"Nutrition for Athletes" - White Bread vs Whole Grain? Ascending Calories?

Hi Ellington,
I am just reading Nutrition for Athletes (only 43 years after it was published).

Q1: In part one myths and truths you talk about the myth of athletes avoiding eating white bread and only eating whole-grain breads. Do you think that this myth still holds true or do you think that some 40 years later, because of changes to processing, the nutritional value between the two has now become more significant and whole-grain breads are now the better option? Personally I’m tired of eating whole-grain bread and am looking for a change.

Q2: In part three of the book Viator (re)gained approx. 20 lbs of muscle in 10 weeks on 1800 calories a day. You have also previously stated here that Tyler didn’t really increase his calories too much during his fantastic 17 lb gain on 30-10-30. Why didn’t you feel an ascending calorie diet was necessary for either? I’m aiming to (re)gain 20 - 25 lbs of lost muscle following the pandemic lockdown and am curious more than anything.

Thanks,

Jeff

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Unless you eat a lot of bread each day, say 8-10 slices, it probably doesn’t matter which type you eat. Read the labels and select accordingly.

Ideally, you would ascend your dietary calories a small amount with each pound of muscle added.

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I think the white bread thing started with Arnold back in the 70s.

White bread basically quickly turns to pure sugar about as fast as a candy bar and should be avoided in my opinion. It’s garbage. I like Dave’s Powerseed bread. Four grams of fiber per slice, 1 gram of sugar, 5 grams of protein, organic, all natural, but not just grain, seeds as well which add omega 3s. Healthier and tastier.

Ingredients: Organic whole wheat (organic whole wheat flour, organic cracked whole wheat), water, organic Powerseed® grain and seed mix (organic whole flax seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic brown sesame seeds, organic pumpkin seeds, organic black sesame seeds, organic ground whole flax seeds, organic rolled oats), organic wheat gluten, organic fruit juices (organic apple, organic pear, organic peach) , organic oat fiber, contains 2% or less of each of the following: sea salt, organic vinegar, organic cultured wheat flour, yeast, enzymes, organic acerola cherry powder.

https://www.daveskillerbread.com/powerseed

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That has to do within the context of the bread eaten alone. Make a sandwich with meat and some added fats from the meat or mayo and the glycemic index of a food becomes irrelevant since it will slow down absorption.

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“The whiter the bread, the sooner you’re dead.”

That concept was pushed more than 50 years ago by Adelle Davis, Paul Bragg, and even, Jack LaLanne. It is simply not true. White bread, which is enriched, has many valuable nutrients. It does NOT “turn to pure sugar” in the digestive process.

One problem with whole-grain bread is that it contains high levels of phytic acid. Phytic acid can bind essential minerals – including calcium, iron zinc, and magnesium – so that they are less available for absorption. Even though whole-grain bread may be full of nutrients, some of the minerals it contains cannot reabsorbed by the body because of the phytic acid. But even so, whole-grain bread is nutritious.

As I said earlier, unless you are consuming 8-10 slices of bread a day, it doesn’t make much difference what type of bread you are eating. Chances are your bread of choice is fine.

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Great answer Dr Darden!! Boy this really dates me, I remember reading Adelle Davis , ha ha!
Scott

Ellington,

I recently tried to purchase the supplements you mentioned in your book but it seems to have been discontinued. Any alternative suggestions?

What’s the specific name of the supplements?

Mag 10 and Plazma are still for sale. They’re advertised at the top of the forum and I’ve got giant boxes filled with them in my living room. Mag 10 is just temporarily out of stock. It’ll be back, click “notify me” on the mag 10 to be emailed when they’re back in stock.

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Mag 10

Ooh really? That’s good to know I was wondering what happened

Yep. Don’t worry, it’ll be back.

Yep, just out of stock. Last I heard (as of last week), should be back in 2-6 weeks.

Dr. Darden

Have a question regarding triglycerides…i am utilizing the high carb eating plan prescribed in your books

Would there be any reason why my triglycerides would elevate to the high level

Not asking for medical advice…just trying to figure out what I could be doing incorrectly

Thanks, dan

I guess my homemade pizza dough with white flour is ok after all. And I was told I was eating pure sugar! I guess I’ll have to watch that!
Lol!

Looks delicious

Cut back a little on your carbs and see if that helps.

Thanks for the response,

After more self research of my diet, I was still consuming too much fat through eggs(2 eggs a day everyday), too much sweetened coffee creamer, too much butter on popcorn …therefore I reduced my egg consumption to one or two per week and eliminated sweetened and fattened coffee creamer and reduced my butter and popcorn

I will see how that works first

It has been awhile since I have thought much about this issue. However, my recollection is that some people see more pronounced elevation of triglycerides on high carbohydrate diets than others, and the reasons aren’t always obvious (i.e., might be a genetic component). The advice that I recall for those folks was this: reduce your intake of sugar and highly refined starchy carbohydrates (white bread, pasta, instant potatoes, etc) as much as possible. Get more of your carbs from fibrous whole foods, like fruits, vegetables, and beans.

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