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 
Amy posted this story:
I am writing to let you know that I owe you my life. I read your book, quit wheat, and felt a noticeable improvement after just three weeks.
I have suffered from autonomic dysfunction, POTS [Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome], IBS [Irritable Bowel Syndrome], migraine, fibromyalgia, obesity, high triglyerides, PCOS [Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome], and even ovarian cancer.
I went to an allergist asking for a wheat blood test, as my primary care doctor”s suggestion to curing my diarrhea was to “Take more fiber – here are some Citrucel samples.” I just got the call back that my IgA results were indicative of celiac (even three weeks after wheat suspension.)
I have so many mixed emotions right now . . . Firstly, relief that I finally know what’s wrong with me. Secondly, overwhelming gratitude for your work. Thirdly, rage that none of the 6 doctors I have seen over the past 5 years have EVER suggested celiac even though all the clinical indicators were there. Fourthly, tremendous sadness at the “what ifs . . . ” over my father. He died in 2009 of complications of heart disease, autoimmune diseases (polymyositis, inclusive body myositis), diabetes, lactose intolerance . . . ) – WHAT IF he knew he had celiac. WHAT IF we could have saved him??????
Thank you ——— I now want to shift my life”s work to helping others.
In one respect, Amy is lucky: She was able to obtain a diagnosis via an appropriate antibody test (likely a transglutaminase IgA antibody). Most of us with various forms of wheat intolerance will NOT have a positive antibody test pointing at wheat, but can still have life-threatening wheat intolerances, complete health turnarounds with wheat elimination, no less than the transformation Amy experienced.
Nonetheless, for every one person like Amy who is diagnosed with celiac disease, there are nine more don’t know they have it but suffer with various misdiagnoses, suffer silently, or end up with a non-celiac form of the disease, such as cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuopathy, type 1 diabetes, or gastrointestinal cancer in some form.
Note: Amy’s polycystic ovarian syndrome and ovarian cancer cannot be directly blamed on wheat consumption, but wheat does make the phenomenon, such as insulin resistance, surrounding polycystic ovaries worse.
“Firstly, relief that I finally know what’s wrong with me. Secondly, overwhelming gratitude for your work. Thirdly, rage that none of the 6 doctors I have seen over the past 5 years have EVER suggested celiac even though all the clinical indicators were there.”
Yep. Only in my case, it was TWENTY SEVEN years of doctor visits and asking why I was so damn tired all the time. And the dandruff, and the allergies, and finally, the loss of my ability to play the guitar because of joint pain in my left thumb. And there”s more, but you get the point. It”s really, really hard not to feel bitter about lost opportunities, but I have been trying (mostly successfully) to focus on the good part – that at least, now I have an answer and best of all, I feel better. I don”t actually have celiac disease, I”m one of the nine more Dr. Davis mentioned; and now I”m a believer, too.
So good for you, Amy. Try to think on the good side even though at times it”s not the most natural thing to do. Your glass is now more than half full, if I can use the cliché.
are 100% rye bread or Wasa crackers okay when avoiding wheat-or is part of the same family as wheat?
thanks.
Yes…wheat.
It”s nearly wheat, Ri.
There”s enough of an overlap to avoid, I believe.
Read over at http://www.celiac.com that endometriosis is an autoimmune disorder and the elimination of wheat and grains is effective in controlling it. Most doctors are still telling you that ”healthy whole grains” help the condition. Interestingly enough, there is a video out there on YouTube where an Iowa farmer fed his pigs GMO corn and they all became sterile or delivered deformed piglets. He claimed the GMO corn had estrogen mimicking compounds? Now there are reports of a ”virus” in Great Britain where hundreds or thousands of sheep are delivering deformed lambs they”re having to put down at birth. I believe they have messed with our wheat and grains to the point you simply cannot trust any of them. God help us.
More and more of these sorts of reports are surfacing, Neicee, and they are quite worrisome.
But the lessons are becoming clearer: Agribusiness has been pushing their genetically-modified crops, crops like wheat with changes that pre-date genetic modification, and the herbicides that accompany them, and we are witnessing some of the most incredible unanticipated consequences.
Dr. Davis!
I work for a family and as I was just sorting their mail I was stunned to see a large promo booklet entitled – MD weight loss breakthroughs- Do You Have a Wheat Belly? ”
It looks like a great marketing tool, I have been telling them about Wheat Belly. Its very slick and attractive, I wish I had a hundred of them!
Inside it advertises another book though-
“Lose The Wheat Lose The Weight”
With a different cover. Is that a new book or Wheat Belly repackaged?
Hi, Nancy–
No, it”s the Wheat Belly book with a different title and cover. The Rodale people (my publisher) wanted to do it this way. I do believe, however, they offer some additional literature with it, much of which I wrote personally.
When you write a book, to some degree you”ve got to follow the lead of the publisher.
My husband was just saying yesterday that he thought the title ”Wheat Belly” was unfortunate in that it might have such a narrow range of appeal. When I asked him to explain he said he felt concerned that it might only catch the attention of people who have a weight problem (belly). I thought it was a good point since the book”s subject matter covers such a wide range of health issues. The new title still seems to lump it in with other fad diet books rather than give an indication of the myriad ways in which our health may be improved upon the elimination of wheat from our diet. The Wheat Health Conundrum?…no, never use a word in a title the meaning of which may be unknown to a large segment of the target demographic. (That”s what I was told by a consultant when I wanted to name my corporation ”Comestibles”.)
The No Wheat Road to Better Health?…not bad. Eat Wheat, Die Young?…well America does enjoy having its dose of scare tactics served up every evening with the 6:00 news. Wheat and Its Negative Impact Effect on the Human Body?…too dry.
I went through the same sequence of thinking, Grace.
While imperfect, I thought “Wheat Belly” best encapsulated many of the arguments in a snappy, effective way. It also catches people”s attentions.
Exactly what I thought. Well, it”s a good looking booklet- if I didn”t already have Wheat Belly I would bite
I would wager that may appeal to some with the weight loss angle. For those of us who give the book out to spread the word it may open conversations from people”s desire to lose weight! Whatever it takes to get them off wheat.
Thanks for answering my question
It”s me again. Just wanted to say thanks for your support. I made an appointment with a GI doc per my Immunologist”s referral, and I”m sure she will want to do a biopsy or gluten challenge to confirm celiac. I don”t know that I”m up for that. I know what I know, and the IgA is all the confirmation I need. For fun I went back and reviewed my medical records. In 2006 I complained of fresh blood in my stool. Concerns were dismissed because my iron levels were normal. In 2010, my iron saturation was down to 19%. My C-Reactive Protein was .976, nearly double the upper limit of the normal range for this lab. No followup was done on that marker. I was tested for Lupus. Negative. Oh, hindsight, why are you so perfect…..
I”m with you on this one, Amy.
With a positive antibody test, I see no value in an invasive biopsy. The solution is easy either way: No more wheat, no more gluten.
Hindsight is so very perfect, isn”t it Amy? I, too, play the What If Game in my head on occassion. (Okay, more than “on occassion”.) What if . . . my Mom. What if . . . my Dad. What if . . . my husand. Oh, if I only knew then what I know now.
I must also say that I”m becoming increasingly grateful to Dr. Davis as well. My improvements in regards to my Psoriatic Arthritis may have not been as dramatic as having noticed clear improvement after three weeks (in my case, I”m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel after 4 1/2 weeks) but at the beginning of each week I can answer in the affirmative that I feel better than the previous.
Another side benefit: I have much less insomnia. Considering that I work shift work (at a desk job for a European company from a North American office), sleeping during the day is one of the hardest things to do. But I”m easily able to get myself to fall asleep even under those circumstances now.
Another thing I noticed, fruits and vegetables actually TASTE BETTER. I went to see a movie at a friend”s house and I brought myself a small bag of (plain) potato chips and a small fruit tray. I found myself enjoying the pieces of fruit more than the potato chips themselves.
I have another “comfort food” recipe: lettuce taco wraps.
-Cook ground beef with spices
-grated cheese
-sour cream
-diced tomatoes
-iceberg lettuce leaves.
-Frank”s red hot sauce
Take a leaf of lettuce, place some grated cheese and ground beef inside. Top with diced tomatoes, sour cream, and hot sauce. Wrap lettuce around and enjoy.
While taco shells made of corn are technically wheat-free, I found that they caused similar problems as they did with wheat. This alternative is just as satisfying to the palate as a regular taco or burrito, but without the grains.
We do the same hitfan. Only we use romaine leaves. I love turkey and cheese with a slosh of horseradish mustard …
I love the taco idea! So true about corn, we react badly to it. Its ALL GMO.
Shell-less tacos are great! In fact, I wrap almost anything in lettuce. If it tastes better with lettuce on a sandwich, it”s awesome wrapped in lettuce. Tacos, BLT”s, burgers, egg salad, tuna salad, grilled salmon, roast beef, PB and banana . . . you name it! I eat more varieties of lettuce now than ever before. Go crazy!
Boston lettuce leaves are great too. A little sweeter.
And lettuces are so easy to grow. You don”t even need a garden, you can plant them in a container and pinch off leaves as you need them. No worries about chemical fertilizers or pesticides. If you like a peppery taste, try some mustard greens for your wraps.
There have been some blog posts asking about recipes. The site http://www.janssushibar.com has some good grain-free recipes. On the site, select recipes – Paleo / low carb. Traditional. There is a wonderful almond loaf that I substitute for bread. But…scrutinize the recipes as you would any food. A few have tapioca starch and such. If your glucose reacts to some of these as I do then avoid, of course. Good luck.
Terry
Would someone please give me some insight on cooking with olive oil….I know this is not the subject pertaining to this blog but….I don”t want to keep making the same mistake is in fact it is a mistake. I have been using olive oil in most all my food preparations….but my friend told me that is also on wheat belly that I shouldn”t be using the olive oil to fry with…example…I fry peppers, onions, mushroom, etc to add to other dishes. She said it is something about the heating of the olive oil that does something to it that makes it a no..no. Please help…I haven”t lost more than 7 lbs in almost 2 months and strictly not eat ANY wheat products…but I have lost inches. I was thinking that maybe the frying with the E.V.O.O. had something to do with my low weight loss.
Thanks…
J,
Olive oil, corn oil, palm oil, etc. contain polyunsaturated fats. Heating polyunsaturated fats turns them into trans-fats. There”s evidence that trans-fats contribute to dyslipidemia. I”m not sure the problem is nearly as bad as some people say, especially when compared to the grocery store saturated fat alternatives.
Lard comprises the bulk of commercially available saturated fat. Most commercial lard contains lime juice. Lime juice is loaded with aspartic acid. Aspartic acid is bad for people. The process used for adding lime juice to lard creates glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is bad for people.
I”ll eat food fried in olive oil long before I”ll eat food fried in commercial lard.
……looking forward to Dr. Davis” views.
Hi, J and Uncle–
The issue is the (poorly named) formation of advanced glycation and lipoxidation products that develop with high-temperature heating (especially above 350 degrees F). This causes insulin resistance, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.
Also, higher temperature heating of the polyphenol-rich olive oil also degrades the polyphenols, making the oil less nutritious.
We use coconut oil and butter from pastured/grass fed cows (Kerry”s Gold) or just organic for sauteeing. Yummy!!
Dr. Davis, You bring four things into the discussion over wheat. Two of them are new and unique. Two of them were simply overlooked and suppressed.
1. Today”s highly altered wheat is far more dangerous in many ways than previous wheat.
2. Wheat contains lots of amylopectin A, a more dangerous form of amylose starch.
3. Wheat dangers are not confined to celiac disease. They extend to all autoimmune disease.
4. Wheat dangers are not even confined to autoimmune disease. Wheat is a primary cause of all metabolic disease and associated autoimmune conditions.
Like all societies the low carb community has elements which attempt to suppress new knowledge and keep the stage for themselves. A best selling book containing the above facts seems to be the ultimate method of allowing science to draw its own conclusions, and thereby change the social hierarchy. The parade is much larger, and marching in a new direction. Facts and the people who introduced them made this happen.
Low carb is expanding. It owes its expansion to people like you. I view this new knowledge as a leap in human understanding …..maybe equal to Eratosthenes, Gutenberg, Newton, Einstein, Darwin, and Morris. We”ll see. Some of this still depends on acceptance. And acceptance is locked in fierce battles with vested interests and wheat addiction.
Still, it”s one of those dividing lines where people get a glimpse of our existence from above our plane. Thank you for your contribution.
What”s next? Flavonoids and phenols. Be there.
Hi, Uncle–
Damn fine analysis. And agreed on the flavonoids and polyphenols, a fascinating area that will explode in coming years.
Dr. Davis, I have been a faithful adherent to all things Wheat Belly. Since 9/1/11 I have not had wheat or grains. I have not lost a pound!! My dear Family Practitioner has been wonderful about doing the labs. we finally switched from Synthroid to Armour thyroid. No weight loss, but all of the usual symptoms of thyroid still going on. Cold hands and feet. Muscle aches, eyebrows virtually gone and exhaustion though I get 8+ hours of sleep. He consented to upping my dose to 90 mcg? or MG and then if that doesn”t work he wants me to see an endocrinologist. I am on iodine(700mg per day )and I do take Elavil 50mg and a beta blocker for essential tremor. Could the meds be contributing to the stall? I recently went to NC to visit my sister. After a week of my wheatbelly indoctrination, I made her and her husband believers.! The chocolate chip cookies did the trick !
Hi, Mama–
It sure sounds like a T3 issue. The Armour thyroid has T3 in it, but some people (like myself) need even more T3. The persistent cold hands and feet, exhaustion, etc. are signs that T3 remains inadequate.
The last person you want to see for this is an endocrinologist. They more than likely will tell you you”re crazy and prescribe an antidepressant–no joke. They are an utterly useless lot. If your doctor won”t help, functional medicine docs are more inclined to be useful in this regard.
And great on the chocolate chip cookies!
Dr. Davis,
Thank you for writing this book! I was diagnosed with LADA (Type 1.5 diabetes) 3 years ago at age 48. The onset was sudden, and I had all the classic symptoms of diabetes, but I am normal weight. My doctor misdiagnosed me with Type 2. I knew I was not, so I demanded a referral to a specialist, who took 1 look at me and suspected Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults. I still produce insulin (I guess) as I am only on small doses of insulin. I have only been wheat free for 3 days, but I have noticed I need even less insulin-I take about 8-9 units Lantus and between 6-8 units Novolog a day, and will continue reducing based on my blood glucose levels. I am experiencing much less of a blood sugar roller coaster since stopping wheat, and I love it! have been told this is a type of slow progressing Type 1, so I supposedly will be totally insulin dependent at much higher levels down the line. I am wondering if anyone else out there is also in my situation. Thank you again!
Hi, Jackie–
You touch on an issue that I think and wonder about often: How much LADA is really due to . . . wheat consumption?
It may be too late to completely unwind the pancreatic destructive effects of wheat at this point, but there are certainly benefits to saying “no” to wheat now.
My family and I have been wondering since I was diagnosed if it was something in the environment that caused it, as I was always pretty health conscious. It would be nice to reverse it! I”ll keep you posted as to my progress. Thank you again!
Jackie