Influenza

I have been down with a nasty achy flu and haven't even weighed myself. Tim came home early from work on Thursday, feeling very sick, and ended up having another three days off work plus the weekend. I have been about two days behind him (and not as sick) so I should be nearly over it. It is not just a cold - we have both had aching bodies, particularly our lower backs. I have only spent one day in bed (yesterday), partly because I was never as sick as Tim so had to be the parenting one, solidering on.

I review books for a couple of sites and am currently reading one called "Wheat Belly" about the evils of wheat. The author argues that changes to cultivated wheat in the past 50 years mean that it is now so easily digested and converted to glucose that you might as well be mainlining sugar. He says that it is an appetite stimulant, meaning you eat more than you otherwise would; and also that for unknown reasons it is converted into dangerous abdominal fat more easily than other foods - so in some ways it is worse to eat a slice of bread than a Mars Bar. Both will add fat, but the bread will go to creating the "Wheat Belly"; and abdominal fat is a danger sign for diabetes and heart disease. Finally, the gluten in wheat is addictive - the "high" can even be blocked by the same drugs they use for people on heroin. So it is very hard to give up.

I am very sceptical about fad diets, and my dietician friend believes very strongly that carbs are not the enemy. This book is full of studies and technical language, though, and I think it will be worth me reading to the end. Just giving up everything with wheat in it (cakes, biscuits, pizza, bread, cereal, pasta {although pasta isn't as bad due to the way it is made}, pies) would also mean giving up a lot of fat and sugar so would probably be pretty good for anyone! I haven't got to his replacement diet tips yet, but I assume it is based on meat, fruit and vegetables. And chocolate.