Introduction
The basic premise of Wheat Belly is that the elimination of
wheat products is the key to weight loss and improved health. The book is broken down into 3 sections. The first is a detailed history of the
evolution of wheat and how it has changed genetically over the years. The second part explains all of the negative
health effects of eating wheat. The
third part of the book deals with tips on eliminating wheat from your diet,
including a 7 day meal plan and recipes.
Overall, the book is well researched and very well written. I enjoyed reading it.
Five Things I Really Liked About Wheat Belly
1) The Concept Of Blood
Sugar Stability. A major concept in this book is that swings
in blood sugar have a negative impact on weight control and health in general. I couldn’t agree more. Blood sugar control is at the very foundation
of my nutritional recommendations.
2) Explanation Of How
Wheat Has Changed Over The Years. I
found this part of the book absolutely fascinating. Agricultural scientists have changed wheat
dramatically over the past 50 years. It
has been altered genetically to make it resistant to environmental conditions
and to increase yield. Wheat used to
grow 4 feet tall. The new genetic,
“dwarf” version grows only 1 foot tall, so it will yield quicker, requiring less
fertilizer. The author found a woman who
grows the old fashion wheat and bought some flour from her. After eating 2 slices of bread made with this
flour, his blood sugar rose to 110. He
repeated the test with modern flour. His
blood sugar after eating 2 pieces of bread made with modern wheat rose to 167! It is quite plausible that wheat used to be a
healthy, lower glycemic grain years ago, but is now high glycemic due to
genetic manipulation.
3) Great explanation of
LDL particle size. The size of your LDL
is just as important as your number.
Large, buoyant LDL’s are far less atherogenic than small dense
LDL’s. He explains this nicely.
4) Good Recipes. The wheat free recipes are very nicely put
together.
5) Comprehensive List Of
Wheat Containing Products And Ingredients.
The author puts together an interesting list of places where you’ll find
wheat unexpectedly. You’ll find wheat in
hydrolyzed vegetable protein, modified food starch, textured vegetable protein,
flavored coffees, beer, flavored teas, vodkas, blue cheese, and my 2 favorites;
envelope glue and lipstick. Wheat really
is everywhere!
Five Things I Didn’t Agree With In Wheat Belly
1) Promises Unrealistic
Weight Loss. The author says you will
lose 10 lbs in the first 14 days, or even a pound a day. When expectations are this high, it is easy
to get frustrated with more realistic weight loss, such as a pound a week. Having realistic expectations for weight loss
is vital to long term adherence.
2) Very Little On
Exercise. If you want to lose weight and
keep it off, exercise is a huge part of the equation. Both experience and the research literature
have taught me this. Wheat Belly
doesn’t focus on it very much.
3) Restricts Several Foods
That Are Healthy. The following foods
are strictly limited on the Wheat Belly
plan: oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, legumes, fruits, and polyunsaturated
oils. These have been shown in the
literature to be health promoting, and I’m not quite sure why you wouldn’t want
people to eat them.
4) Allows Several Foods
That Are Not So Healthy. The following
foods are encouraged on the Wheat Belly plan and in the recipes: steak, pork,
full fat cheeses, coconut oil, small amounts of fruit juice, daily use of
non-nutritive sweeteners, dried fruit, full fat sour cream. These are foods I have my clients limit due
to their negative impact on health.
5) Fat, Protein, Carb
Ratio. This plan allows for unlimited
protein intake, which typically amounts to no higher than 20-25% of calories,
unlimited fat and 50-100 grams of carbohydrate per day. On a 2000 calorie diet, this equates to 25%
protein, 20% carbohydrate and 55% fat. I
think this is a bit too low on the carb and a bit too high on the fat. I have my clients shoot for more like 20%
protein, 35% fat and 45% carb.
Is Wheat
Belly Worth Reading
Absolutely. Wheat
Belly gets a lot right. You’ll learn
in great detail how the wrong types of carbohydrate can make you unhealthy and
overweight. For years, I have been recommending
a lot of what is in this book to my clients.
There are just a few foods I would limit on this plan and a few foods
I’d add in. Oh yeah, one other thing I’d
add in is a whole lot more exercise!
2 comments:
I have reviewed all the research cited in this book and made a simple spreadsheet explaining exactly what the book claims is true and exactly what the scientific studies cited in the book say are true. The cited research does not even support Dr. Davis' and the books claims. I will release this document to anyone that requests it and you can draw your own conclusions. These are not my opinions, these are scientific findings from the studies that are in this book. The truth needs to be told and this book is completely full of misleading information and completely false claims.
Please fwd a copy of document to me! I am very interested.
thank you so much
Post a Comment