Debbie posted this wonderful heartfelt letter on the Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox Challenge private Facebook page. It was such a poignant expression of what many go through in our divorce from wheat and grains that I asked her whether I could share it with everyone on the main Wheat Belly Facebook page and the Wheat Belly Blog.
So I was thinking today about how much this is like being in a bad relationship…breaking up…getting back together….breaking up. I decided to officially break up with grain and writing to help myself over the grieving part.
Dear Grain,
You and I have been together my whole life. We grew up together and shared so many memorable moments, ones that I will never forget. Like that time when we were at Nana’s and she made her homemade pasta and sauce, served with Italian bread. Oh, and her apple pie with the crumb topping was always my favorite. Remember those movies we went to and all that popcorn and Sour Patch Kids eaten while watching them? Wow, I feel emotional just talking about those truly great times with you.
But Grain, I’ve changed. I want more out of my life than you can ever give me. I want to feel good and happy and healthy again and I want to be with someone who doesn’t raise me up, only to drop me when I am just feeling good. Grain, you’ve changed too. You seemed more wholesome and pure in our early years together. It seemed like, no matter how much time we spent together, I couldn’t get enough of you. You made me feel good! But you changed into someone I hardly recognize. You don’t make me happy anymore, and to be honest, whenever we spend time together, I feel sick afterwards. I’m sorry to say it like that, but it’s true. You are actually bringing me down and I never thought that it would come to this but I am breaking up with you.
I know, I know, you’ve heard this before, and it lasts for a while but then I see you somewhere, and I feel those pangs in my stomach again. I get weak, and I break down and go back to you, because I remember the good times and think that it can be like that again . . . but it’s not. As soon as I let you back into my life, I feel sick and unhappy and I just hate who I see when I look in the mirror. No, Grain, I am much better off without you and I truly know that now.
Please, don’t wait for me to change my mind. It is already too late for me to turn back. And don’t think that if I run into you here and there that I won’t remember all the good times we had together. But, that was the past and I have a bright future ahead of me . . . without you.
You will always stay in my memories but you will never be in my life again.
Loved you once, but it’s over.
Debbie
Help. I’ve eliminate wheat from my former moderately wheat-ful diet only to have more digestion issues and no weight loss. I was really looking forward to that flat belly! It’s been two weeks. Probiotics are being shipped. Hoping things all balance out. I expected my belly to feel better than ever but it’s not happening. Any suggestions?
Have you made sure that the “gluten-free” items that you may have substituted for wheat are not loaded with potato, rice, corn, or tapioca starches? These are worse than the wheat they replace and responsible for higher rises in blood sugar levels.
lindsey wrote: «I’ve eliminate wheat from my former moderately wheat-ful diet…»
What else are you doing, and based on what information (book, web site, etc.)?
In addition to Rob’s remarks, have you added any prebiotic fiber to the diet? The probiotics will be more helpful if you provide them the substrate they need to thrive.
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This is brilliant! So, what would grain be saying (as it is to everyone) to try and win you back?
Best,
CA
I know now that merely substituting wheat with “gluten free” foods can be disastrous, since most of these substitutes are often loaded with potato, rice, corn, or tapioca starches, which are worse than the wheat they are replacing! My question to Dr. Davis is: Which is worse – a pie shell made from wheat or one that has just ONE of the starches to replace the wheat?
Rob Neufeld, Ph.D. wrote: «Which is worse – a pie shell made from wheat or one that has just ONE of the starches to replace the wheat?»
In general, you are going to be at lower all-cause risk with a crust made from any alternative starch, even if the blood sugar provocation is somewhat higher than the wheat. Wheat has a long rap sheet that other starches lack, beyond carbohydrate exposure. Some of the effects are harsh and linger for days if not weeks. However…
A few alternative starches (the grains) have more problems than net carbs. Corn (zein protein, Bt genetics), rice (WGA, As contamination) and oats (avenin protein) present various problems in addition to carbs and are worth avoiding.
With most non-gluten starches, though, it comes down to net carbs per serving. If a pie slice on a quinoa crust doesn’t cause the meal to exceed the net carb budget, it might be OK. But most of them are not substantially less glycemic than making the crust out of sugars. They are very likely to result in postprandial blood glucose rise, if not a spike.
Crust recipes in the Wheat Belly cook books, almond-based for example, require no net carb calculation at all, and won’t budge the BG.
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Mr. Nolan,
Thanks for your feedback, and I know that an almond flour would be ideal, but I was thinking of more generally available wheat substitute products that merely didn’t have added starches, if such products even exist!
Sorry, I meant Mr. Niland!
Rob Neufeld, Ph.D. wrote: «…was thinking of more generally available wheat substitute products that merely didn’t have added starches, if such products even exist!»
Other than say, Wheat Free Market Foods baking mix:
http://shop.wheatfreemarket.com/Wheat-Belly-All-Purpose-Baking-Mix-BM-APBM.htm
I don’t know of any products that are grain-free, low net-carb and free of other troubling ingredients.
Most of the formulators in the wider gluten-free market segment appear to be nutritionally clueless; or know exactly what they are doing, and hope their customers are.
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Well said, and I’m sure that the profit motive is way more important to the food industry than honesty and conscientiousness about health concerns of customers.
Rob Neufeld, Ph.D. wrote: «…I’m sure that the profit motive is way more important to the food industry than…»
I was probably a bit harsh. I imagine that in most cases they think they are merely responding to GF market demand, meeting regulatory standards, and are totally unaware of any wider context. Many, however, are surely just pandering to what they think is a profitable fad.
And it is a fact that any product has to sell for more than the product costs to make, and sell enough to cover the overhead, or it won’t be on the market long. Decent products are making it to market, just not as fast as we might like.
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This line “I want to be with someone who doesn’t raise me up, only to drop me when I am just feeling good” is a great allegory of the blood sugar surges and drops that cause mood swings, food cravings and other unpleasant symptoms. Thank you.
There are people out there who have not received the “Wheat Belly” message. They read the literature and then come out with an article praising grains as “aren’t just healthy-they’re tasty”. I wish these people did their own thorough research instead of relying 100% on the literature and then disseminating bad advice.
One scientist told me that for every article published in the journals there are equal number or even more articles to dispute the claim made in the published article. Unfortunately, the articles disputing the claims are never published though at times we will see retractions some of them without explanation.
Marygrace Taylor wrote an article for the Parade magazine, which is published by the North Jersey Media Group and delivered with The Record newspaper every Sunday. The title of the article caught my attention and I wanted to scream. The title: EAT THE GRAINBOW. This was followed by: Prevent Diabetes and other chronic conditions by expanding your whole grain horizons. These new additions to your repertoire aren’t just healthy-they’re tasty.
At the bottom right corner of the page, it said: Pull Out and Save! Now people will stick the article on their Refrigerators for future reference. The article went further and advised people to “Go Grain Shopping”. It pictured five products- three cereals, one tortilla Dipping shells and one pilaf- and included the words “Seeds of Change, Organic Promised Sprouted Grains, Super Grains and Ancient Grains”. Then at the end of the article, it included the following message: Visit Parade.com/grainbow to learn how to sneak more whole grains into your diet.
I will forward to Ms. Taylor, the link to the open letter that Dr. Davis wrote to Oprah Winfrey. Perhaps, Ms. Taylor will read the Wheat Belly message and hopefully she will retract her article.
Dr. Davis ( or anyone else): Can you please provide the name of a Milwaukee area Naturopath who would be especially good diagnosing sub-clinical hypothyroidism. Thanks, Steve
Steve Chybow wrote: «…name of a Milwaukee area Naturopath…»
I would suggest seeking a Functional Medicine practitioner first.
The Institute for Functional Medicine has a finder feature on their website:
https://www.functionalmedicine.org/practitioner_search.aspx?id=117
If you have a local compounding pharmacy, they may have tips on which local doctors might be worth a look.
If you know anyone seeing a chiropractor, or other healthcare provide who cannot write prescriptions, they’ll usually have a relationship with one or more open-minded local MDs.
None of this is any assurance that the dissident doctor you locate will have any awareness of Wheat Belly, or if they do, that their approach will be fully consistent with it. So it’s worthwhile to have some screening questions, one of which might be:
“I’m looking for a provider who is supportive of clients doing self-directed healthcare. Would that describe your practice?”
There appear to be multiple finders for naturopaths. Search on “naturopath” and “finder”.
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Priceless….thank you.