Angel C. writes:
"Hi there. I am trying to get my boyfriend and me to start eating healthy food. I am slowly swapping out pasta and white rice and substituting with cous cous instead. Do you think cous cous is a good alternative to gradually wean us off from starchy foods in our daily diet?"
"Hi there. I am trying to get my boyfriend and me to start eating healthy food. I am slowly swapping out pasta and white rice and substituting with cous cous instead. Do you think cous cous is a good alternative to gradually wean us off from starchy foods in our daily diet?"
Hi Angel,
First of all, you do not have to cut out starchy foods completely. There is always the Paleo staple of lotus root, sweet potatoes and taro etc.
But if you want to slowly transition away from grain carbs I would rather stick with white rice than cous cous. Cous cous is (like pasta) a wheat product. If you want to cut off carbs eliminate those ones which contain the anti-nutrient gluten first. That means pasta, bread, beer, cornflakes, oatmeal etc.
For us Paleo folks gluten is actually the anti-christ of nutrients. It's clogging up your digestive system, irritates the gut, is addictive and causes gut inflammation.
The reason why many Paleo people avoid even gluten free grains/ seeds in larger quantities is because all grains/ seeds contain the ant-nutrient phytic acid which inhibits mineral absorption by binding with them and inhibiting our digestive enzymes. White rice which is gluten free is a polished grain and has the bran and germ removed. So it has less phytic acid than other gluten free grains/ seeds such as brown rice or quinoa.
White rice is easy digestible and does not cause as many stomach issues. Crossfitters like to have rice for their carb re-feeds and post-workout meals when they need high GI-carbs.
Lory
