Give up
wheat and all your health problems will resolve! At least that is what Dr. William Davis would
lead us to believe in his book Wheat Belly (Rodale, 2011). And he is fairly convincing. I almost decided to go "gluten free" again on the off chance that it might improve my fickle IBS symptoms. At one point, he actually had me wondering if my occasional inability to speak clearly was the result of the wheat glutens attacking my brain. Maybe? Probably not.
Perhaps I was convinced for the first chapter. But after reading chapter after chapter of "evidence" that elimination of wheat improves or, in some cases, "cures" diseases (obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc), I realized that Dr. Davis truly believes that elimination of
wheat is the silver bullet solution to all America’s health problems. Which is unsettling.
Sure, Davis provides many examples (aka "case reports") of patients losing weight and improving medical conditions by eliminating wheat, but I proposition that it is not the removal of wheat so much as the addition of REAL FOOD - vegetables, fruit, nuts - into the diet that improves quality of life for these patients.
Think about it. Processed food, made predominantly with enriched wheat flour, is largely devoid of natural nutrients. Nutrients are inherently lost through processing, hence the need to "fortify" and "enrich" the flour. No wonder his patients, whose diets were undoubtedly based on processed food, were struggling with their weight and other chronic conditions - they just weren't feeding their bodies the nutrients they needed! In contrast, vegetables, fruits, and nuts are FULL of health-promoting phytonutrients (phyto = plant). When the body is nourished with healthy and healing whole foods, of course it is going to function better!
I am not saying that Dr. Davis should be ignored. In truth, his book very much worth reading. I thoroughly enjoyed learning the history of modern wheat (from Ancient Eikorn with 14 chromosomes, through polyploidy and genetic modification, into modern Triticum aestivum with 42 chromosomes - pages 19-20) and the review of several human disease processes (did you know that your elevated triglycerides are actually caused by eating too many simple carbohydrates, not fat?! - page 151). However, I urge the reader to be a filter, not a sponge. Please, don't just take his word for face value, but use critical thinking to determine if a "wheat-ectomy" is really the right thing for you.
In chapter six (page 89) he jokes that all wheat products should have a warning on the label, similar to cigarettes, which reads "SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Wheat consumption in all forms poses potentially serious
threats to health.”
In chapter seven (page 111), he writes “Virtual
elimination of carbohydrates, including the “dominant” carbohydrate of
“healthy” diets, wheat, not only improves blood sugar control, but can erase the need for insulin and diabetes
medication in adult (type 2) diabetics – otherwise known as a cure.”
A cure? Are you kidding me. That is like saying that a person with Celiac disease is "cured" if they just eliminate gluten from their diet....which Dr. Davis clearly does NOT believe, as evidenced in chapter six (page 94) when he writes “Celiac
disease is a permanent condition. Even
if gluten is eliminated for many years, celiac disease or other forms of
immune-mediating gluten intolerance come rushing back on reexposure.”
Sure, Davis provides many examples (aka "case reports") of patients losing weight and improving medical conditions by eliminating wheat, but I proposition that it is not the removal of wheat so much as the addition of REAL FOOD - vegetables, fruit, nuts - into the diet that improves quality of life for these patients.
Think about it. Processed food, made predominantly with enriched wheat flour, is largely devoid of natural nutrients. Nutrients are inherently lost through processing, hence the need to "fortify" and "enrich" the flour. No wonder his patients, whose diets were undoubtedly based on processed food, were struggling with their weight and other chronic conditions - they just weren't feeding their bodies the nutrients they needed! In contrast, vegetables, fruits, and nuts are FULL of health-promoting phytonutrients (phyto = plant). When the body is nourished with healthy and healing whole foods, of course it is going to function better!
I am not saying that Dr. Davis should be ignored. In truth, his book very much worth reading. I thoroughly enjoyed learning the history of modern wheat (from Ancient Eikorn with 14 chromosomes, through polyploidy and genetic modification, into modern Triticum aestivum with 42 chromosomes - pages 19-20) and the review of several human disease processes (did you know that your elevated triglycerides are actually caused by eating too many simple carbohydrates, not fat?! - page 151). However, I urge the reader to be a filter, not a sponge. Please, don't just take his word for face value, but use critical thinking to determine if a "wheat-ectomy" is really the right thing for you.
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