Question: I was reading your healthy eating guidelines article and I read that the best form of fibre that one can consume would be whole wheat.
This means that I should cut down on white bread, white rice and make a change to have more brown rice, wholemeal pasta and bread. However, I have a problem with this because I tend to get stomach discomfort when I eat whole wheat.
Is there something wrong with me? Since my body cannot seem to fully accept this form of food, does that mean that I am going to be on the losing side? What can I do to combat this problem?
I would greatly appreciate your advice on this matter.
Answere:
I’m very glad to see that my article on healthy eating guidelines has helped you make a more informed choice when it comes to your diet.
I’m sorry to hear about your digestive intolerance towards whole wheat. There is nothing wrong with you. The fact is, sometimes our bodies are not able to adapt to a certain group of food.
For example, lactose intolerance affects quite a significant percent of the human population. The same can be said for you, except that your body is unable to absorb and process the whole wheat without causing your stomach to feel queasy.
This does not put you at any disadvantage. You might not be able to consume whole wheat, but you can still foods made from white flour, like white bread and so on.
The reason why white bread is not ideal, is because that it contains slightly a higher amount of fat as compared to whole wheat alternatives. Therefore, although foods made from white flour still contain quite a bit of nutrients, it’s the excess calories that we are worried about.
Therefore, my advice to you would be to engage in slightly more physical activities to help your body burn the excess calories that come from white bread, white rice and so on. This means that while you are getting essential nutrients like fibre, you are keeping excess pounds at bay.
Another thing that you can do is to slowly acclimatize your body towards whole wheat forms of food. For breakfast, if you usually have three slices of bread, choose to have 2 slices of white bread and 1 which is whole meal.
Observe how you feel after that meal and if you feel fine, you can stick to it for a couple of days. Then gradually increase it to two slices of whole meal.
If you can maintain this, then congratulations, it means that your body just needed a bit more time to get used to whole wheat foods. However, if it doesn’t seem to help your condition, you might want to consult a doctor, or stick to white bread and exercise regularly.
At the end of the day, a balanced diet is what is best for your body. Therefore, do not worry about how your body is reacting. It is normal to experience this towards certain groups of food every now and then.