William Davis, MD, is a preventive cardiologist whose unique approach to diet allows him to advocate reversal, not just prevention, of heart disease.
He is the founder of the 
For everyone who asked for a simplified, essentials-only version of the diet I advocate in Wheat Belly, here it is.
This is the very same diet I advise for patients in my office that achieves spectacular reductions in small LDL particles (the #1 cause of heart disease in the U.S), as well as unraveling diabetic/pre-diabetic tendencies. The diet starts with the biggest step: elimination of wheat. But a healthy diet cannot end there, else you and I could eat no wheat but fill our calories with soft drinks and jelly beans. So the next step is to limit carbohydrates if your goal is to lose more weight and correct metabolic distortions like high blood sugar and small LDL particles.
Eliminate:
All wheat-based products (all breads, all breakfast cereals, noodles, pasta, bagels, muffins, pancakes, waffles, donuts, pretzels, crackers), oat products (oatmeal, oat bran), cornstarch-based products (sauces or gravies thickened with cornstarch, prepared or processed foods containing cornstarch, cornmeal products like chips, tacos, tortillas), sugary soft drinks, candies
Enjoy unlimited:
Vegetables-except potatoes; fresh or frozen, never canned
Raw nuts and seeds-raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, cashews; dry-roasted peanuts (not roasted in oil); pumpkin and sunflower seeds
Healthy oils (unheated)-olive, flaxseed, coconut, avocado, walnut
Meats-red meats, pork, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs. (Consider free-range, grass-fed and/or organic sources.)
Non-wheat grains-ground flaxseed, chia seeds
Teas, coffee, water, unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk or coconut water
Cheeses—real cultured cheeses only (not Velveeta or single-slice processed cheese)
Avocado or guacamole; hummus; unsweetened condiments, e.g., mayonnaise, mustard, oil-based salad dressings; ketchup without high-fructose corn syrup; pesto, tapenades; olives
Limited:
Fruit-No more than 2 servings a day (one serving is a level handful), preferably in this order (best first): berries of all varieties, citrus, apples, nectarines, peaches, melons. Minimize bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and grapes
Fruit juices-only real juices and in minimal quantities (no more than 2-4 oz)
Dairy products-No more than 1 serving per day of milk, cottage cheese or yogurt, unsweetened (Fat content does not matter.)
Legumes/beans; peas; sweet potatoes and yams; rice (white and brown); soy
Dark chocolates-70-85% cocoa or greater; no more than 40 grams (approximately 2 inches square) per day
Sugar-free foods-preferably stevia-containing, rather than aspartame
Never:
Fried foods
Fast foods
Hydrogenated “trans” fats
Cured meats-hot dogs, sausages, bacon, bologna, pepperoni
High-fructose corn syrup containing foods; honey; agave syrup; sucrose
Processed rice, rice flour or potato products-rice crackers, rice cereals, pretzels, white breads, breakfast cereals, potato chips
Fat-free or low-fat salad dressings
”Gluten-free” foods
Quick tips:
For healthy breakfast choices, consider ground flaxseed as a hot cereal (e.g., with soy milk, milk, or unsweetened almond milk; blueberries, strawberries, etc.). Also consider eggs; raw nuts; cheese; consider having “dinner for breakfast,” meaning transferring salads, cheese, chicken, and other “dinner” foods to breakfast.
Add 1 tsp or more of taste-compatible healthy oil to every meal. For example, mix in 1 tbsp flaxseed oil to ground flaxseed hot cereal. Or add 2 tbsp olive oil to eggs after scrambling. Adding oils will blunt appetite.
If you suspect you have a wheat “addiction,” use the first week to add healthy oils to every meal and reduce the amount of wheat by half. In the second week, aim for elimination of wheat while maintaining the oils.
Reach for raw nuts first as a convenient snack.
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Does anyone know of a wheat belly approved brand of mayonnaise?
I just saw that the one in my fridge (hellmanns) contains sugar and primary ingredient is soybean oil
I was just curious about the carb count in eating nuts. I noticed that cashews have a high carb count but in your list it says unlimited. If I am watching my carbs between 20-50g per day, does that mean I shouldn’t have the nuts? Thank you!
Fell off the wagon a few months ago but trying again. I had very modest weight loss with the plan while on it but rediscovered the “joys” of sugar and pizza during the gray winter and gained it all back. However, my other major concern is eliminating inflammation because of joint pain. I have read several places on-line that other than parmesan and romano, cheese is an inflammation-causing food. Is it? I’ve been eating a lot of cheese and it seems my joint pain is worse. Also, is other dairy an inflammation food? I love Greek yogurt and rely on it for dessert with berries. I read the book but lent it out and can’t refer to it right now so not sure why dairy is limited. Thanks for any help.
I was literally baptized by fire yesterday. Served on an election of mail-in ballots only. Sequestered from 8AM though 11:PM….they always provide food. Forgot to take along my emergency supply of boiled eggs, a small container of cottage cheese with a baggie of veggies. For breakfast they had donuts, lunch was pizza, and dinner was deli sandwiches. Didn’t eat anything in the morning but by lunch I needed something. Ate a slice of pizza, and peeled off as much of the bread as possible at dinner (simply eating the deli turkey and veggies). By 6PM my stomach looked like I was ready to deliver Rosemary’s baby. Hard and sick to boot. Hard to believe as little as I ate it had that effect so quickly. But it did! In the room was an older gentleman that just last Fall had triple bypass surgery with stents. Only three weeks ago had a pacemaker installed. He had several servings of the donuts, more than two of the pizza washed down with cola, injested every single bite of the deli fare with the chips and more cola. The guy has 30 pounds or more to lose but nibbled on candy every chance he got. Worry that I’ll not see him there next election.
Today I had lunch out with a friend. A huge green salad with veggies and a small prime rib. I feel like this will take more than a couple of days to get back on the road to health but I’ll never forget to pack those hard boiled eggs again!
I would take your reaction serious, Neicee, and recognize that this thing has some awful effects on your gastrointestinal tract and thereby overall health.
Thank you Dr. Davis for your candor. Since going grains/carb free I’ve been able to tolerate a small amount every day. Occasionally a flare up of intense discomfort, like in the old days of IBS/gluten intolerance. Love them, especially almonds. Perhaps down the road?
Dr. Davis,
Do you know anything about he Metagenics products? I’m using the Metagenic shakes along with WB because my husband’s nutritionist recommends it for him and I want to be supportive of his efforts. The practitioner claims that these products heal the body at the cellular level which sounds good to me.
However, my concern with the product is that each shake portion (two shakes per day) contains 15g of non-genetically engineered soy protein isolate and 24 g of carbs which, as I understand from the website are from pea, rice, and potato flour. My husband has had great success but I have not and am wondering if this product is sabotaging my WB efforts. Please help if you can. Thank you.
Just gazing at the “UltraMeal® Plus 360″, it’s way too low in fat, contains fructose, is too high in carbs (mostly sugars, probably mostly fructose), contains 4 ingredients that are either soy or soy-derived, and contains inulin (which is going to give you either more fructose, or gas). Any one of these would cause me to avoid the product.
All together, I’d guess they could easily sabotage an otherwise WB-friendly diet, plus contribute soy’s own issues.
Yet another nutritional product line from people who are either misinformed, or are chasing bucks with trendy buzzwords. A “Gluten Free” claim, more often than not (and in this case), means “we don’t really get it, but we’re hoping you think we do”.
Thanks very much for taking the time to help me Boundless. I was suspect of the product but unwilling to discount an “authority figure.” Another example of my wobbly spine when it comes to this: Just had dinner with my family and my sibling who is an MD (endocrinologist and very overweight) went ballistic when I said that I’m following a low-carb, high fat (including sat fat) plan. He said it’s medically irresponsible and obscene for anyone to put forward anything like the Atkins plan, etc., etc.. Dismissed the info in the 4/2010 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine because he feels it’s an inferior publication–I should read reports in Lancet instead. Makes me question my resolve, makes me fearful. I guess the only way to educate is to send the book with a request to read it and then discuss my lab numbers after a few months. Not that that will change his mind. Sigh…Uphill climb.
I apologize for venting. Thanks again for your response.
MMK
> … who is an MD (endocrinologist and very overweight) …
Either one (endocrinologist or overweight) qualifies the MD as unqualified to opine on diet.
Taken together, you would be generally be advised to do exactly the opposite of whatever the good doctor recommends.
_____
Same is true of stock market advice from me
Yes, it will indeed sabotage his diet efforts, since the carbohydrates are too high.
I’m also a big fan of eating real food and only using replacements as the occasional, well, replacement.
Again, thank you, Boundless, for taking the time to time to reply to me. And thank you, Dr. Davis, for your comment and for your book and this fabulous blog. I am very grateful for all the comments, questions, insight, and inspiration I have gained from reading here.
You’re right, Boundless, as my brother was blasting me for my dietrary choices, I couldn’t help noticing his Wheat Belly hanging over his belt. I love him as a brother but thihnk I”ll place my faith regarding my health with Dr. Davis.
I’m totally furious with myself for overlooking the potato and rice starch in the supplement! And I suppose the rice protein is bad, too. I saw “gluten free” and didn’t do due diligence on the label reading. And the fructose! (Thank you Dr. Davis for your clear and excelleny explanation of fructose in this blog. I do look forward to my big, crunchy, organic Fuji apple every night. Hope I don’t have to give that up. Maybe better with cheese or nuts?) Seven weeks on this stuff when I could have been happily eating the Wheat Belly way. And the money wasted! Agggh!
The first time I read Wheat Belly I sort of slid over the science and focused on the success stories and the recipes. I’m going to reread it. The saying is that you can’t teach an old dog (I’m 63) new tricks but maybe this old dog will at least learn to read labels and commit to learning the science.
Again, thank you with all my heart.
Mary
This is so interesting! I am a vegetarian and for too long I have been relying on wheat and other carbohydrates for energy. I’ve probably never gotten enough protein. On my first day of cutting wheat and all bread from my diet, I can’t believe how full I am, relying on healthier high-protein foods, fruits, and vegetables!
Thank you Dr. Davis for a fresh approach … and for showing us that fruits and vegetables DO have a place in a healthy diet free of bread-based carbs.
What about protein shakes?? Are those good for us if we are going wheat and gluten free???? HELP- I need to know.
Yes, just be careful of any additives. The protein themselves are okay.
All types of protein are OK? Soy, rice?
Mary