Bum Glue - How Refined Foods Stick Up Your Health

By Jennifer Jefferies

Bum Glue is the term I give to describe refined and processed grains. Do you remember at

school, we used to make glue out of white flour and water? Remember how it smelled after a few

hours and how it set like cement when you used it? Well, that same cement-like action is

happening inside your body every time you eat white breads, pasta and rice. And after it has been

in there for a while, it becomes foul, sticking to the walls of your bowel and sucking the life

out of you. I call it ‘bum glue’.

Ideally, you should avoid grains that have had the wheatgerm removed, which is what white

bread is. The germ is where most of the nutrients live. Refined and processed grains are

acid-forming (high in phosphorous) and when consumed as flour, tend to cause problems in the gut

(such as bloating), the brain and the joint capsules. Refined grains are also very high in

phytates, which latch onto water-soluble nutrients including vitamins B and C and minerals such

as calcium, chromium and magnesium. So while you could be eating what appears to be a healthy

sandwich containing meat and salad on white bread, the reality is that you are not going to

absorb the essential nutrients because the refined grains leech the goodness away. If you did

nothing other than replace white grains with brown in your diet, your basic level of health would

increase dramatically.

Most commercial wholegrain breads are made with a white wheat base and most of the supermarket

rye breads, in particular light rye, are made with only about nine per cent rye flour, the

remainder is primarily refined white flour. Learn to read the packaging of the foods you buy, and

learn to look for hidden ingredients. Biscuits are a classic food, which is based on white flour

99 per cent of the time. There are some brands nowadays that are making wholemeal varieties,

which are a much better alternative. Anything that you bake or buy that contains white flour can

be also made using wholemeal flour, which cooks just the same, tastes great and won’t glue up

your body as much as white flour will.

Psyllium Husks – The unclogger

So what do you do when you realise that you have may have a little ‘bum glue’ stuck from years

of eating refined white grains? The solution is easy. There is a grain called psyllium, it is the

size of a sesame seed and you can buy the husks in the health food section of the supermarket or

from the health food store. It is a wonderful raw fibre that has no taste. Psyllium makes poo

bulkier, so that you can scratch off some of that gluey residue that has built up. The easiest

way to take psyllium is to add two dessertspoons of the husks to a glass of juice in the morning,

stir it in quickly and drink. If you let it sit in the glass it will get very thick and be very

unpleasant to drink, so drink it down immediately. It has the consistency of a glass of orange

juice with the pulp in it and no added taste.

In my clinic I would often see parents with kids and poo challenges as well. One of the

suggestions I would give them was to make jelly for the kids by adding some psyllium husks to a

cup of their favourite fruit juice and setting it in the fridge. When the kids then eat the jelly

it helps to keep them regular and to clean their digestive system at the same time. Check with

your naturopath before giving psyllium to your child.

_ Important note: When adding psyllium husks to your diet always make sure you are drinking

your daily quota of water, the psyllium needs water to help create bulk and move the gluey

bits.

Today’s people are eating hundreds of kilograms of refined white flour, white rice and sucrose

every year, and that’s enough processed high-glycemic carbohydrate to destroy anyone’s insulin

metabolism. High-glycemic carbohydrates are refined and processed foods that cause the body’s

blood sugar to rise too fast, resulting in the body over reacting. It stimulates excess insulin

causing energy levels and moods to ride a roller coaster. By middle age, or even earlier, this

can lead to the development of adult onset diabetes and obesity.

Kids don’t miss out either. Don’t think that because kids are young the quality of the food

they eat doesn’t matter; it is vital. Over time, processed foods such as hamburgers, soft drinks

and ice cream damage them on the inside. And with the sedentary lifestyle many kids now lead,

instead of burning it off, it burns them out. The quality of the food kids eat today particularly

when it comes to proteins, carbohydrates and good fats, will determine the outcome of their

health and body weight later in life.

Jennifer Jefferies is one of Australia’s best-known authors and speakers and she has a

prescription for modern living. Her powerful message is of work, life and balance – and how to

have it all through the 7 Steps to Sanity. Jennifer shows us how to achieve more success and

happiness by learning how to manage ourselves, our time and our lives. With uncommon common sense

Jennifer will show you or your team how to incorporate simple lifestyle changes into every day

life that will help you to feel better and achieve more than you ever thought possible. Find out

more at http://www.jenniferjefferies.com

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