Clockwise from left corner: forbidden rice, millet, jade rice.
Wheat, rice, and corn are probably the most easily recognized grains that exist.
In the health and fitness industry, grains (commonly conflated as “carbs”) have been demonized.
Eating grains, as most people would say, causes inflammation, hurts your fitness, and is the reason the terrorists are winning.
But have we treated grains unfairly? Are grains a nutritious and safe item to add to your diet?
At Steelworks Strength Systems, we believe that eating grains depends on your goals.
If you are a performance athlete, you need a high amount of carbohydrates to fuel your training. Veggies, a micronutrient rich source of carbohydrate, just don’t have enough density of actual carbohydrate to help you perform and recover. Higher carbohydrate intakes help spur muscle recovery and growth.
Make sure that if you are going to be eating grains, you are consuming them cooked and in their WHOLE FORM with limited amounts of bread and other processed grains. (We are big proponents of sprouted and sourdough bread however!….)
We recommend a variety of different grains to include in your diet if you choose to utilize grains in your diet. Some examples are amaranth, millet, wild rices (volcano rice, forbidden rice, etc), buckwheat, and barley.
If you are looking to shed unwanted body fat, grains might be a third choice for carbohydrate sources behind leafy greens, squashes, peppers, and other veggies and then beans and starches like sweet potatoes, potatoes, yucca root, and taro root.
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Confused about all of the nutrition science out there? Want to make changes to your diet, but you don’t know the first place to start? Time to set up a Nutrition Consultation at Steelworks Strength Systems. We’ll assess your current habits and offer suggestions for improvement!
Fill out the form below and set up your nutrition consultation today!