Fitness and Health: A Practical Guide to Nutrition, Exercise and Avoiding Disease

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fat, essential fatty acids may not be absorbed, adversely
affecting a whole spectrum of problems from skin quali-
ty to inflammation and hormonal balance.


  • Since wheat is high glycemic, it can lead to the produc-
    tion of higher amounts of insulin by the pancreas. In
    addition to causing more fat storage, this can also
    increase your risk of various diseases including diabetes,
    cancer and heart disease.

  • Combining exercise and wheat can trigger allergic reac-
    tions in some people, although it’s not common. This
    occurs when a person eats some form of wheat, and exer-
    cises within a given time period. This is followed by
    some allergic reaction, from mild problems (sometimes
    so mild people are used to it) like skin rash or hives to
    more severe problems including anaphylaxis and even
    death. This may also include breathing difficulty. It is
    sometimes difficult to diagnose because of the need for
    both triggers (wheat and exercise) around the same time
    period. It’s conceivable that some of the deaths reported
    in athletes are due to this problem.

  • High-glycemic wheat products, which are often sweet-
    ened with more sugar, can result in a sweet-tooth — or
    addiction — that not only perpetuates the desire for more
    sweets, but the dislike for health-promoting less sweet-
    tasting and bitter foods, like vegetables.

  • Wheat can sometimes cause mental or emotional symp-
    toms, including depression, mood swings, attention prob-
    lems in children and anxiety. Long-term illness associated
    with wheat allergy includes dementia due to cerebral
    (brain) atrophy.

  • Osteoporosis may be strongly associated with wheat
    allergy.

  • Other health issues can also be associated with wheat
    consumption. These include belching or gas, diarrhea or


CARBOHYDRATES: THE GOOD AND THE BAD • 55
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