What is Seitan

~~Seitan is wheat gluten made by washing whet flour dough~~
Seitan cooking brings together research, food and activities into a lifestyle focused on helping you feel better.

Primarily aiming at reducing insulin resistance (and insulin spikes in general), side effects will include weight-loss, reduced food coma, less hunger and less cravings.

Based on Piret Saar’s extensive research and experimentation, Seitan cooking is now enjoyed by no less than two people world-wide.

Here’s why

With Seitan cooking, you’ll enjoy the following benefits

Eating delicious food.
Keeping your energy up even after a big meal.
Stable and sustainable weight-loss.
…

Seitan Notes

Here are Piret’s notes about Seitan:

Normal physiology

The only way for our bodies to get energy is by using our blood sugar (glucose). No matter if we are using the energy from the food that we eat directly when we eat or if we are using out body fat, it is always converted to glucose before the cells can use it as a fuel. In a healthy body the energy for the body is created from glucose from the food when we eat and otherwise (between meals and during the night) from glucose created from our fat deposits. There is a good balance between building fat deposits and burning them.

Every time we eat a hormone called insulin is released into blood.

The main tasks of insulin:

signal to the body cells to take in the blood sugar and convert it into energy
stop fat burning (no need to burn body fat when you have “food” in your blood)
build fat deposits in the body

As the blood sugar levels go down, the insulin vanishes from the blood and body goes back to the fat burning phase.

Insulin resistance

When our cells are exposed to too much glucose, they start to develop a resistance to insulin, meaning that when the insulin levels go up, the cells will start reacting less and less to it over time.

This leads to following:

much less blood sugar is converted into energy – feeling of low energy, tiredness after a meal
no or very little fat burning (high glucose -> high insulin -> no fat burning)
new fat deposits are built (high glucose -> high insulin -> build fat deposits)
the levels of insulin increase in the body as the cells are not reacting properly -> less and less fat is being burnt and more and more fat deposits are being built.
the insuline levels are high for longer times -> the cells develop even more resistance -> downward spiral 🙁

Two persons can eat the exact same food but depending on if one has insulin resistance or not, the effects can be very different.

Person 1 – healty

Energetic after eating
Slim

Person 2 – with insuline resistance

Tiread after eating
Slowly gaining weight over time

Although the amount of calories is the same, one person will use them for energy while the other will use them for building fat deposits.

Why do we develop the insulin resistance?

If we are often exposed to factors that give us high insulin spikes, then our cells will start losing their sensitivity to insulin. High insulin spikes are caused by:

fast carbohydrates (sugar, breads, pasta, rice, honey, sweets, most cheeses etc.)
large meals
long meals (Insulin is released in spikes. If for a long time, there will be two or more insuline spikes per meal)
a lot of protein
eat often (each time we eat we will get an insulin spike)

Healthy way of eating

Makes sure that you get the nutrients that are needed for building a healthy body
- Eat as many green leafs as you can. They contain loads of components that are needed for building up your body.
- One of the best greens are kale and cabbages (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower etc).
Hinder insulin resistance
- Avoid foods that give you high insulin spikes
  - no fast carbohydrates
  - no large amounts of protein (especially animal protein – no more than 2 card deck sized peaces of meat per meal)
  - beans and lentils are ok if they make up around 1/4 of your meal
  - chemicals in the food (try to eat as clean food as possible, free from conservatives, colours etc.)
- Other ideas for keeping insulin low:
  - Eat rather quickly, don’t sit and eat for an hour as it will give you several insulin spikes.
  - Start your meal with something that will not cause a high insulin spike:
    - apple cider vinegar
    - pickled vegetables
    - salads (without added sugar). Add apple cider vinegar (it’s delicious!) to your salads to hinder insulin spikes.
    - do NOT start your meal with protein
  - Eat fiber rich foods – fiber reduces insulin spikes
  - Physical activity after a meal
    It is the best way to lower insulin, so it’s very efficient to do something physical right after a meal. If possible, take a 20 minute walk after you’ve eaten.
- Practice intermittent fasting
  - If possible, have an aim to eat only 2 times a day (lunch and dinner). This will give your body a long period without food when the cells are not exposed to insulin and can start to heal. Eating 3 times should also be ok, just takes longer time. But remember, no snacking!
  - You should never feel hungry! Regulate your feeling of being full with olive oil. If you feel very hungry before it’s time to have your next meal, then add more oil to your food. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of oil. Oil does not affect insulin and will help you feel full + olive oil has important health benefits.
  - No snacking between meals (coffee and tea without sugar is ok), as every time you eat anything, you’ll get a insulin spike.

This will happen in your body

H e a l t h i e r
Eating a lot of greens with your food will provide you with the essential components that are needed for maintaining healthy functions in your body and renewing itself. You will become healthier in general. You’ll notice how you will not be catching cold anymore.

S t a b l e e n e r g y l e v e l s
Burning fat between the meals gives no insulin spikes and a very stable amount of glucose in the blood. Without insulin spikes even the resistant cells are able to consume the glucose and provide stable energy levels.

W e i g h t
You’ll have a balance between fat storing and fat burning. With time, as your body heals, you will go back to your normal body weight and stay there without any extra effort.

G r e a t d i g e s t i o n
As your body will adjust to the fiber rich diet, you’ll stop having digestion problems, such as bloating or constipation.