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 
Here’s another spectacular story of early wheat-free success posted by Cora:
I’m here today because I’ve been eating grain-free for three weeks now, and I’ve lost 6kg [13.2 lbs].
I cannot believe it. This is weight that I have struggled with for 7 years now, and showed no signs of going. I’ve tried Atkins (so complicated and overwhelming, gave up, lost no weight after a month anyway, pointless, and felt like a lard ball so much, I hated it) tried Weight Watchers, after 6 months I’d bounced around the same small range of weight variation, it barely seemed worth it. Plus, all the weighing and counting calories and watching other people eat things I wanted. I was also spending a lot of my points on wheat products, and I was always hungry, I was always eating, I was starving, malnourished I think, and still getting fatter. Plus they aren’t cheap to join. Wish I’d saved the money, but I really thought it would help.
But anyway, back to today. Weight is falling off me. And I don’t think I’ve done anything at all. No hard work, that’s for sure. I’m eating whatever I feel like, and suddenly I’m not mindlessly grazing all day, my veggie intake has tripled, and while I used to believe you had to have about 1/3 or 1/3 your plate of white/brown carbs, now I realise that is completely rubbish, in every sense of the word.
I used to eat a wheat-based cereal for breakfast, sandwiches or wraps for lunch, rice pasta or noodles for dinner, and snacks were crackers or cakes or whatever – but in hindsight my diet was about 85% wheat every day. It was the starting point, and then you added meat or veg to it. Absolutely awful.
Three weeks later, weight is melting away, I’m eating a much more interesting range of foods (who knew kale was this fabulous!?) and loving every second of it. The only thing I don’t understand is why it’s all so secret. Why people insist that wheat and grains are so wonderful, and everyone wonders why we’re all so fat these days, getting morbidly obese, diabetes and so on. I get the feeling people are scratching their heads, and have no idea what is going on . . . but yet, it’s so simple.
My friend is a nutrition student (and struggles with major weight control issues) and today I told her how I was losing the weight. She is insisting that I will need to reintroduce grains after a while or I will suffer, and get tired all the time. Remains to be seen. I feel that there can’t be any nutrient in grains that I cannot get from vegetables and meat. She says you need good source of carbs to survive. I feel that they just contribute to weight gain and mild depression. At the moment I have no intention of ever going back. She can eat it if she wants, but i fully intend to remain grain free for the rest of my long, healthy, thinner, happier life.
I find it ironic that it is the nutrition student who insists that Cora return to the food that was clearly destroying her health, just because she is taught this dogma in school with faculty likely supported by Big Food. How far wrong can conventional dietary “wisdom” be while health is ruined and weight and appetite are uncontrollable?
Say goodbye to wheat, say goodbye to the opiate-like effects of gliadin, say hello to control over your own appetite, food choices, and life.
There are a wealth of “WB friendly” recipes on the net. Paleo and primal eaters do not eat grains and if you’re keeping carbs low plenty (but not all) of those recipes will work for that, too. There are some great Paleo recipe sites and a few books available now.
Richoff, until you get your blood sugar issues under control you should get your carbs from no -starchy veggies and leave off the fruit and WB treats. As long as you keep spiking blood sugar with too many carbs, your insulin levels will continue to ride the roller coaster. You can get off by getting through a few rough days of adaptation (that’s where salty broth and veggies will help) and you’ll soon feel much better.
It’s also a good idea to monitor your blood sugar so you can see for yourself what’s happening when you eat the fruit and treats.
You will be able to add the treats and at least some low glycemic fruits back in eventually.
DH went off wheat the first of this year and has dropped 20 pounds without even trying. he is THRILLED.
For your friend(s) who insist you have to eat grains and/or wheat in order to be healthy here’s a little arithmetic to share with them.
3,000,000+ years our ancestors ate protein, fat and tiny TINY amounts of carbs in the SUMMER when they could get them.
11,000 years ago our ancestors began cultivating and eating more grains. They got shorter, fatter and sicker as a result.
200+ years ago our ancestors began eating lots more refined carbs. They got fatter and sicker.
50+ years ago we were told that fat would kill us and that we should eat more grains. Obesity is now rampant in the “civilized” world, type 2 diabetes is now affecting JUVENILES It used to be referred to as “late-in-life” diabetes — my grandmother developed it in her early 60′s and that’s how they talked about it.
Do the math. You CANNOT deny your biology without suffering dire consequences, i.e., cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, massive weight gain.
Live the way our ancient ancestors did and get/be optimally healthy!
Darleen – You said:
“… tiny TINY amounts of carbs in the SUMMER when they could get them.”
I don’t agree. Paleolithic people had starchy tubers. It wasn’t only in the summer and it wasn’t TINY amounts. An important distinction needs to be made between highly refined, overly processed carbs and unrefined carbohydrate foods in their natural state. Example: a candy bar versus a sweet potato. There is a world of difference.
Anyone who suggests that all starchy carbs need to be eliminated is wrong.
You find Atkins complicated but were capable of following the Wheat Belly approach? Newsflash: You’re basically doing Atkins. It was not that complicated, was it? In any case, congratulations on your apparent success.
LOL! I was thinking the same thing.
Atkins said many right things but at his time he did not know anything about the Frankengrain like Dr. Davis calls it. His big mistake, and nutritionists and the food industry got him was because he said it was OK to eat bacon, I guess eating the bacon with a stash of pancakes and a stash of bread is healthy…
.His books are full of good information and we are were we are right now because of people like Atkins and others that found out that those carbs ara plainly sugars and they got us fat.
Dr. Davis book is not a diet is a transforming health book.
Am I the only one who has GAINED weight? I have been wheat free for four weeks and have gained 7 pounds. I’m not eating a bunch of junk food or anything and I am at the gym four times a week. I have also been alternatiing between diarrhea and constipation which is unusual for me. I havent had cravings since the first week but imhave been hungry. On a positive note I have felt more energetic and less sluggish, but I can’t continue to gain weight as I’m in the “morbidly obese” category. So why is this,happening? Do I go back to wheat?
Very odd, Sandra.
Given the gastrointestinal response, I’m going to bet that you are having a failed conversion back to normal bowel flora.
I would consider a high-potency probiotic to accelerate the return to normal bowel flora, one that provides at least 50 billion CFUs of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus. Most people require 4-8 weeks of doing so for a response.
If that doesn’t work, let us know. There are a number of other possibilities to consider.
Thank you for your quick response, I will try that
I’m just starting week 3 on my journey. It’s been a bit tough finding out which foods are appropriate and which aren’t. I’ve re-read the sections in the book with suggestions as well as reviewed the “quick list” posted here…. they’ve been helpful. I just never know. For example – Tapioca starch is bad, but is Tapioca Flour OK? Small amounts of rice are OK (but is that white or brown or neither)? What about rice flour? Flax seed is great – but what if it’s mixed with something else (Trader joes sells a good looking Flax & blueberry meal, but are the other ingredients OK?).
I’ve tried to limit sugars in all forms, but can’t eliminate them entirely (Cranberry juice by the way is terrible if it’s unsweetened – so I made a simple syrup and added just enough to make it tolerable).
I’m feeling better (haven’t lost significant weight yet, and that’s not my reason for going wheat free – but I don’t have a lot to lose – maybe 10-15 lbs). I just wonder – is this going to get any easier? Especially going through the grocery store and reading all the labels… how do you know what to exclude completely when the list of ingredients gets looooong?
You could make it simple and don’t eat things with ingredients.
I have been wheat free for about 6 weeks now. I have also for the most part eliminated refined sugar (replacing with sucralose), dairy (other than hard cheeses and cottage cheese) and decreased my fruit (usually berries, occasionally watermelon) to one serving a day. The remainder of my diet consists of nuts, seeds, lean meats, eggs, vegetables and cheeses as above). I haven’t lost a pound. And yes, I am interested in weight loss ( about 40 lbs overweight) as well as the other healthy benefits of going wheat-less. I am sleeping better and have had many fewer episodes of reflux. I am a walker for exercise and do between 1-2 miles per day, most days of the week. I have a non-toxic nodular goiter but my thyroid function tests and antibodies have all been normal. I did test positive for an iodine deficiency & so am taking kelp 150 mcg/day. I know that in one of your responses in the blog you referred to other hormones that might be part of the issue as well. I am having a bit of difficulty finding a physician that is willing to test & treat in this area other than with prescription drugs, etc. Any suggestions for locating a health care provider that would be able to evaluate me further?? And any other suggestions would be most appreciated! Thanks.
Is there any way to make this diet cheaper? Raising kids on it isn’t the easiest thing in the world since they’re influenced by everything else and meat, veggies, and fruits are the most expensive items in the store.
Sounds like Wheat Belly is basically the Atkins Diet…….What is the difference, if any?
WB vs. Atkins was just addressed today at:
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2011/10/wheat-belly-quick-and-dirty/comment-page-13/#comment-37984