Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health by Williams David, M.D.
The danger of gluten with an emphasis on weight loss
In Wheat Belly, Dr. William Davis emphasizes wheat’s role in obesity, which is an excellent means of marketing the message. People don’t like being fat. The book begins with a review of how wheat has been hybridized and genetically modified from its earlier, natural state and that this modification has increased certain compounds in the wheat that lead to diabetes and weight gain.
Davis goes on to explain the many hazards of a diet containing wheat:
- Exorphins in wheat are addictive causing us to eat more.
- Wheat’s unique carbohydrate amylopectin A causes an excessive rise in blood sugar leading to fat deposition, particularly inflammatory visceral fat.
- Gluten causes celiac disease and gluten intolerance manifesting as many chronic ailments.
- Wheat is the predominant cause of insulin resistance and diabetes.
- A diet high in grains such as wheat adds to the acid load of the body.
- High blood sugar caused by wheat causes formation of advanced glycation end (AGE) products leading to cataracts, wrinkles, and hardened arteries.
- Carbohydrates, particularly wheat, cause the release of insulin that triggers synthesis of small LDL particles, the kind that cause heart disease.
- Immune response to gluten causes damage to the brain and nerves resulting in ataxia, encephalopathy, dementia, neuropathy, seizers, etc.
The book concludes with guidance on eliminating wheat from your diet, potential withdrawal symptoms, simple nutritional guidelines for replacing wheat, hidden sources of wheat, a sample 7-day diet plan and a few recipes.
The only serious issue I have with the book is that Davis places too much emphasis on the glycemic effect of wheat vs. sugar. He writes: “Aside from some extra fiber, eating two slices of whole wheat bread is really little different, and often worse, than drinking a can of sugar-sweetened soda or eating a sugary candy bar…The GI of a Snickers bar is 41–far better than whole grain bread.”
The majority of glucose from wheat is distributed in the blood and taken up by most of the cells for energy, the rest going to the liver. But all fructose (which comprises half of sugar and typically 55% of HFCS) goes to the liver to be metabolized. So it’s true that sugar does not cause as great a rise in blood sugar, but metabolism of its fructose component creates more VLDL, triglycerides and AGEs than glucose (not to mention uric acid) and has been implicated as the cause of insulin resistance, weight gain and hypertension. Considering that many wheat products contain sugar, eliminating wheat also eliminates much sugar.
I believe wheat is terribly destructive to the health of some people, but blaming wheat and implicating all carbohydrates as central to obesity and diabetes is mistaken. Aside from that, and a tendency toward hyperbole, Wheat Belly is a good introduction to the physical damage that wheat can cause and is written such that anyone can understand the issues. Wheat made me very sick, and I’m grateful to people like Dr. Davis who are informing the public of its dangers.
Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program.
Buy Wheat Belly from Amazon.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t wait to get a copy of this book! Although instinctively I knew wheat was a problem for me, it took several years before I was ready to take the leap into a gluten-free lifestyle (especially since my family has so many other food allergies to contend with). Now (after being gluten-free for over a month), even the heavenly smell of homemade bread baking in the oven isn’t motivation enough for me to eat wheat again.
I do also appreciate your honest critique of the publication. Thanks so much for this timely information. I look forward to reading the book!
I thought Davis’ Wheat Belly was discredited as pseudo-science at best?
http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/2011/10/wheat-belly-toll-of-hubris-on-human.html
http://carbsanity.blogspot.com/2011/09/wheat-belly-on-acid.html
I don’t think Chris’s review discredited Davis’s message. I think he did a great job addressing and debunking some of the science in Wheat Belly. And his picture of Davis’s view of the grocery store vs. his own was priceless and served to highlight Davis’s myopic view of wheat as the villain to all that ails us. (I recommend people read Chris’s post in the above link.)
The other blog just seems like a collection of disgruntled carb eaters picking apart something they haven’t even read and people they disagree with. That’s their right, but I’m not going to take them seriously.
I get sick from wheat and I know quite a few other people who do. I know someone who recently read this book, gave up wheat, and is losing weight and feeling great. I know someone else who gets sick from wheat but can eat spelt.
I almost assigned the book 3 stars but opted for 4, because I do think that a diet dominated by wheat (and the sugar and hydrogenated fats that commonly accompany it) is poor for most and very unhealthy for some. By focusing on weight loss, Davis’s message is getting out to people who normally wouldn’t concern themselves with learning about how a food they love might be making them sick.
And considering that it usually takes 11 to 14 years for a diagnosis of celiac disease, many people may be able to avoid years of allopathic meddling and increasingly bad health by giving a gluten-free diet a try.
BTW, I edited my review slightly to better clarify my issues with the book.
Joanne:
Good take on Dr. Davis’s book. I finished it last week and have been doing his Track Your Plaque program for the past three years with great success (I’ve lost 40 pounds and have kept it off due to diet modifications recommended by Davis).
I think Davis ‘s approach from a weight loss framework is noteworthy because it’s obviously had a greater impact on Americans (NY Times Best Seller) than his previous book “Track Your Plaque” which focused on the cardiovascular problems associated with genetically modified wheat. That book and program has had very little impact in society. Kudo’s to Dr. Davis for raising awareness of the problems with wheat.
I would like to point out that wheat does not cause Celiac disease. It is an auto immune disease. I would like to see the study or science to back up that wheat causes this.
Yes, it’s an autoimmune disease caused by proteins in wheat, rye and barley. Just go PubMed and search for gluten + celiac. Here’s one for starters:
In vitro models for gluten toxicity: relevance for celiac disease pathogenesis and development of novel treatment options.
In genetically predisposed individuals, dietary gluten in wheat, rye and barley triggers celiac disease, a systemic autoimmune disorder hallmarked by an extensive small-bowel mucosal immune response. The current conception of celiac disease pathogenesis is that it involves components of both innate and adaptive immunity whose activation typically leads to small-bowel villous atrophy with crypt hyperplasia. Currently, the only effective treatment for celiac disease is a strict lifelong gluten-free diet excluding all wheat-, rye- and barley-containing food products. During the diet, the clinical symptoms improve and the small-bowel mucosal damage recovers, while re-introduction of gluten into the diet leads to re-appearance of the symptoms and deterioration of the small-bowel mucosal architecture…
You’ll find that many of the scientific articles describe the gluten-free diet as the only treatment for celiac.
My question is, what if someone is allergic to nuts? Davis, uses a lot ground nuts in cooking & baking, he also uses coconut flour and that should be fine if you like coconut.
jill
Jill, you have to find a diet that’s right for your own body. Personally, I don’t do any baking. I prefer meat over nuts.
Joanne, I was thinking this diet is not for everyone. I don’t do much baking either, but I feel you could only choose this diet if you can have nuts, as this is one of the main ingredients.
I love that you opened up this book review, we need more points of view, when it comes to our health, it gives a lot to think about before just jumping into a diet plan.
Jill
Have been wheat free for a month now. Interestingly enough, I don’t crave any breads/crackers, etc., this from someone who could easily chow down half a box of Cheezits in one sitting. I do get hungry sometimes, but keep turkey breast and chicken chunks in the refrigerator to snack on which immediately curbs my appetite. I’ve only lost seven pounds, but here’s the amazing and fantastic news! In December, my cholesterol was 211 – it is now 167. My triglycerides in December was 233 – that number has dropped to 72! I was astounded when I got the report from my doctor. I do love candy, and still eat one or two pieces every day. I keep a supply of hard candy in the house, and just those couple pieces satisfies me.
Was a little doubtful at first since an official study hadn’t been done on this theory, but after seeing the results of my blood tests, I’m sold. I’m a little disappointed the weight didn’t pour off as I hoped and as the book predicted, but I have faith it will come off.
If I kept a supply of hard candy in the house, it’d be gone in a couple days.
why after all these eyars would I have celiac disease from somehting I have been consuming my whole life?!?! My )pardon teh pun) gut feeling is that indeed, the wheat has been altered via GMO and pesticides.