William Davis, M.D., is a preventive cardiologist who wrote Wheat Belly, a provocative book in which he presents the damning research
he did on wheat and its effects on us. One of his most disturbing
discoveries was that the type of wheat now planted and harvested in America
is a genetically-modified, dwarf, franken variety that is less nutritious (not to mention bug and herbicide resistant) than
that consumed by our great grand-parents when obesity rates were much lower.
He was motivated to
investigate because in his clinical practice with thousands of patients with
diabetes and heart disease, he found the standard USDA, AMA approved advice to
his patients to “eat more grains” was making them fatter and sicker. Something
was wrong.
What he discovered is
that from the moment wheat enters the body, it causes trouble, starting with
causing the bowel to lose desirable bacteria that aid digestion and, rather, to promote
the growth of undesirable ones like E. coli and Salmonella.
But that’s just the
beginning. Wheat has a compound called amylopectin, one of the components in
starch, that triggers a rapid and protracted increase in Very Low Density
Lipoproteins, the ones that cause clogged arteries. It also contains a protein
called gliadin, with opiate-like properties that stimulates your appetite,
not for more protein or fat, but for more carbs. Finally, because wheat is immediately converted to blood sugar (glucose) it causes an insulin spike that causes it ultimately to be stored as fat.
Based on what he found out, Dr. Davis started to
withdraw his patients from wheat and immediately observed they lost weight and
had much better health indicators, like lower blood pressure and an improved
LDL profile. Simply eliminating wheat has reversed diabetes in many of his patients.
His book is tough medicine for people who like to eat a lot of bread and cereal. The USDA, which promulgates a "Food Plate" heaped with grains, will say no. But the evidence says yes. Over half the calories consumed by Americans consist of carbs, and many of those come from wheat.
Of course, Dr. Davis was immediately branded as a nut by the grain industry, but this has not prevented his views from getting out. Watch him on CBS This Morning - click here.
His book is tough medicine for people who like to eat a lot of bread and cereal. The USDA, which promulgates a "Food Plate" heaped with grains, will say no. But the evidence says yes. Over half the calories consumed by Americans consist of carbs, and many of those come from wheat.
Of course, Dr. Davis was immediately branded as a nut by the grain industry, but this has not prevented his views from getting out. Watch him on CBS This Morning - click here.
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