Remember Matthew? I previously shared his story and photos, including his 80-pound weight loss and change in cholesterol values.
But there is much more to his story that he has been sharing on the Official Wheat Belly Facebook page. Because the changes he described were so extensive, I’ve collected his comments here. Put together, Matthew’s health transformation is nothing short of astounding. He previously told us that hypertension and pre-diabetes have reversed with now normal blood pressure and blood sugars. But just read on and see how much more happened.
Matthew’s experience is a terrific example of how the healthcare system has “medicalized” the consumption of wheat and grains. Encourage the public to eat more wheat and grains, put them in virtually all processed foods, then stand back and let multiple facets of health deteriorate, then step in and “treat” it with prescription medications and procedures.
Ignore such awful advice and, not only can you reclaim control over weight, as Matthew did, but you can also reverse an impressive number of chronic health conditions and be freed of all the unnecessary treatments. And Matthew’s weight continues to drop off of him. At his most recent update, he says “Today, down 83 lbs! At 202. This is what 202 looks like. [photo above]
Gastrointestinal:
“I have lived with chronic burning indigestion and heart burn since I was about 19. I have had indigestion so bad that it would hurt all the way up into my jaws and my mouth. The burning sensation was like my insides were on fire. I was subjected to all sorts of tests and invasive procedures for years with no satisfactory explanation. At one time, I consumed an entire 400 count bottle of Tums per week! Sometimes it would cause such horrific esophageal spasms that I thought I was having a heart attack.
“I have had horrible fluctuations between debilitating stomach cramps with diarrhea and then, a day later, constipation. That cycle was rampant for 15 years. I would sometimes get such horrible cramps that the only relief was a heating pad on my belly. I missed several days of work a year.
“I was diagnosed with spastic colon disease and spastic duodenal bulb disease when I was 21 or 22. I was diagnosed with irritable bowel disease when I was in my early 30’s. I was diagnosed with gastric reflux disease when I was 38. I was diagnosed with Barrett’s esophagitis 10 years ago and told that is a pre-cancerous condition. I have had benign polyps in my large colon 2 times in the last 20 years. So as a result, I have to be scoped from both ends every so often.
“For the last 15 years, I have been on a regimen of Prilosec (or Prevacid or Nexium) 2 times daily. And even then, I would need a Tums. For a period of time, the night time reflux was so bad that I took two in the evening to make it through the night.
“Since i began Wheat Belly, ALLLLL of these symptoms are gone. No cramping, no diarrhea, no constipation, no esophageal spasms. I have had indigestion ONCE in 6 months, likely due to eating a meal too late in the evening and laying down too soon. But have had NO gastro-esophageal reflux related symptoms in 6 months.
“I have eliminated the 3rd Prilosec all together. And about half the time, I forget to take the evening one and don’t think about it until morning–I am not waking with reflux symptoms. I am close to being able to actually reduce to one a day.”
Joints:
“In April of this year, and for 18 months preceding, I had chronic pain in my feet, ankles, knees, hips and lower back. My feet felt like I was walking on broken glass all the time, especially at night if I got up to go to the bathroom. My ankles ached and would sometimes be swollen like a sprain. My knees hurt and ached nearly 100 percent of the time. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was only a 2 or 3, but was constant and relentless. I could not sit for long periods of time without getting uncomfortable and riding for more than an hour or so in a car was painful. My hips likewise hurt nearly all the time. I would wake every hour or so in the night and have to turn to find relief. My lower back ached nearly all the time.
“I walked most of the time with a slower, almost shambling, gait of a man 80 years old. I felt old before my time. I was depressed from the constant pain and discomfort. I lived on Motrin and Tylenol.
“Today, after 6 months plus of grain-free living, I ache no more. The only time I hurt is if I overdo a workout. And I can actually exercise! I brisk walk or jog 3 days a week, I cycle 3 days a week, I am up to a 6-mile brisk walk or 25-mile bike ride.
“I don’t wake in the night hurting. I can sit for longer periods without my knees feeling like they are on fire. Instead of feeling 80 years old, I am 57 and feel 40!”
Skin:
For the past 10 years, I have had ongoing issues with my skin. Dry, chapped, itching, eczema, etc.
“On several occasions, I would just break out with a large, dry, itching patch of eczema that would get red, irritated, and not go away with any form of treatment. Once, it was on my stomach at my belt line, about the size of my fist. It lasted 6 months and I went through several prescriptions of topical steroids and prednisone. Another time, a large patch on the sole of my foot would crack and bleed and itch like it was on fire. That one took 6 months to gradually go away. Most recent was a place on my left elbow about the size of a half dollar, took 9 months to go away.
“But worse was the last 6 to 7 years, my hands would dry, crack and bleed, the fingertips of all my fingers would hurt and bleed. Doctor tried anti-fungals, steroids, etc., nothing worked.
“Six months into the Wheat Belly lifestyle, ALL of these symptoms are GONE completely. I have noticed lately that my hair actually seems to be getting less gray in it. And dandruff is nearly nonexistent.
“But weirder is that I have had a number of large, ugly, unsightly skin tags along my neck and nape of my neck for years. Have had to see a dermatologist to have them removed a couple times. I was looking in the mirror the other day and was shocked to see that they are getting smaller and actually disappearing!
Allergies and asthma:
“Since I was a child, as far back as I can remember, I had severe year-round allergy issues, worse in spring and fall but horrid year-round. Runny nose, constant sneezing, severe congestion leading to bad snoring issues and breathing problems. Itchy watery eyes and constant sore throats from the post-nasal drainage.
“I remember taking Dimetapp and Drixoral daily back when it was a prescription drug, along with Sudafed. And during my worse periods supplemented with Benadryl. As I got older and those became ineffective, it was Seldane, Zyrtec and a host of others almost daily year-round.A year ago the Dr put me on Nasocort as well. For a few years, I have used two different asthma maintenance meds daily to control my asthma and carried a rescue inhaler which I would have to use several times a day. Exertion would make me wheeze and short of breath and need to use rescue inhaler. Outside, cold weather would cause wheezing and shortness of breath.
“I walked around in a fog most of the time just from the drugs.
“Now 7 months into Wheat Belly, I have not taken a SINGLE pill or prep for allergies in 5 months or more: no Nasocort, no Sudafed, no Benadryl, no Zyrtec–nothing! My breathing has improved so much. I have stopped needing the rescue inhaler and have only used a couple times a day and have not needed at all with exertion or out in cold. More recently, I have realized I was using it more from habit than need. In the last couple weeks, I have noticed that I only use it at bedtime and upon waking. And it has slowly dawned on me today that I didn’t need it even then. This morning I reached for it and thought ‘what am I doing?’ and put it down!”
Wow. Isn’t that quite a story? But experiences like Matthew’s show us how modern medicine so often views joint pains, acid reflux, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, depression and other common conditions as bad luck, bad genes, or “idiopathic”–without known cause. Yet they are, in their many myriad forms, nothing more than the outward manifestations of consuming these awful things called wheat and grains that humans are simply not equipped to consume.
need to find a doc in Knoxville, TN area that believes in Wheat Belly’ . Can anyone recommend? Been grain free for over a year & so happy with how my body has changed/healed but current doc not willing to listen about WB! Left discouraged.
Susie wrote: «…need to find a doc in Knoxville, TN area…»
If you don’t get a specific suggestion from anyone else here on the blog, you could try IFM’s finder:
https://www.functionalmedicine.org/practitioner_search.aspx?id=117
You’ll need to assume that anyone you find will not have heard of Wheat Belly. So you’ll need to develop some screening questions.
________
Blog Reply Associate (click my user name for details)
Once we REALLY gave up all the grains(as opposed to including some of the “gluten-free-junk”), we no longer felt like we were ” living to eat”, but only “eating to live”. A paradigm shift that allows you to accept a limited palate of foods, and no longer feel bored….
Another “brain shift” is to tell yourself ( and others offering up goodies) that you DON’T eat that, as opposed to CAN’T eat that. Say it (in your head and to the others) as if you were allergic to it….
Hi I would have to say going wheat free saved my life. For many years i would gain and lose weight and i felt addicted to food.When i dieted and lost weight it was a huge struggle but then at times it was no struggle at all. Now i know i was addicted to wheat. I quit eating wheat and all other grains and starches but quiting the wheat made eating sensibly no stuggle at all. I am type 2 diabetic and i can say wheat belly saved my life.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!!!!!!!!
roger wrote: «I am type 2 diabetic…»
Have you managed to get free of the meds?
See:
https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2015/10/to-reverse-diabetes-follow-the-no-change-rule/
________
Blog Reply Associate (click my user name for details)
no not yet but my blood sugar is perfect now( unlike before with no wild highs ) . my blood sugar was always to high and i was steadly had to increase meds. I hope as i lose weight i will be able to wean off the meds.
WOW! as in seriously wow!
I slipped off wheat belly when i went on my vacation and since then have been struggling to go back to it. When i had started wheat belly – i had gone off almost everything in the process of elimination n introduction of various food- I lost almost 10kgs in 2 months and felt great. But i feel this is purely becoz of the severe restriction of food – i was eating less! i dont think thats the right way to go though!
Now with the relapse to eating rice n having sugar in tea – i think I’ve gained a few kgs back n the pain in my right leg – heel, knee n upper thigh/hip(cant isolate that one) has begun again – this pain had actually almost disappeared when on wheat belly(except for the heel)
Now reading about Mathew – i am determined to go back on the diet more diligently! eliminate all grains!
Question i had was: can i eat nuts, almond flour, banana flour? – Coz the last time i had almond flour pan cakes i had an increase in appetite. But elimination also leads to limited food options. Red meat/beef somehow doesnt agree with my digestion process – so can i stick to chicken/fish n eggs?
Cheers!
ELizabeth wrote: «Now with the relapse to eating rice n having sugar in tea – i think I’ve gained a few kgs back n the pain in my right leg – heel, knee n upper thigh/hip(cant isolate that one) has begun again –»
The sugar and the carb content of the rice could explain the weight, and those plus the WGA in the rice could explain the pain. You can search on “wheat germ agglutinin” and “effects” for more on that. WGA is only so called because it was first isolated in wheat, but it’s in rice too (along with, all too often, disturbing amounts of arsenic).
«…can i eat nuts, almond flour, banana flour?»
Generally yes, yes, and no.
Any limits on nut consumption depends on the nuts. What did you have in mind?
Almonds are always fine.
Banana flour, including, alas, raw banana flour, is too high in available carbs.
«…last time i had almond flour pan cakes i had an increase in appetite.»
What recipe, and what, if anything, did you top it with, such as syrup?
«Red meat/beef somehow doesnt agree with my digestion process…»
Are you doing anything for gut health, such as daily prebiotic fiber?
«…so can i stick to chicken/fish n eggs?»
Sure. Red meat is by no means required.
________
Blog Reply Associate (click my user name for details)
Thanks Bob!
Nuts: I prefer almonds and walnuts and the occasional cashew(this one is limited)
Prebiotic: initially i used to follow the raw banana smoothie(with berries) and a probiotic capsule – I’ve stopped that though for more than 2 months now(thats how long the diet has been derailed too) – also i couldnt handle drinking that smoothie anymore – kinda got nauseous. SO instead i got raw banana flour- which i have occasionally!(but u say its no good coz of the high carb content, so will need to discontinue that and go back to raw banana smoothies
Almond flour pancakes was the wheat belly recipe given by Dr. D, it somehow made me hungrier, when i had it that one time! No syrup!
I get gaseous n bloated easily – though am not able to narrow down the food that causing it – currently it could be all the grains. But even during the WB diet i used to get gaseous
Will restart the diet on 1st Dec and be diligent to it. This blog is really helpful and Bob u are a gem!
Elizabeth wrote: «I prefer almonds and walnuts and the occasional cashew(this one is limited)»
Sound like you have a handle on it. The main concern with random nuts is excess carbs. The other challenge is finding them with minimal processing, no oils, no sugars, and no other adverse additives.
«Prebiotic: initially i used to follow the raw banana smoothie(with berries) and a probiotic capsule…»
Which probiotic and how long had you been taking it?
«…couldnt handle drinking that smoothie anymore – kinda got nauseous.»
There are many other sources of prebiotic fiber to consider:
https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2015/09/a-blueprint-to-fertilize-the-garden-called-bowel-flora/
«…raw banana flour- which i have occasionally!(but u say its no good coz of the high carb content…»
Dr. Davis had some tested, and a significant fraction of the formerly “resistant starch” had evidently been converted to available starch. One conjecture is that the mechanical processing that turns it into powder is heating it. It ought to be possible to process raw banana to powder without that side effect (such as using a freeze-dry step), so we’ll need to keep an eye on product developments.
My usual morning smoothie, by the way, includes a whole raw banana. The Ninja makes short work of it.
«I get gaseous n bloated easily…»
That suggests some sort of dysbiosis, which could explain the reaction to the raw banana. Dysbiosis can range from easily-fixed-with-diet to quite difficult. You might consider getting a ubiome sequencing run to see where you are with gut bacteria, and track changes. Ubiome is useful, but not [yet] a diagnostic tool. It only sequences bacteria (so candida, being a fungus, won’t even register), and what constitutes a healthy bacterial spectrum is not yet known.
________
Blog Reply Associate (click my user name for details)
WE talk how wheat can cause leaky gut, here is documentary on the same subject regarding alcohol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0JL3Q-lpVY
wrotek wrote: «…here is documentary on the same subject regarding alcohol…»
Thanks for the link, wrotek, but it’s about binge drinking, is a one hour show, by the van Tulleken twins (who seem to have a talent for confounding their informal experiments), and the audio … it appears to be either stereo or matrix surround, with the channels out of phase, and was largely incomprehensible to me, so I’m afraid I gave up on it.
________
Blog Reply Associate (click my user name for details)
In reading about people’s changes in their skin I can really relate. Rashes, rough patches and more. But now i’ve had two moles dry up and fall off. I’m sure it must be related.
Susan Fox wrote: «…i’ve had two moles dry up and fall off.»
Moles are not just one specific condition. Some things called moles are actually quite worrying, so having some vanish may be presumed to be a welcome development. The internet is awash in debate about whether diet has any role in the more benign forms of skin moles.
«I’m sure it must be related.»
It’s pretty clear from the anecdotes reported on the blog that this diet does wonders for skin.
I used to be highly susceptible to sunburn, and either avoided sun, or lathered up before exposure. A couple of years after switching to Wheat Belly, I stopped using sunscreens due to concerns about their chemistry. I was surprised to discover that my former propensity to sunburn had vanished.
So what do we suppose is afoot here? Is it the reduction in inflammatory foods? Is it the elevated intake of Omega 3 DHA&EPA? Is it attending to Vitamin D? Until we know, I’m happy to accept the result as is. Since sun exposure is the ideal way for people to get their Vitamin D, avoiding sunblock and seeking sun exposure is something everyone might consider.
________
Blog Reply Associate (click my user name for details)
The wheat demons certainly took aim at Matthew. He has made terrific progress, that’s for sure. Congratulations!
I know from personal experience that wheat elimination solved my skin issues, including a bad case of eczema.
My father always took pantoprazole (a proton-pump inhibitor) for his acid reflux. In addition, he often had a runny nose and bouts of sinusitis. I told him he could solve those problems by eliminating wheat, but I didn’t push it too hard. He loved his bread at every meal and was in his nineties, so as the doctor would say, “He’s earned the right to enjoy what he eats.”
My twin brother takes pantoprazole too, and still eats wheat-based cereals, bagels, pizza and pasta. I have certainly made him aware of some Wheat Belly success stories, and I will be forwarding Matthew’s testimonial to him as well.
Malcolm Achtman wrote: «My father always took pantoprazole (a proton-pump inhibitor) for his acid reflux.»
In addition to the serious side effects from long term use of that drug, most people first try (or alternatively use) OTC antacids, like Tums. As Matthew reported: “At one time, I consumed an entire 400 count bottle of Tums per week!”. That’s 200,000 mg (200 grams) of calcium carbonate (plus various other iffy ingredients) and is a dangerous amount of calcium (well beyond label limit).
The Wheat Belly recommendation for calcium supplementation is: zero
Get your Ca from food.
Supplemented Ca tends to end up places where it doesn’t belong, and not even in bones.
________
Blog Reply Associate (click my user name for details)
Over the last few years medicine’s view of circulating calcium has completely reversed, and rightly so. The only views left to correct are public perception and a small portion of recalcitrant doctors who believe that circulating calcium is a good thing.
The test for circulating calcium is a test for inflammatory processes, because calcium should be relegated to the tissues it belongs in. If a patient has elevated circulating calcium it means that these tissues are wrongly giving up their calcium. Taking calcium supplements does not replace tissue calcium. A healthy body replaces tissue calcium.
Uncle Roscoe wrote: «Over the last few years medicine’s view of circulating calcium has completely reversed…»
Osteoporosis is unfortunately a widespread problem. Consensus approaches to it, alas, remind me of early treatment of diabetes – the patient is dumping sugar in the urine, therefore we need to increase the consumption of sugar. Urk.
Food intake of Ca in suitable forms may still be deficient in many people. It is possible that a specific Ca compound (hydroxyapatite) might become indicated when more is known:
https://www.cureality.com/forum/topics.aspx?ID=18092
________
Blog Reply Associate (click my user name for details)