We continue our journey through the food kingdom armed with the master question: How far from its original state is my food?

White flour foods are contributing to a huge epidemic, with diabetes and obesity at peak levels.

Doughnuts, white bread, and cakes all throw the body into a blood sugar rollercoaster that creates havoc.

Processing of grains removes vital vitamins, fiber, magnesium, and much more from our bodies.

If this isn’t troubling enough, after processing, odd substances are added to the mix, like chlorine dioxide, potassium bromated, emulsifiers, ammonium carbonate, and chalk.

In order to keep the energy of your grains alive, explore wild rice, amaranth, quinoa, millet, rye, spelt, and buckwheat.

Many of these grains are now being infused into breads, tortillas, and used in whole meals.

Look at the graph at left to see the difference whole grains make in blood sugar levels.

Oils are another interesting topic, with regards to how far away from the source our food is.

Oils come from fragile flowers, nuts, and seeds and are often over heated. In fact, at high heats they become rancid and form free radicals which ambush our cells.

The main idea around oils is to find unrefined ones. This simply means that they have not been heated to high temperatures so are therefore not rancid (devoid of nutrients, stale).

Most oils including olive oil, will do fine for a medium sauté.

If you need to cook in high heat, it is best to use coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter). Both of those hold up well to high temperatures. Unrefined sunflower and safflower oils are wonderful for baked goods, but consume them in moderation.

Canola oil is a whole other saga, with two warring camps on its health claims and detriments. I personally avoid it, as it very challenging to find an unrefined version of the oil.

Buy oils that are in dark green bottles, since light, air, and heat degrade oil quality.

Next week we look at sweeteners. For now, explore high quality grains and oils in your weekly eating routine.

More about Danny Arguetty, M.A.

Danny Arguetty, M.A., a Nutrition, Health and LIFE (Living in Free Expression) Counselor, has been involved in the health field for the last decade. He guides and works privately with clients utilizing customized programs based on bio-individual needs and diverse life situations.

He specializes in yoga privates, weight loss, digestive disorders, healthy aging, sugar/caffeine dependencies, persistent fatigue, chronic stress, relationship support, life coaching and practical healthy living strategies.

Arguetty is also a faculty member at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Adjunct Faculty at Williams College, and author of Nourishing the Teacher: inquiries, contemplations & insights on the path of yoga. He leads 200hr Yoga Teacher Trainings in Southern California and Advanced 500hr Trainings in Kerala, India.

Learn more about him at nourishyourlight.com or email him at danny@nourishyourlight.com. You can also follow him on Facebook.