Quick meals (beans on toast, jacket potatoes)

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Pop_Up_Pirate wrote: »

it really depends on who you ask.

If you have any kind of Autoimmune problem such as fibro, MS, RA, Ehlers Danlos, Crohns, etc then both meals are 'bad' as they contain known 'inflammatory' foods or foods from the Nightshade family.

All grains are bad. We eat them because that's what we have been brought up on and dieticians and nutritionists all recommend them, but more and more evidence is showing the direct correlation between grains and chronic illness.
Many people then don't give up the grains because the diet becomes 'hard work'.
Its very easy to grab 2 slices of bread and stick a tin of beans on them.

Beans are legumes and legumes are bad for us in other ways.
All beans, peas, soy, lentils and peanuts have a negative impact on our bodies if used as a staple part of the diet due to phytates. Having beans or soy, for example, instead of meat or fish is not a good idea.

Giving up these foods is hard, which is why so many don't bother yet continue with ill health.

The anti-Nightshade thing came from a book in (I think) the 1980s where somebody started off the 'change the acidity of your body' nonsense. Nonsense, because it included the advice to consume vinegar to stop your body being acidic. Vinegar. Acetic (and, because it was Apple Cider Vinegar, probably some Malic) Acid.

Acid doesn't stop being acid and the exclusion diets that witter on about it always seem to forget that in the magical change to alkaline they refer to, there are a bunch of hydrogen atoms - the element that makes things acids - rather inconveniently still present. Uric Acid doesn't cause Rheumatoid, Psoriatic Arthritis, Lupus, MS or anything else in that list. It's present in higher levels in gout, but that's a different disease.

It also involved having Epsom Salts baths (which don't affect body chemistry, but admittedly, a cool bath soothes inflammation temporarily), no dairy food (except dairy products such as skimmed milk and cottage cheese - both of which are different in the amount of fat, rather than the amount of lactic acid present :cool:), no meat (beef), except for meat (everything else). No sugar except for sugar made by bees (honey) or sugar produced as part of the sugar making process (molasses), no alcohol except for the vinegar being produced in an almost identical brewing process, a load of vitamins (strangely available for purchase from her clinic, now run by her descendants, 'nutritional therapists', after a consultation fee. But at least the vitamins (many of which are acids, by the way, would go some way to counteract the inevitable deficiencies many people would get whilst following her quackery) Oh, and the final part of the 'cure' (of conditions that are characterised by times of spontaneous remission)? Think positive.

EDS is a genetic connective tissue condition and completely unaffected by food, as it's there at birth, not brought into existence by eating chip butties as a child.



**************************

A Jacket Potato is fine. There's practically zero fat in it, so people saying they're high in fat are talking nonsense, like those who call full sugar cola 'full fat'. Just don't stick half a pack of Country Life on top of it.

pollyanna_26

Brilliant post Jojo.
My daughter and I both have PsA and Fibro - genetic family history of both though under different names back then . We've heard all the things regarding the nightshade families and other eating plans . I know exactly the series of books you refer to and left a support group because of the forceful opinions of her fans .
My mum with the same conditions lived into her nineties without the wonder drugs that give my daughter a better outlook than the meds I was prescribed years ago . We eat very much as I did in my fifties childhood and with a balanced diet do ok .
I find limited regimes quite disturbing unless on informed advice from a medical professional .
polly

beautiful_ravens

Heres the short version about wheat and some similar grains like barley -

Wheat [gluten] contains a protein that we dont have the enzymes to break down. Nor do pigeons or most animals actually.
When the protein strings are swimming about in your gut, they don't get broken down to the proper very small size [due to not having the right enzymes]
So they start cutting the gut.
The gut repairs itself every 3-5 days, so every 3-5 days you have completely new intestines.
But over time, the 'cutting' by the protein strings creates holes. These holes allow pieces of other food to enter your body and bloodstream, causing an allergic reaction [to tomatoes for example] and once your body has identified a substance as an allergen, thats it really, it will kick off every time.

These holes are the cause of 'leaky gut' and [STRIKE]contribute to celiac disease.[/STRIKE]

So, for the most part you can go a few years and nothing will happen, the gut repairs itself enough. But over time you could be at risk.

This is why I don't eat wheat if I can help it - prevention rather than cure. I definitely have less gut/stomach problems since I stopped eating it.

I do eat low carb/high fat but do allow the odd potato, a bit of rice, but thats entirely different, no gluten. If I fancy a pizza, I just buy a free-from pizza.

GlasweJen

beautiful_ravens wrote: »

Heres the short version about wheat and some similar grains like barley -

Wheat [gluten] contains a protein that we dont have the enzymes to break down. Nor do pigeons or most animals actually.
When the protein strings are swimming about in your gut, they don't get broken down to the proper very small size [due to not having the right enzymes]
So they start cutting the gut.
The gut repairs itself every 3-5 days, so every 3-5 days you have completely new intestines.
But over time, the 'cutting' by the protein strings creates holes. These holes allow pieces of other food to enter your body and bloodstream, causing an allergic reaction [to tomatoes for example] and once your body has identified a substance as an allergen, thats it really, it will kick off every time.
These holes are the cause of 'leaky gut' and contribute to celiac disease.
So, for the most part you can go a few years and nothing will happen, the gut repairs itself enough. But over time you could be at risk.

This is why I don't eat wheat if I can help it - prevention rather than cure. I definitely have less gut/stomach problems since I stopped eating it.

I do eat low carb/high fat but do allow the odd potato, a bit of rice, but thats entirely different, no gluten. If I fancy a pizza, I just buy a free-from pizza.

Erm, what?

Coeliacs disease is autoimmune, nothing to do with gluten slicing your intestines open.

Gluten intolerance is a myth, scientists have (on many occasions) fed "gluten intolerant" individuals unmarked food and these sensitive souls who can't tolerate gluten day to day either showed no symptoms after eating gluten without knowing or showed symptoms when they were in the no gluten group.

If you don't have coeliacs then you're not gluten intolerant.

arbrighton

My grandpa lived to 97. He drank good wine, ate butter, bread, pate, cheese, the lot. He picked good quality food and my grandmother cooked well, as did he in later times when she couldn't and after she died. He had a really sweet tooth too in later years.

E.g. a piece of salmon with sweetcorn puree.

He didn't eat baked beans (snobbery!)

However, I think a lot of it was down to exceptionally good genetics.

And for what it's worth, we have lots of different proteases that break down individual bonds between specific amino acids in several proteins. There is no one specific enzyme just for gluten... How the hell does a protein string 'swim' and 'cut the gut'???????????????????????/

freyasmum

In my opinion, as long as you are a healthy individual and eat a healthy diet, then there's nothing what-so-ever wrong with beans on toast or a baked potato. It's certainly no worse than a takeaway or a McDonalds burger!

And, though I agree that you may a bit limited when you live alone - freezer space, and whatever - I always cooked when I lived alone. Sometimes I ate the same thing for a few days in a row (doesn't bother me one bit!), other times, I'd put the rest in the freezer.

I really fancy beans on toast now though! :rotfl:

thriftwizard

Not wishing to fan the flames, but it's interesting that our GP has recently suggested to my husband that he avoid supermarket bread for a while, as he's been suffering stomach pains. She said there is evidence that modern forms of high-gluten wheat don't agree with everyone, and that modern forms of food processing (i.e. bread risen & baked in 20 minutes, start to finish, with many additives to make this possible) may also contribute to some people's problems. He has found this helpful, and the pains, which he'd suffered for several months, have subsided. And I've been avoiding it (and oversweetened cakes & biscuits) for a while, for no better reason than because it makes me pile on weight!

Returning to the origins of the thread, stir-fries are a very quick, easy & nutritious option for a fast meal - some thin-sliced meat, or cashew nuts or marinaded tofu, a handful of veggies (in our case, usually garlic, a spring onion, a few slices of cabbage, some torn-up kale, half a red pepper & whatever else is lurking in the fridge, maybe even beansprouts) a sprinkle of soy sauce and some noodles or bulgur wheat & you have a complete & delicious meal in minutes. It doesn't have to taste like something that came from a take-away...

Pop_Up_Pirate

Looking at the world as a whole, we can see the prevalence rate of Autoimmune diseases is highest in Western countries, with the US out on top and Asian countries at the the bottom.

The rates are also increasing year on year. Eastern European countries that had relatively low levels of autoimmune disease 4 decades ago are now starting to show an increase since trade movements increased and TV watching increased (advertising)

Millions of people are affected and its rising dramatically.
These increases are not down to genetics but rather environmental, with diet being a major part of that.

Take the average American diet. High in grains. High in processed foods. High in 'bad' carbs. High in convenience and very low in whole foods, whole fruits, vegetables etc and we in the UK aren't so far behind them.
Pressured advertising, government interference and changes in food production have created bad eating habits which favour convenience and taste over nutrition and sadly, is causing major health problems for millions of people.

What has resulted is a western world full of people who have no idea what foods are good for them and which aren't, misinformation, confusion, over-indulgence and a lack of basic nutritional understanding.

Is it a coincidence that smaller nations, with no advertising, no processed foods and who rely on wholesome local produce have little to no autoimmune problems compared to places such as the UK and the US?

Changes to how we eat is difficult and expensive,and sure is easier to say "it's nonsense" but until we all start voicing our concerns over the way our food is made, Autoimmune problems will continue to rise.

Jox

There was a programme on a few weeks ago that was very interesting - the World's Best Diet - the summary seemed to be the less processed food the better for health and longevity and as much fresh fruit and veg as possible.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-worlds-best-diet

arbrighton

But Asian countries eat a lot of soya/ tofu, which is one of those baddies someone mentioned a legume.

Generally yeah, balance, and less processed with a side order of common sense.

Noone is arguing that diet doesn't have an effect on things but there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings being spread as antidote to 'processed food and advertising' too....