The Beauty Detox Solution (20 page)
Read The Beauty Detox Solution Online
Authors: Kimberly Snyder
BEAUTIFUL CARBOHYDRATES AND STARCHES
Carbohydrates, also known as starches or sugars, are a macronutrient that provides us with necessary energy. Many popular diets have demonized carbohydrates and popularized carb counting, but carbohydrates deserve a second chance! We've learned from the Light to Heavy section that starches take less time and energy to digest than protein, and pass through our system much faster. High-quality complex carbs and fruits are perfect for your Beauty Detox.
BEAUTY TIP
Lose the Mind-set that All Carbs Are Bad
Some of us are uneasy about consuming too many starches and are used to counting our calories and carbs. But diets like that are about restriction and often leave us feeling unsatisfied, or thinking about food way too much! The goal with the Beauty Detox is to free up Beauty Energy, speed up digestion and clean out sludge from our system. The high-quality, complex carbs we will be eating on the plan help accomplish all those things and are easily digestible. Refined carbs in the form of refined, processed starch and processed or artificial sugars are completely off the menu.
TYPES OF CARBOHYDRATES
There are three types of carbohydrates: complex, simple and fiber. Complex carbohydrates, also known as starches, include whole, unrefined grains and fiber-rich starches like root vegetables. Simple carbohydrates, also known as sugars, provide the body with fast energy they include all refined starches and sugars, as well as fruits. Fiber is a kind of complex carbohydrate that is undigested by our bodies. (For more info on the
importance of fiber
. The key to carbohydrates is to eat the correct forms, along with higher quality products.
Natural grain kernels contain the bran, endosperm and germ. Refined carbohydrates-including white-flour breads, pastas and pastries, as well as white rice, potato chips, many breakfast cereals, and most packaged cookies, snacks and baked goodsâhave been processed to remove the bran and germ. This refinement process removes not only the fiber but also much of the minerals, vitamins and nutrientsâin other words, all the good stuffâfrom the grain! Have you ever noticed how people who eat a lot of refined starch have dry, splotchy skin or pimples? That's because their diets are low in fiber and depleted of minerals. Refined carbohydrates steal our energy and make us feel tired and lazy.
There is a huge difference in the way refined carbohydrates behave in the body compared to unrefined, complex carbs. Complex carbs contain lots of fiber, so it takes longer for our stomach to digest them than refined carbohydrates. This is one instance when slowing things down is a good thing, because it means the glucose is released more slowly and evenly into our bloodstream, satiating us for a longer period of time.
Refined carbohydrates, on the other hand, have little to no fiber, so they cause rapid glucose surges into the bloodstream. This in turn triggers an insulin response from the pancreas to control the level of blood sugar in our bodies, causing swings in our blood-sugar levelsâand that energy roller coaster of extreme highs and lows. This pattern can ultimately lead to conditions like type 2 diabetes and high triglyceride levels. Worst of all, refined starches are highly addicting.
In addition to refined starches like white flour, you have to watch out for refined sugars, like sucrose, lactose, brown sugar, molasses, fruit juice concentrates and high fructose corn syrup. Refined sugar is one of the most toxic foods you can eat: it causes extreme energy fluctuations, intense cravings and feelings of depression, anger, anxiety and negativity. High
fructose corn syrup is a particularly toxic sugar to avoid. A cheap and highly processed sweetener derived from corn, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) began replacing corn sugar in processed foods, such as soft drinks, breakfast cereals, cookies and many other baked goods, in the 1980s. Similarly to table sugar, HFCS is made up of the sugars fructose and glucose, but the ratios of these sugars have been altered in the refinement process so that the level of fructose is unnaturally high. A study that appeared in the June 2008 issue of the
Journal of Nutrition,
called “Dietary Sugars Stimulate Fatty Acid Synthesis in Adults,” concluded that fructose gets converted into fat more quickly than glucose,
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making HFCS particularly fattening.
A recent study out of Princeton University and published in
Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior
found that high fructose corn syrup causes considerably more weight gain than table sugar. As one of the study's author's, Princeton professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction, explained:
“Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests. When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obeseâevery single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight.”
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Fructose also has potential beauty-busting properties for our skin in the form of oxidative damage. In a lab study researchers found that the group of rats given fructose had more cross-linking changes in the collagen of their skin than the rats that were fed glucose.
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As we discussed earlier with ammonia in Chapter 1, page 5, cross-linking may lead to wrinkles and other visible signs of aging.
Conclusion? Keep the über-fattening and skin-marring high fructose corn syrup away from your precious body! To lose weight and discover your most beautiful self, avoid all refined starches and sugars. Don't worry. You'll have so many delicious and satisfying complex carbs and fruits to enjoy on the Beauty Detox plan that you won't miss the mood swings, weight gain or energy swings at all!
Avoid Agave
Agave, also called agave syrup and agave nectar, has become increasingly popular as a “healthy” and “low glycemic” sweetener. Today it is found not only in health stores but even in mainstream grocery stores, as well as in energy bars, drinks, other food products, and health and raw food recipes. I used to use it and promote it myself! But now that I have learned more about it and how it is processed, I have cut it out of my diet altogether. You won't find me promoting agave anymore, and it is not listed in any recipes in this book.
It is true that agave nectar is low glycemic, but it also has a fructose content of up to 90 percent! I know. That was a shocking revelation for me, as well. That is actually higher than even high fructose corn syrup, which averages about 55 percent fructose. As Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, a fellow of the American College of Nutrition and an associate faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, points out “Agave is almost all fructose, a highly processed sugar with great marketing.”
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Agave syrup, or agave nectar, is not a whole food found in nature. Instead it usually has to undergo extensive processing to arrive at that sweet liquid syrup form, and this may involve many chemicals and/or heating processes, even if the agave syrup is labeled “raw.”
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This is all very disappointing, because agave is so convenient to use in desserts and other recipes. But fructose is fructose. Period. And it is certainly not worth the health risks. The best sweetener to use is stevia, which you can buy in a powdered or a concentrated liquid form. (Some people find it bitter at first, but your taste buds adapt. I used to think that also, but now I don't notice any bitterness at all!)
Here is a list of a few other sweetener choices, which should be used in strict moderation: Dried fruit, such as figs and dates, can be used as sweeteners when blended in certain recipes. Raw honey contains fructose, but it is a whole, natural food (though not vegan). Be sure to purchase only raw honey that is organic, and if possible purchase locally from a beekeeper who uses ethical practices. Organic, pure maple syrup is another choice when you need a liquid sweetener. It is not raw, because it undergoes heat processing, and it is made up of sucrose, but it doesn't require as much processing as agave and artificial sweeteners and is a much better choice. Xylitol, a low-glycemic substitute that is actually a sugar alcohol naturally occurring in the fibers of fruits and vegetables, is also an acceptable option.
AVOIDING GLUTEN FOR BETTER BEAUTY
Contrary to popular belief, “whole-wheat” bread, bagels, crackers and other products are
not
so beautiful for the body. While wheat is an ancient crop, the wheat we farm today is hardly what wheat once was in its original form. Today wheat is grown in mineral-depleted soil and is heavily sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals. Some of the scary chemical fungicides, insecticides and herbicides that it is dosed with include disulfoton (Di-Syston), methyl parathion, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, dicamba and glyphosate.
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Though these substances are approved and recognized as “safe” for commercial crop use, we definitely want to reduce all exposure to these potentially beauty-squashing toxic chemicals, which find their way into our body through the wheat and wheat-based products we eat. Moreover, despite all these toxic pesticides, wheat can be stored for long periods in silos and can often be contaminated to varying degrees with molds and fungi, which add to the sludge and steal our Beauty Energy. Wheat is one of the eight most common foodsâthe others are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (like cashews), fish, shellfish and soyâand these account for about 90 percent of all allergic reactions in the United States.
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What makes wheat so allergenic is the gluten present in it, which is its primary protein. Gluten, which is also present in rye and barley, can cause toxic reactions that trigger our immune system and may cause inflammation of the intestinal tract.
Many of us may have an intolerance to gluten and may not even be aware of it or experience any overt symptoms. But James Braly, M.D., and Ron Hoggan, M.A., coauthors of the book
Dangerous Grains: Why Gluten Cereal Grains May Be Hazardous to Your Health,
claim that gluten intolerance is a factor not only in celiac disease (an autoimmune disease in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged and cannot process gluten) but also in many autoimmune disorders and neurological and psychiatric conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, hyperthyroidism and liver disease.
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Eliminating highly and commonly allergenic foods, such as gluten, from our diets can help improve our overall health, help eliminate sugar and carb cravings, help stabilize our moods and help us lose weight. You may not feel results immediately when you go gluten-free, because it can take some time for any inflammation to go down. But over time, you'll notice the positive difference.
I have seen these positive effects in so many of my clients, but I've also experienced them for myself. Since cutting out gluten, I have noticed that my energy level has improved and my weight has stabilizedâand I don't crave bread at all anymore!
To achieve your highest level of beauty, work towards cutting out all wheat products, including cereals, pastries, pasta, breads, pretzels, cookies, bagels and the like. Now, don't freak out! It doesn't mean you'll never eat a piece of bread again for the rest of your life. You'll just replace wheat and wheat products with much higher quality grains.
STARCHY VEGETABLES: A BEAUTIFUL CHOICE
Starchy vegetables are an excellent addition to a meal, and they taste great and definitely satisfy your hunger. There are so many incredible starchy vegetables and tubers out there. Have fun looking into varieties that you don't already know about. There's yuca, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, kabocha squash, butternut squash and many more.
The best way to eat these starchy vegetables is to cook them well; in this case they digest better that way and taste better, too. Yams, winter squash and sweet potatoes can be thoroughly baked at high temperatures. Winter squash is excellent cooked, then pureed as soup.
Best Beauty Starchy Vegetables
