Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I am very excited to try a starch based diet. However, I am a VERY picky eater, and I don't know if I can give up white bread. I have tried whole grain bread, and can't stand the taste. I am confident I can make up for the loss in vitamins via other foods, it's the lack of fiber that concerns me.

My question is - can I compensate for the glycemic spikes by adding good sources of fiber (vegetables, psylium husk, etc...)?

*BTW I am under weight (6'2" 140lbs) and my blood sugar is 80ish. Please don't make me give up my bread!

Thanks!

I'd work more of the whole grains into your diet, gradually if you must. Maybe try a sandwich with a piece of each? I think fiber is like other nutrients. It does it's best work when it's in the package nature designed for it. You can strip away other parts and fractionalize it's components but it really does it's best when it's as complete as possible. All taste buds will adapt. Trust your bosy to come around on stuff you are hesitant about. I can't believe what I eat and enjoy today that in the past I wouldn't go near.
f1jim

I will try and slowly add more whole grains, but from a purely scientific standpoint, does consuming high fiber + white bread result in a lower glycemic spike than white bread alone?

I'm also concerned from a smoothie standpoint. I LOVE my banana + berry smoothies, and I have been dumping some Psyllium husk into them, because I heard that the fiber would help to counterbalance the sugar.

Is there any truth to this?

I have used psyllium husk since 1988 to allow me to eat some fiberless foods or low fiber foods and my guess is fiber supplements help the food pass through easier altho fiber supplements probably won't be adding much micronutrients. After I switched to unrefined staples like sweet potato and legumes, I found out I don't need the fiber supplements anymore after decades of using fiber supplements. Not sure how I am going to finish my psyllium husk and acacia powder. I do still have psyllium seed powder and kudzu powder that I can use for thickening soups. If there are a few items that are still hard to give up like white bread, can always go the less stressful way and transition slowly out of white bread. Most traditional diets don't rely on the staples as the source of micronutrients and we have examples like palm stem starch and cassava which probably don't have lots of micronutrients and the source of most micronutrients come from the 20% consisting of fermented food, mushrooms, vegetables, herbs, seaweed, etc.

Cool so you've been doing what I'm asking about. It seems logical right? But can anyone confirm there is actual science to back it up?

What I want to be able do - add some psylium husk to my pasta/sauce (I can't even taste it), then actually be able to ENJOY my white paste and Italian garlic bread. Again, I am in no danger of being overweight, I am just concerned since EVERYONE is telling me I MUST eat whole grains...

McDougall diet is a starch based vegan diet so vitamin b12 supplement is needed. One weakness of the vegan diet is zinc which comes from unrefined grains and legumes so it is a good idea to start increasing unrefined grains and legumes. Animal product eaters are able to get lots of zinc from shellfish like clam. Having a staple that has more micronutrients like sweet potato is also very advantageous when compared to white rice or white bread.

Psyllium husk is not a whole food. It is a processed, refined, isolated ingredient, like sugar, oil or a protein powder. I would avoid it. I'm not sure the body knows what to do with fiber that has been stripped of everything else. There are some that believe consistent use will actually harm the gut. Once again, whole foods that have all the macro and micro nutrients in the same package are best.

Stick to the whole foods you enjoy and don't worry about the white bread for now. Tastes change over time.

Not all whole grain breads taste the same. If you feel like you need bread in your diet - try different types and different brands, you just might find something you like!

Sharon

Psyllium seed powder is maybe less objectionable than psyllium husk. Psyllium seed powder has more fiber that can be fermented by the bacteria and probably has more micronutrients.

Thanks for all the support, I'm sure I can introduce whole grains over time (I've been trying, but its going slow).

Here's the thing. I was able to cut out all soda about a year ago (I only drink distilled water now). How did I do it? I slowly watered my soda down over time, starting with 1 part water, 9 parts soda, then 2/8, then 3/7, etc... It took several months, but it did not require much effort (it just took time).

I have no doubt if I give up white bread all at once, I will quit the mcdougall diet in a week. Period. I'm just trying to find ways to mitigate the damage while I ween myself off white bread. I'm gonna try and mix some quinoa pasta in with my white pasta (just like I did with soda), and hopefully that will work. But in the meantime, I was hoping I could get some clear answers on the whole fiber thing too (it will also effect my smoothies, and lots of other high sugar meals I would like to keep eating). Doesn't sound like anyone knows for sure though...

So the question still is - is there ANY benefit to adding fiber (psylium husk or otherwise) to a meal/smoothie, in order to compensate for the 'less fibery' foods? Again, I know it's not ideal, but I'm just curious to know the answer.

colonyofcells wrote:Psyllium seed powder is maybe less objectionable than psyllium husk. Psyllium seed powder has more fiber that can be fermented by the bacteria and probably has more micronutrients.

It is still processed, refined, fractionated, and extracted. There is no reason to believe that fiber separated from a whole food is any healthier than extracting protein, fat, or carbohydrate. Eat whole foods, not disassembled foods.

I'm also concerned from a smoothie standpoint. I LOVE my banana + berry smoothies, and I have been dumping some Psyllium husk into them, because I heard that the fiber would help to counterbalance the sugar.

Is there any truth to this?

I doubt it. The added fiber is separate from the sugar. What slows down sugar absorption is the body taking the time to separate the sugar from the fiber. During digestion, I doubt the body will attach a foreign source of fiber to the sugar in order to break it apart again. But if you're using whole fruit and not fruit juice, then the fiber and sugar are attached, although the blender will disrupt that somewhat.

username wrote:Thanks for all the support, I'm sure I can introduce whole grains over time (I've been trying, but its going slow).

Here's the thing. I was able to cut out all soda about a year ago (I only drink distilled water now). How did I do it? I slowly watered my soda down over time, starting with 1 part water, 9 parts soda, then 2/8, then 3/7, etc... It took several months, but it did not require much effort (it just took time).

I have no doubt if I give up white bread all at once, I will quit the mcdougall diet in a week. Period. I'm just trying to find ways to mitigate the damage while I ween myself off white bread. I'm gonna try and mix some quinoa pasta in with my white pasta (just like I did with soda), and hopefully that will work. .

I have also used the reduction+replacement method to sucecssfully quit some bad habits- it works great for some things and for some people.
Here's a thought: What if you replaced 1/2 the bread? Literally eating a sandwich with a slice of white and a slice of whole grain, oil free bread? And just commit (on this issue) to that for now. Might be worth a try! Good luck to you- you definitely are in the right place to find health and it sounds like you just need to work out your own path!

There are many research studies about psyllium husk and I think the benefits of psyllium husk has science support. I first learned about psyllium husk bec. my proctologist told me to use it after my anal fissure operation in 1988. Psyllium seed powder has even more fiber than the husk.

Here's a study that shows that eating more bread is good for you,
even white bread.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2011nl/ ... starch.htm

Wow that was an encouraging read! I mean yeah sure people lost more weight with whole grains, but that would actually be BAD in my case (I need to put on about 10lbs).

Anyway, I will continue to mix in the whole grains, and sprinkle a little psylium husk in my meals/smoothies (can't hurt I guess). Today I even tried putting some Romaine lettuce in my berry smoothie (blasphemy!) and it turned out pretty good. Next I will try adding some baby kale too (it's as good as regular kale right?).