Don’t be fooled by the marketing.
Just because it’s on the shelf at Whole Foods Market doesn’t mean it’s good for you! – Tweet this.
I would like to begin by clearly stating that people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity need to meticulously avoid all gluten sources, but they do not need gluten-free junk carbohydrate ingredients in their place. This is the sort of self-destructive thinking encouraged by the gluten-free food industry. This industry makes billions by filling grocery stores with overpriced junk carbohydrates.
Don’t replace one problem with another. Removing gluten but replacing it with excessive carbohydrate intake is causing diabetes, dementia, high blood pressure, obesity (need I go on?) to soar.
In Wheat Belly Total Health, I discussed the need to avoid gluten-free foods made with “junk carb” ingredients like cornstarch, potato flour, tapioca starch, and rice flour. This bears repeating, because so many people continue to hear the Wheat Belly message as a “gluten-free” message.
The Wheat Belly lifestyle means living a healthy grain-free life, not just going gluten-free. – Tweet this!
The majority of gluten-free foods sold in stores pack on the pounds and impair your ability to lose weight. Just because they lack gluten does not make them healthy.
CORN STARCH, RICE FLOUR, TAPIOCA STARCH, OR POTATO FLOUR. These are the four ingredients most commonly used in gluten-free processed foods. They are awful for health and will completely shut down any hope of weight loss, often resulting in outright, sometimes outrageous, weight gain, inflammation.
Managing carbohydrates to improve control over metabolism and health means 100 percent avoidance of these terrible products marketed to an unsuspecting public believing they are eating healthy by avoiding gluten. Nothing raises blood sugar higher than the gluten-free junk carbohydrates in gluten-free multigrain bread, crackers or gluten-free pasta — higher than even table sugar. Blood sugar that results from eating two slices of whole grain gluten-free bread made with potato flour, rice flour, or other unhealthy grains like millet can easily top 180 mg/ dL (in those without diabetes) over the first hour after consumption, regardless of the mayonnaise, meat, cheese, or other foods in the sandwich.
There are indeed some food producers who have developed gluten-free and grain-free products without junk carb ingredients that do not raise blood sugar and therefore are safe. However, they remain few and far between.
This is why I promote Wheat-Free Market products to my community.
Yours in grainless health,
Dr. William Davis
I have been wheat and grain free for 3 and a half weeks following the 10 day detox. My diet before was high in wheat in the form of bread. I had a lot of loose bowel movements during the first week of the detox which has largely abated now. However I suffer dreadfully with a bloated uncomfortable stomach after eating, starting about half hour after my morning shake and getting worse with subsequent meals. I never had this problem before. Should I cease the detox shakes and just take probiotics for a while?
Letitia Rosenthal wrote: «…I suffer dreadfully with a bloated uncomfortable stomach after eating, starting about half hour after my morning shake and getting worse with subsequent meals.»
Has the bloating been present since you started, or has it arisen over time? And I presume you are following Wheat Belly net carb guidelines, as excess carbs (esp. sugars) could cause bloating.
This could be temporary, or it could be persistent, and what to do to fix it depends on what the underlying problem is.
«Should I cease the detox shakes and just take probiotics for a while?»
Just leave out the prebiotic fiber ingredients, and see what happens over several days. Report back.
If the symptoms abate, one approach would be to re-start the fiber at a reduced level and increase more gradually.
If the symptoms don’t abate even with complete fiber removal, that suggests some other issue (such as impaired fat digestion, but the list of possible sources of bloating is fairly long).
The general cliché about intestinal issues in response to prebiotic fiber is that it’s not about the fiber – it’s about your garden of gut flora. But we don’t know yet if it’s even correlated to the fiber in your case.
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Thank you Bob Niland for replying. The bloating issue is new since commencing Wheat Belly lifestyle. My consumed net carbs would be excessive in the form of roasted sweet potato and pumpkin…. my excuse is that I’ve not yet been able to source a net carb counter. However even without a counter I know I’d been heavy handed in that department. I omitted my detox shake (and hence the prebiotic fibres) one day and felt a little less uncomfortable. I will cut right back on carby veg and maybe have the prebiotic fibres every second day and see how I go. Thanks.
Letitia Rosenthal wrote: «…my excuse is that I’ve not yet been able to source a net carb counter.»
There are any number of free resources on the web. I usually start with nutritiondata dot self dot com.
But the real bottom line is the blood glucose effect. If you’re going to invest in a tool, a glucometer might be the best bet (because the nutritiondata is not 100% accurate and is well less than 100% comprehensive). See: https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2014/10/blood-sugar-tool-fingertips/
«I will cut right back on carby veg and maybe have the prebiotic fibres every second day and see how I go.»
Don’t change too much at once, or you won’t know what did what. Anyway, if dialing back the carbs and the prebiotics reduces the symptoms, you can challenge by adding back just the prebiotic fiber.
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Thank you Bob I will report back after a week.
I have Laryngopharyngeal reflux, and have been following the Acid Reflux Diet written by Jamie Koufman, M.D. I have seen a lot of relief, however, the diet is so limiting and boring!! I am seeing paralells to the Wheat Belly Diet with the exception of some foods like onions, garlic, etc. I would like to hear from you as to whether this diet is acceptable for someone like me, or if there would need to be modifications in place. I’m also allergic to casien and chocolate. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
mary struble wrote: «I have Laryngopharyngeal reflux,…»
The Wheat Belly Total Health (WBTH) book has quite a bit of coverage on acid reflux generally, although not on LR specifically. Relief is commonly reported by people following the WB lifestyle. If you type “acid reflux” into the blog Search feature, you’ll find it mentioned in over 130 articles.
WBTH also has pages on things to consider if relief isn’t prompt (print pages 202-205, covering topics of chronic dysbiosis, hypochlordria, delayed CCK recovery, focused food intolerance testing and focused avoidance of intestinal antagonists). This blog article is a useful summary: https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2014/04/gastrointestinal-recovery-after-the-wheat-battle-is-won/
I note on the Wiki page about LR: “It can be a relevant comorbidity of asthma”, which if also present, is another condition for which WB often provides relief.
«…Acid Reflux Diet written by Jamie Koufman, M.D.»
The ARD was new to me, and to my recollection that diet has not been discussed on the blog previously. Just checking the Index on the Amazon Look-Inside feature for the ARD book, my impression is that the focus on pepsin has some validity, but my suspicion is that the emphasis on food pH is an incomplete solution. I was encouraged to note that antacids are discouraged, as well as PPIs. The more I learn about acid reflux meds, the more I think they provide only modest control of symptoms, but make complete recovery impossible.
What I didn’t see in the ARD Index was any awareness of the role of grains (esp. wheat) in acid reflux, nor macronutrient issues (the high-carb nature of standard diets), and most surprisingly, no Index entries for microbiome, gut flora, probiotics or prebiotics. I see a recipe for a rice dish. Rice contains WGA (wheat germ agglutinin), a direct bowel toxin, and something that strikes me as especially ill-advised for anyone with intestinal problems.
The ARD Look-Inside does show me the Red/Bar Green/Good page, and I can tell you that it’s largely inconsistent with Wheat Belly, starting right off with the so-called agave nectar.
«…I would like to hear from you as to whether this diet is acceptable for someone like me, or if there would need to be modifications in place.»
If by “this diet” you mean Wheat Belly, reported results suggest that there is nothing to lose by trying it, particularly if ARD is not working for you, or presents a compliance issue. The only adjustments that might be necessary are on the WBTH pages mentioned earlier.
«I’m also allergic to casien and chocolate.»
All casein, or just the beta casein A1 of North American bovine dairy?
It’s rather looking as if most allergies are the result of chronic exposure to food fragments, molecules and toxins that should never cross the intestinal epithelium, but commonly do, due to leaky gut triggered by wheat gliadin and similar grain proteins and lectins. It is not uncommon for people following Wheat Belly to report that former food allergies remiss once the gut wall is closed and healed. Auto-immune problems can also begin to recede.
Eliminating food-like substances that open the gut tight junctions is only part of a total solution, however. There is commonly also a dysbiosis afoot (an unfavorable population of gut microbes), which likely plays a direct role in reflux phenomena. The WB Total Health approach also addresses that by recommending a course of high potency probiotic, and a gradual work-up to routine consumption of daily prebiotic fiber to maintain a favorable population.
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I found a wrap recipe that uses arrowroot. Is arrowroot acceptable in the grain free lifestyle?
Shelly wrote: «Is arrowroot acceptable in the grain free lifestyle?»
It’s strictly a matter of how much ends up in a portion. Arrowroot is typically 85% net carb, so more than a few grams per portion is going to be provocative to blood glucose.
If you’re using it as a thickener, there are alternatives:
https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2015/07/wheat-belly-safe-thickeners/
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My mother always mentions that I should get something gluten free when we pass by a supply of it (gluten-free bakery, gluten free grocery aisle, etc). She knows I can’t eat wheat and she offers me gluten free sandwiches when I see her. She doesn’t seem to get it. I can’t eat with my folks because of their extreme reaction to me salting my foods and putting butter on it (while they’re using margarine on sandwiches, vegetables, etc thinking it’s heart healthy). My father’s the most stubborn in his old age you’ll meet; telling me that his doctor said never to add salt to anything and that butter causes heart disease. He buys into the notion of “eat less, move more” that’s failed so many. He generally eats healthy and is in good shape (inherited great genes it seems as well) though he’s been more forgetful and less mentally sharp the past couple of years.
Maybe he’ll come around some day, though it seems many other people take their eating habits for granted as well