Anyone following the rather entertaining exchange at SixServings.org, the blog for the Grain Foods Foundation, would have seen the recent “withering” criticisms of Wheat Belly posted there.
So, in case they censor the comment I left (since they have been selective in what they have allowed through, in effect censoring), here is what I left:
Where to start?
There is no longer any remaining question: Low-carb compared to low-fat outperforms in weight loss comparisons. While there has been variation from study to study, in total, the literature has continued to demonstrate the weight loss superiority of a carbohydrate-restricted approach. Low-fat diets are also plagued by such metabolic derangements as increased expression of small LDL, increased blood glucose and HbA1c, lower HDL, and higher triglycerides, all potentially unhealthy and atherogenic (heart disease-causing).
Wheat Belly, by the way, is not a diet: it is an articulation of what geneticists and agribusiness have done to this plant called wheat, now a far genetic distance removed from the wheat of 50 years ago, mostly in the name of increased yield.
As usual, the “healthy whole grain” argument hides behind the clinical trials that compare white processed flour products with whole grains–there is, no question, a relative benefit. But it’s not until you compare whole grains to NO grains that you see the real effect: marked weight loss, reductions in insulin resistance and high blood sugars, etc. all the incredible effects that I witness every day. And there are indeed clinical trials validating these observations.
By the way, of the 16 pages of references listed in the back of Wheat Belly, only a minor handful are animal studies. The overwhelming majority of studies cited are human studies. After all, I take care of humans, not rats. How many humans do you take care of?
I am the first to tell you that wheat has NOT been genetically-modified; it has been the recipient of techniques that are far WORSE–cruder, less controlled, often bizarre. It is silly to hide behind the non-GMO argument in a world in which we have creations like Clearfield herbicide-resistant wheat generated via chemical mutagenesis, i.e., chemically-induced mutations.
But what makes me laugh the most of all is that, until you had us wheat-dissenters, your blog was essentially unread by the public!
Glycemic Index for Android:
https://market.android.com/details?id=pl.mardut.glycemicindex
You know you’re over the target by how much flak you’re taking. And I’d say you’re pretty much over the target.
If you weren’t a threat, they’d ignore you.
By the way, here’s my “Wheat Belly” review.
As always, I’m stuck in the awaiting moderation limbo at sixservings
Here’s what I attempted to post:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roz says:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
October 28, 2011 at 4:25 pm
“and people following higher GI/GL diets may even have lower body weights.”
Yeah. Some celiacs are also underweight. Why? Their poor intestines cannot absorb nutrients and they are essentially starving to death VERY SLOWLY. Not to mention the violent diarrhea most experience in addition — the food isn’t in the system long enough to contribute any caloric fuel to the body! Celiac does not present consistently — some are overweight, some are underweight, but they’re all malnourished with minor to extreme vitamin deficiencies. And the disease is on the rise. So is diabetes and obesity. All of which can be traced back to coincide with the re-write of the food pyramid to be based on GRAINS. Good job ruining our nation’s health.
Well, you earned my appreciation, Roz!
It’s like going behind the Iron Curtain in 1965 to criticize Nikita Kruschev: You’ll be censored, maybe banished to Siberia!
Pl read “guidance” in my earlier post. Thanks.
Hi Dr. Davis,
First of all thanks very much for sharing such a profound knowledge through your “Wheat Belly” book. I finished reading it in just one day! It’s just wonderful and I must say very very bold!
I have started the recommended wheat free diet from Oct 20,2011 and have lost 5 lbs since. I am a vegetarian( though I do eggs). I have replaced wheat with small portion of rice,lentils,sprouted beans,rolled chapati of Millet(two nos/day), a lot of raw almond/peanut/walnut intake, and more green vegetables and V8 low-sodium vegetable juice.
My problem is, after shedding 5 lbs., I am not losing weight for the last three days any more! I visit gym every other day and expend 500 calories too!
By the way, I am 6′ 2″ @ 196lbs, now and hoping to go down to 180 lbs.
Could you please tell me what’s holding my weight from going down now? Could it be raw nuts? I must be consuming 200 gms. of these nuts in all per day.
I would appreciate your gidance.
Thanks,
Kalpak
Thanks, Kalpak!
It might be the higher-carbohydrate intake that develops from the vegetarian lifestyle that is slowing weight loss. Or it could be that you are among the few people who are calorie sensitive, in which case some purposeful reduction in calories may work. I use a lot of brief, intermittent fasts, e.g., skipping a meal but doing so in an unpredictable, varying pattern, accelerated with drinking brewed green tea.
Thank you very much Dr. Davis.
Lucky for you everybody knows who you are and what you did…otherwise you’d be like my friend’s, uncle’s, brother-in-law who invented a car that got 150mpg and GM had him mysteriously killed!
I am so happy to have found an MD that agrees with what I have felt all along!
As a Registered Nurse I cannot endorse the ADA ( Asinine Dietary Advice).
I tell my patients to stop the bread, cookies, pastry, and the “diabetic crap foods” that the food industries keep putting out there. And the ones that listen? HgbA1C drops.
Its like a really bad dream no one is waking up from.
Debbie, I would have been grateful to have encountered you on my road back to health. If I had followed my nutrionist’s diet plan, I would probably be a full blown type 2 now instead of having reversed my pre-diabetes. Sugar: The Bitter Truth on youtube was my saving grace, since he mentioned paleo can cure diabetes!
SNAP! Way to go Doc!
But seriously, watch your back. You are interfering with a billion dollar industry.
Yup. I occasionally have scenes from the movie, Michael Clayton, flash into my mind: Big Food and Agribusiness, sensing their huge franchise may be disrupted, hires some thugs to rub out the problem. Creepy.
So I shared Wheat Belly with a friend who took it and ran with it and is dropping pounds. He share the idea of “no wheat” with a buddy who lost 10 pounds in 10 days. The guy said he didn’t need to read the book, the idea sounded good enough to him! Sorry.
That’s great!
It’s not so much about selling books to me, but getting this message out. It’s about hearing from people whose lives are transformed by this message, people losing 70 lbs in 6 months, throwing away their arthritis and asthma medicines, children experiencing better grades in school and fewer behavioral struggles. The wonderful success stories alone make it worth the work.
Can’t begin to tell you how well both my husband and I are doing! I started us on a high fat low carb diet last Jan and then found your book. My joint pain is totally gone! My husband is down to 190 lbs and looking wonderful. I am amazed at how hostile some of my co-workers get when I tell them I no longer eat wheat! It’s sad really!
People really do freak out when you tell them,…lol
That’s funny, Geraldine.
If you disrupt preconceived notions, particularly ones that adults instill in their children, they will inevitably be hostile at first. Wait until they witness how wonderful you and your husband look. Then they will quietly ask, “What is it that you’re doing, Geraldine?”
Challenging deeply-held (though received and unexamined) beliefs is a sure way to trigger violent reactions.
I think the fact that they keep attacking you, Dr. Davis, is a huge compliment. If they didn’t fear you, they probably wouldn’t bother.
BTW, the gentleman that I rent a room to finally asked to read my Wheat Belly about four weeks ago. (I had been nudging him for a long time to take a serious look at his diet.) Last evening, when he took his jacket off, I was so amazed at the difference I had to ask how much weight he lost. Though he didn’t know how many pounds, he said he went from a 50′ waist to 42′ since he read the book! That is about 8 inches in 3-4 weeks! (He’s not even totally eliminating wheat, just cutting out the obvious sources, along with eliminating sugars.) The people he works with have noticed and three of them ordered a copy of Wheat Belly because they can’t believe how much weight he’s dropped without additional exercise. His blood pressure dropped from 187/90 to 130/85 in the meantime, too. His doctor is weaning him off his meds now. It’s funny because he never said anything to me after reading the book, he just did it.
Now he’s upset with me because of the expense of altering his uniforms and buying new jeans! He says it’s one of the most expensive diets he’s ever been on. ; ) He is loving it, tho, because he says he feels soooo much better and is so proud of his new waistline. I have noticed a huge difference in his ability to think and communicate, too!
Wow, PJ! That’s the largest reduction in waist size I’ve ever heard of!
But now we’ll make enemies of the pharmaceutical industry, too? Bring it on!
I know! It’s probably one of the most amazing transformations I’ve ever seen; would not have believed it if I didn’t see it for myself. But you wouldn’t believe his diet before . . . OMG! He would eat triple decker sandwiches twice a day, along with a ton of prepackaged processed frozen meals. When I asked him why he ate so much (whole grain) bread, he said he . . . wait for it . . . had to make sure he got all his sevings of whole healthy grains. His doctor had told him to reduce his fat intake and up his whole grain intake because he had been gaining weight and his blood pressure was climbing. (??!!!) Poor guy is so disillusioned because he always believed his doctor and trusted him with his health. I told him that health is something you have to take responsibility for because it isn’t your doctor who’s living in your body.
Love it! Love it! Love it! :>)
Susan
Kick butt, Doc!
My comment never made it through moderation over there. Do you suppose it was a mistake to tell them what they were doing is criminal…?
Funny how certain comments on their site just come and go, isn’t it?
Yup. It’s like trying to peek across the Berlin Wall. It’s pretty ugly on the other side!
They’ll live, Gina. I wouldn’t worry about their feelings.
However, it really does make me laugh to look back at their older posts with zero to, at most, 2 comments. Then us wheatless agitators come along and, BOOM! Tons of comments!
At the very least, they’ve got to feel unpopular. But make no mistake: This is not going unnoticed in their ranks. The fact that they are reporting back on the many discussions they had at their recent meeting in Chicago tells us that they are concerned. And rightly so!
re: Do you suppose it was a mistake to tell them what they were doing is criminal…?
They have little choice but to remove such comments.
Their position has to be that the dots connected by Dr. Davis and others are not true, and therefor “criminal” remarks are slanderous if not actual libel.
As long as the USDL (U.S. Dept of Lobbyists) and the AAA (American Affliction Assoc.) openly endorse technowheat, wheat pushers may not be exposed to legal liability for maiming their customers. But at some point, “what did they know and when did they know it” is going to arise. Expect them to act to push out that date.
And then they’ll switch from hiding behind the food pyramid to hiding behind the Surgeon General’s Wheat Warning admonishment on the package.
This is great, Boundless!
You are quite adept yourself at putting 2+2 together. The “when did they know it?” issue I also find quite bothersome. I am absolutely convinced that others have put these issues together before–but told no one, but instead applied it to revenue-increasing advantage from within Big Food. Why look a multi-billion dollar gift horse in the mouth? I’ll be this dates back 20 years.
“I am the first to tell you that wheat has NOT been genetically-modified; it has been the recipient of techniques that are far WORSE–cruder, less controlled, often bizarre. ”
Wheat-n-stein!
http://owgd3.onewebgroup.net/Merchant2/graphics/00000003/halloween/frankchoc435a.jpg
That’s great, Scott!