Let’s add a food to your grocery list in order to support you with our main topic - Aging Like a Champ!
PURCHASING SPROUTED GRAINS.
Choose sprouted grains and grain products.
I’ll tell you three reasons why, if you’re consuming grains, you’ll want to swap them out for the sprouted version. *If you are currently following a paleo approach, this is one of the reasons you might be feeling so good! Taking these foods out for a time can be a gentle way to support a return to vitality at the gut level.
FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR DIGESTION
Whole grains come with a few protective measures in place to help ensure the survival of the grains. Think about it - the grains are the seeds for the next generation of that plant. Mother Nature always favours the young + the continuation of the species!
One of the compounds found in whole grains are enzyme inhibitors. When you eat whole grains, you are now simultaneously shutting down your body’s ability to digest, slowly but surely. Ay. Were you hoping to make good use of that digestive fire? Think you can fare ok with a reduce ability to break foods down into nutrients?
Now activate (or sprout, or soak, or ferment) said grains, and you unlock the nutrients within, while turning off those enzyme inhibitors. This helps preserve your digestive fire, while also supplying you with more of the good things found in whole grains.
FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR GUTS
At the centre of those typical things we associate with aging — remember, what is common is not necessarily normal — it is that low grade chronic inflammation dragon. Ground zero for inflammation? THE GUT.
Consuming raw grains as they come to us - especially whole grains - is really hard on your intestinal tract. Not only do they shut down your digestion, they also contain other compounds like lectins. Why is this so important? Lectins have been shown to contribute to widening the junctions between the cells of your intestinal tract - read Leaky Gut.
In the soaking / sprouting / fermenting action, you’ll be reducing the lectin content, thereby reducing the negative impact on your gut lining. A robust gut lining is crucial to maintaining health + vitality, protecting your immune system and liver from extra work!
FOR THE LOVE OF STRESS RESISTANCE
Whole grains are a well known source of some amazing vitamins + minerals. But when we’re eating them raw and in whole food form, those enzyme inhibitors prevent us from accessing the nutrients found within. Soaking / sprouting / fermenting these grains? Ay ay ay, a bevy of important trace minerals like Selenium, Manganese and Copper that we need for our day to day immune and hormonal function are now easier to access. Things like those B Vitamins, they nourish to support metabolism, hormone balance, and help us with that stress response when we need it.
True sourdough fits the bill here.
What this looks like at the grocery store, then: when buying any whole grains at the store, consider purchasing sprouted versions. Fermented will work as well - think true sourdough. (True sourdough means traditionally prepared: there will not be yeast listed on the ingredients.)
Eat quinoa loads? Buy the sprouted kind. Been digging the whole wheat pasta? Look for a sourdough version. (Kaslo Sourdough Pasta is a fave.) Do you do lots of baking at home with whole wheat or whole grain flours? Look for Anita’s organic flours, they have quite a few sprouted whole grain flours on tap (gluten and non gluten ones). Purchase a few loaves of bread a week? Consider seeking out a sprouted version. Same goes for tortillas - I’ve found sprouted corn tortillas out there. Most health food stores will have sprouted whole grain products and breads on their shelves and/or in their freezer sections. Look for Silver Hills, Ezekiel, Food for Life, and many others.
You can also learn to sprout your own. I’ll be running a class on this in the new year. Sign up for my newsletter to hear about it.
Bring back the Ancestral wisdom of those who came before you. This is the smarts of our ancestors, and smarts that could do well to help us support robust health.
Aiming to keep well as you age, dear one? Looking to get a leg up, want some help in achieving it?
Get in touch. Let’s meet up to start drawing up your road map to support you in both quantity and quality of life.