“Wheat Belly”
By William Davis, M.D.

When I first picked up this book I was thinking “I probably already know most of this stuff but I'm curious”. Man, was I ever wrong. This book was quite excellent and I learned a lot from it. There was one point that the author made that really made me drop my pants; wheat bread has a glycemic index (GI) rating of 72, shredded wheat cereal stands at 67. “So what?” you ask? Well, he also shows that the GI rating of a Mars bar is 68, in other words when it comes to sugar content and effects upon blood sugar levels, eating wheat bread and shredded wheat is comparible to eating a Mars bar! A Snickers bar's GI rating is only 41, “far better than whole grain bread” as he says in the book. And get this, the GI rating of pure table sugar is 59. Allow me to repeat myself; table sugar 59, wheat bread 72. Think about that for a second, ok? Early on in the book the author makes several points concerning the properties of wheat, how it's grown, and how much it has been changed even since the 1950's with genetic modifications and such. He states “Today einkorn, emmer and the original wild and cultivated strains have been replaced by thousands of modern human-bred offspring.” He mentions that geneticist Norman Borlaug was credited with creating a new variety of wheat that was shorter in height and quicker to mature, giving it a shorter growing season, a quicker and easier harvest, a higher yeild and a lower cost of cultivation. It came to be known as “dwarf wheat”. Borlaug was a hero of the agricultural community and was given the title “Father of the Green Revolution”. The author points out that because his new wheat strain had such a high impact on world hunger, it wasn't even checked for potential safety problems, nevermind the incredible and dramatic differences in genetic makeup. It was accepted into the mainstream without question. The author talks about a test that he conducted on himself, making bread with two different kinds of wheat; today's “standard” wheat and einkorn wheat, the rare old version. He says that he is wheat sensitive and so this test wasn't pleasant for him but “in the interest of science” he did it anyway. A non-diabetic, he tested his blood sugar levels before and after consuming 4 ounces of each variety, each on separate days, on an empty stomach. With einkorn wheat his blood sugar was 84 before eating, and 110 afterwards. With today's standard wheat his blood sugar was 84 before eating, and 167 afterwards! A huge difference. He had no adverse effects with einkorn wheat but said that he felt queasy and nauseated after eating today's standard variety. He mentions celiac disease and gluten intolerance having similar symptoms, but he also mentions that gluten isn't the only potential problem with wheat consumption considering the fact that the other 20% of the proteins it contains include albumins, prolamins, and globulins, giving wheat in total more than one thousand different other proteins. He also mentions that gluten is one of the things that has changed the most with all of the genetic modifications of wheat, making it questionable as to its current genetic state and the amount of health problems that people are having because of it, and making a point about how popular the gluten free diet is in recent years. As if physical ailments aren't enough, the author dedicates an entire chapter on the effects of wheat on the brain. With his main emphasis being on how addicting it is, he entitled this chapter “Hey, Man, Wanna By Some Exorphins? The Addicting Properties of Wheat”. He points out that when the opiate-blocking drugs naloxone and naltrexone are administered to “normal” people it diminishes their appetite, their cravings, their calorie intake and their general moods. This is because, and I quote, “digestion (of wheat) yeilds morphine like compounds that bind to the brain's opiate receptors. It induces a “reward”, a mild euphoria.” The author also mentions studies that were done with schizophrenic patients and “wheat elimination”. The Veterans Administration Hospital in Philadelphia and the University of Sheffield studies yeiled identical results; when wheat was removed from the diets of schizophrenics, they had less hallucinations, delusions and other common symptoms. When the wheat was added back into their diets the symptoms returned to “normal”. The author also mentions a comprehensive study that was done with 55 autistic Danish children. When they had wheat removed from their diets their symptoms also subsided, and when wheat was added back in their symptoms went back to “normal”. The author makes no claim that wheat causes schizophrenia or autism, but makes it clear that wheat obviously makes those conditions worse, which is enough evidence all by itself for people to take into serious consideration as far as I'm concerned. Coming back to the issue of blood sugar and the glycemic index, we have the facts concerning wheat consumption and obesity. He mentions some of his patients and the successes they've had with the “wheat elimination” diet. People who eliminate wheat effectively lose weight very quickly, their “numbers” concerning cholesterol, blood pressure, etc always get better, they always have more energy and they always have smaller appetities. These are the classic effects of a diet low in carbohydrates. Keep in mind, the author does advise his patients to eliminate other high glycemic carbs from their diets and makes his point very clear that eliminating wheat but continuing with sugary soda pops and such simply isn't in alignment with the whole point of his diet. He also points out that low carbohydrate diets “basically cure type 2 diabetes, provided the diet is maintained” and shows patient examples of how their blood sugars stabilized to rock solid normal levels without insulin or drugs shortly after they started “low carbing” it. His diet recommedations are pretty much in direct alignment with Dr. Robert Atkins. Lots of proteins and green vegetables, but keep fruit intake to a minimum because they're loaded up with natural sugars (carbs). He says that lower glycemic carbs are ok in moderation, but to be careful with those. And like Dr. Atkins, he reports the same results with his patients, achieving excellent “numbers” in lipids, blood pressure, etc. as a result of the diet. The author very passionately criticizes the diet that the American Diabetes Assocation, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, etc. typically advise, which is one low in fats but high in carbohydrates. He points to the famous “food pyramid” with wheat products and “healthy grains” on the bottom as the main staple of diet and points out the obvious, that it's an extremely unhealthy way to eat. First he states “Logically, increased intake of fatty foods, such as greasy meats and butter, should increase blood triglycerides. This proved true, but only transiently and to a small degree. While increased intake of fats does does indeed deliver greater quantities of triglycerides into the liver and the bloodstream, it also shuts down the body's own production of triglycerides...the net effect is little or no change in triglyceride levels.” And then “Carbohydrates, on the other hand, contain virtually no triglycerides. But carbohydrates stimulate insulin, which in turn triggers fatty acid stimulous in the liver, a process that floods the bloodstream with triglycerides. Depending on genetic susceptibility, carbohydrates can send triglycerides into the hundreds or even thousands mg/dl range.” He shows with scientific backing that eating carbohydrates raises blood sugar levels, which raises triglyceride levels and insulin levels, which leads to insulin resistence, which thickens blood, which leads to higher blood pressure, which leads to heart attack and stroke. Simply not a good diet plan, and he hammers that point home throughout the entire book. He also points out that the conclusion from the famous “China Study” claiming that vegetarian diets are “healthier” than diets that include animal fats was in fact based upon biased, cherry picked data. He calls the biased method of “analyzing” the data “Sins of Ommision”. And then he points out what the data did in fact show when all of the data is considered, as opposed to just some of it, which is that increased wheat intake directly corresponds with coronary heart disease and weight gain. Sorry, vegetarians, but your diet isn't as healthy as you'd like to think, seeing as how it is largely based upon eating lots of “healthy whole grains” and other wheat products! The last thing that I'd like to mention concerning this book is that he quotes studies done with acne and various skin conditions, and how wheat consumption is a hug contributor. He points out that countries who consume little wheat are in fact devoid of acne and skin troubles, for the most part, and then mentions that some of his patients with acne cleared right up when they eliminated wheat from their diets. Overall, this book is extremely informative, and as an herbalist, a nutritionist, and a Reiki Master, I do plan on letting all of my clients know about this book, as well as the diet recommendations that it includes. There is simply no disputing any of the conclusions made, his sources are, like I said before, “the gold standard of science”. Bravo to Dr. William Davis, M.D.!