluten allergy? i have eaten bread and corn and rice and i have never felt sick from it. am i good? does it still have potential to hurt me and my insulin sensitivity or other long term negative effects on my health? where do ezekial products fall in this mix?

  2. coming from a bodybuilding perspective as far as i know grain products like rice/bread/oats help build the most muscle and restore muscle glycogen dont they? if you wanted to go grain free what carb source would give you the equivalent muscle building glycogen filling abilities that grain products do? potatoes because of the starch?

basically what im saying is i want to be as healthy as can be but i also want to be muscular and fit. could that be done with and without grains? would either of those routes be longer or not as good? if i do not have a wheat/gluten allergy how would i find out? and if i dont have an allergy to it then im good with eating all wheat bread products?

1)ask your doctor

2)Once it is digested and assimilated, a carbohydrate is a carbohydrate replenishing your glycogen the same regardless of source.

Grains cause inflammation responses in all people who ingest it, to varying degrees.

Lectins bind to the intestinal lining, and insulin receptors.

Gluten, everyone knows about it by now.

Phytates prevent minerals from being available in the body.

[quote]talon2nr7588 wrote:
i am currently reading this thread on grains and humans. http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/diet_performance_nutrition_supplements/_122?id=3947747&pageNo=2

some say grains are bad because we have not evolved enough to eat them and some say grains are only bad for some people. so i have two questions.

  1. how do you know if you have a wheat/gluten allergy? i have eaten bread and corn and rice and i have never felt sick from it. am i good? does it still have potential to hurt me and my insulin sensitivity or other long term negative effects on my health? where do ezekial products fall in this mix?

  2. coming from a bodybuilding perspective as far as i know grain products like rice/bread/oats help build the most muscle and restore muscle glycogen dont they? if you wanted to go grain free what carb source would give you the equivalent muscle building glycogen filling abilities that grain products do? potatoes because of the starch?

basically what im saying is i want to be as healthy as can be but i also want to be muscular and fit. could that be done with and without grains? would either of those routes be longer or not as good? if i do not have a wheat/gluten allergy how would i find out? and if i dont have an allergy to it then im good with eating all wheat bread products?[/quote]

See here’s what i’m talking about, people think grain products are the best carbs for replenishing glycogen and building muscle and theres just no way around it. its so ingrained in us (no pun intended), that grains are this healthy superfood that’s need to become big.

Im not saying they aren’t alright for some people, but I think many people would benefit alot if they limited their grain intake.

rice falls into this catagory correct? potatoes?

[quote]talon2nr7588 wrote:
rice falls into this catagory correct? potatoes? [/quote]

not Potatoes, they are a tuber…I think…I know they are not a grain though.

[quote]talon2nr7588 wrote:
rice falls into this catagory correct? potatoes? [/quote]

Hope not I’m half korean. I can’t live without rice, the white kind anyways.
And as an over weight american I’m just genetically programed to love friench fries.

[quote]paulieserafini wrote:

[quote]talon2nr7588 wrote:
rice falls into this catagory correct? potatoes? [/quote]

Hope not I’m half korean. I can’t live without rice, the white kind anyways.
And as an over weight american I’m just genetically programed to love friench fries.[/quote]

ah, Yes rice, fortunately for me I seem to be impervious to the rice craze everyone else seems to suffer from, just never did anything for me.

did you ever notice negative side effects?

[quote]talon2nr7588 wrote:
did you ever notice negative side effects?[/quote]

Of eating a low carb diets?

Did who have side effects?

If you are talking to me. I’ve been eating rice my entire life seeing as how my mom is korean its been the staple of my diet from the time I was born. Same as hers and probably all of her ansestors. And I’ve never studied the asian diet, but I’m assuming they’ve been eating rice from the begginning of their agricultural days if not way before that.

[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
Did who have side effects?

If you are talking to me. I’ve been eating rice my entire life seeing as how my mom is korean its been the staple of my diet from the time I was born. Same as hers and probably all of her ansestors. And I’ve never studied the asian diet, but I’m assuming they’ve been eating rice from the begginning of their agricultural days if not way before that.[/quote]

I’d agree, I remember reading an article by Poliquin. In it, he set up the question of why Asian culture can stay so lean while eating tons of rice. His explanation, Asian cultures have been eating rice for a much longer time then European or other races have been eating other forms of grains.

I’d have to agree, it was a relatively short time period ago where people in Europe had to be hunter-gatherers.

throw i meant from eating rice and grains. so are you completely low carb? even PWO?

Wheat Belly by William Davis, read it.

whats it about

[quote]talon2nr7588 wrote:
throw i meant from eating rice and grains. so are you completely low carb? even PWO?[/quote]

The real only adverse effect i can notice without medical testing from eating grains is the fat gain…

I am currently pretty much low carb, and what I mean by that is I’m only doing between 30 and 40 carbs preworkort and then another similar dosage for postworkout, I also eat a serving or 2 of veggies every meal( i dont count these towards carbs). On non-activty days I eat no starchy carbs, and then once a week I have a refeed where I eat whatever I want (mostly carbs, to reload glycogen).

So I guess im always relatively low carb, but i’m not anti carb.

I’m not a big fan of grains for most people, although recently I have been enjoying alot of ezekiel preworkout! (ive tested my blood sugar an hour after 60 carbs worth of ezekiel bread and it didn’t budge it).

Since going low carb n’ grain my blood pressure has become emaculate, and I had my blood work done last week so I’ll let you guys know how that went.

@ Talon,

Despite not feeling any major upsets from grains, unlike some who have a gluten allergy, or something similar, I’ve often read that grains, wheat especially, can cause inflammation in the gut. This can cause among other things, rises in cortisol (very bad for muscle, body comp, general health) and inflammation is never good in the body.

So even if I don’t necessary have a major problem with it, besides ascetics, I try to avoid it.

[quote]talon2nr7588 wrote:
whats it about[/quote]

The issues of wheat consumption and the body.

so rice is a grain right? what about ezekiel bread and cereal? i want to start a carb cycling bulk soon and i planned on using potatoes(white and brown) and rice(white) as my staple carb sources. i also wanted to use oats but now that i think about it i think i have experienced acid reflux from eating oats and bread products, i think ill have to test it out.

[quote]talon2nr7588 wrote:
so rice is a grain right? what about ezekiel bread and cereal? i want to start a carb cycling bulk soon and i planned on using potatoes(white and brown) and rice(white) as my staple carb sources. i also wanted to use oats but now that i think about it i think i have experienced acid reflux from eating oats and bread products, i think ill have to test it out.[/quote]

Rice is a grain, correct, although you have to use what right for you, what is my poison might be just fine for you, so try out some rice (i might recommend brown over white, depending on your body comp and goals).

I also use potatoes as carbs sources (mostly sweet potatoes, but sometimes red ones)

Ezekiel bread is a grain, but its different from most breads in that it is low glycemic (36 on the glycemic scale). I go back and forth with eating ezekiel, but ive just had a hankering for it lately, so its up to you.

ill also note I base alot of my diet off glycemic index and load, and how foods are effecting my blood sugar. Again, based on you and your goals this may, or may not apply to you.