How do we safely reintroduce certain grains and nuts?
How do we safely reintroduce certain grains and nuts?
When symptoms subside after following the grain free, nut free plan outlined in the book, certain foods can be reintroduced. In this article we will describe how it might be possible to reintroduce some of the grains and nuts.
One issue that significantly contributes to autoimmune disorders is that of gut permeability—otherwise known as leaky gut. During digestion, proteins need to be broken down to individual amino acids before they are absorbed into the body by healthy intestinal cells. A damaged intestinal lining, imbalance in the microbiome, and poor digestive enzyme production will make digestion incomplete and when large undigested food proteins and pathogens slip thru the damaged gut lining and into the blood stream, it triggers an alarm response by the immune system. Pain, bloating, headache, fatigue, sleepiness, itching and many other subtle or not so subtle symptoms often result.
When this happens repeatedly over time, one can develop systemic illness and various organs and tissues of the body can be involved, due to dysregulation and over activation one’s own immune system.
Because grains and nuts can be more difficult to digest, we recommend avoiding them for a minimum of 2 to 4 months. This allows time for the damaged gut lining to heal and for re-building a balanced gut microbiome.
After this period of time, an attempt can be made to re-introduce nuts (except for peanuts which are actually a legume) one at a time in small amounts. Wait 1 week before introducing a new food. If no symptoms of any kind are noted during the 1 week trial period, it may be safe to continue eating that particular nut. Keep in mind that the principle of soaking or sprouting all nuts, seeds and grains must be continued. Another important point is to avoid cooking the nuts, especially in high heat conditions such as in baking, broiling, roasting and frying.
Heating foods rich in proteins and fat will greatly raise their AGE. AGE stands for advanced glycation end products. AGE’s are proteins or lipids that become abnormally connected to sugar. When AGE levels increase, oxidative stress and inflammation do as well. Nuts are high in protein and fat. Raw nut milk, raw nut butter or raw nut cream would be a healthier way to eat any of the nuts.
After a period of 2-4 months we may also carefully re-introduce grains such as rice, millet, teff, or sorghum, one at a time, also a week apart. Introduce only one new food at a time, whether it is a grain or a nut.
Grains that we are more cautious about reintroducing are oat, corn, and grains that contain gluten such as: wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt, farro and others. If you tested positive to any of these, we recommend that you continue to avoid them. You will most likely continue to react to these.
There are 4 pseudograins we use while we abstain from grains. These are: quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth and kaniwa. With these pseudograins we make flours for our gluten and grain-free breads, tortillas and other baked goods. We also make delicious hot cereals.
Nuts, seeds (pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds), grains, pseudograins and legumes should all be soaked overnight. These contain anti-nutrients like lectins that can cause serious digestive issues. Soaking these overnight before using is essential for improved digestive health. Soaking and sprouting these foods also significantly improves availability of important nutrients in these foods.
These foods can also be sprouted for 2-3 days to improve digestibility and nutritional content. Pseudograins are easy to sprout and we recommend to make sprouting them a common practice specially if dealing with serious digestive issues. Legumes that easy to sprouts are legumes that are easier on the digestive tract in general: mung beans, lentils and lima beans.
These principles are part of the staple plan use at the Autoimmune Plant Based Program. We have seen amazing results when people follow faithfully the program.
6 Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. Jeremiah 33:6 NKJV
Recover Your Health
Do you or someone you love have an autoimmune disease? Are you looking for help to recover your health? The Autoimmune Recovery Plan is based on the protocol administered at Years Restored, a lifestyle center in Forbestown, CA where hundreds of people have found help and health since 2013. The plan targets the root cause of the disease--gut health and inflammation—and teaches a plant-based method of detox and recovery.
Mercy Ballard— Is the founder and Director of Years Restored Lifestyle & Learning. In 2006, she was diagnosed with celiac and rheumatoid disease. Prior to her diagnosis she had been having rapidly failing health. By God’s grace she was able to recover and her condition is in remission. In 2013, the Years Restored Lifestyle Center was founded. Its aim is to help restore people physically, spiritually and emotionally. Years Restored is located in the mountains of Northern California, where she lives with her husband Anthony.
