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Neurologist David Perlmutter explains how carbs are affecting our brains. however, swap in more nutritious options to the white stuff, like wild rice, whole wheat pasta and sourdough bread (all the rage for its probiotic properties).
I’d long since put my tummy troubles down to dairy and replaced it with soy. I felt victorious knowing the holistic world was behind me on this. “We are mostly lactose intolerant,” Jordan told me. According to studies, about 65 per cent of us have trouble digesting lactose after infancy.
Indeed, a new book by Toronto-based author Alissa Hamilton called Got Milked? The Great Dairy Deception and Why You’ll Thrive Without Milk suggests milk lobbyists have deceived us into believing a glass of milk a day was the cornerstone of health.
“Pasteurizing milk destroys some of the nutrition and enzymes,” says Lall. “It becomes harder to digest. Milk is meant for a calf to gain weight. It’s not necessarily the best for people.” She says soy has “its own set of issues. It’s also hard to digest, and if you’re not buying organic, the pesticides can affect your hormones. Almond milk is a better alternative.”
Yet cutting out dairy merely assuaged my cramping while the, ahem, diarrhea prevailed. When I consulted Jennifer House, a Calgary-based registered dietitian, she told me, “If you continue to take lactose, you can actually build up your tolerance. Dairy is a good source of protein, vitamins, minerals and fat. Yogurt is great for probiotics. Certain fats that are high in dairy products are actually beneficial.” The skinny? “Most people can cut down on dairy and get adequate nutrients from elsewhere,” says House, “although dairy is not slowly killing them, as many websites would have them believe.”
So far so good. Though I was eating carbs (and not the gluten-free kind), I still had cravings for more of them. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reports that a third of Canadians buy gluten-free products, yet only six per cent are gluten sensitive and one per cent have celiac disease. Susan Watson, a Winnipeg-based registered dietitian, says, “There’s nothing about going gluten-free that helps us lose weight.” What gives, then? “People want a scapegoat,” says House, “something to blame any symptom on. Take out large portions of white bread, pasta and donuts and of course you’re going to start feeling better.”
There’s an easier way to remedy that than going gluten-free. It’s called variety. “When you vary what you eat,” says Lall, “the digestion process uses different enzymes, which taxes the body less than using the same enzymes again and again.” The trend in slow-fermented breads has this realization to thank.
Overnight, my neighbourhood sourdough-pizza joint became a guiltless pleasure. Spelt pasta and whole grains like quinoa joined my weekly rotation. I replaced baked potatoes with sweet potatoes and squash. Jordan even suggested mixing in wild rice with my staple white to increase fibre. On Watson’s advice, I decreased my carb intake throughout the day, tapering it off toward the evening, when I tend to lie like a sloth.
Dinnertime inched forward, too, so I wasn’t feasting at 9:30 p.m. “If you’re starving at 5 p.m., have a hot dinner,” Jordan told me. “Then introduce the traditional supper: some crackers or grapes and a glass of wine with your partner. You’ll still have that social interaction, but you won’t have a big plate of pasta in your stomach at bedtime.”
Over my six-week nip and tuck, the anticipated withdrawal symptoms—anxiety, exhaustion and mood swings—never came. “If you don’t have withdrawal, you might just be doing it adequately,” Watson told me. “You’re making mindful choices to reduce, so you’re not restricting.” Oh, and I lost seven pounds.
Have I slipped? With the anti-diet there’s no such thing. I ate my daughter’s birthday cake, and it tasted sickly sweet. Twice I lost control with a jar of peanut butter and a bar of cooking chocolate—then noticed the monthly red dot on my calendar.
Like a lot of annoyances, it sometimes takes time before you realize they’re gone. That’s what happened when the cacophony subsided. I feel calm. And not just because my bowels are working.