I’ve heard this many times over the years: “I allow myself one cheat day a week.” Or “I allow myself a cheat every Friday night.” Or “I have a couple of slices of pizza every Saturday.” Or the comments from naysayers such as “A little bit can’t hurt” or “Everything in moderation.”
I urge everyone to never cheat, however. But it’s not because I’m a control freak or because I like to make arbitrary rules. There are many reasons to never allow yourself such a cheat. And it has nothing to do with the few calories ingested. The implications are also far greater than the high-carbohydrate (amylopectin) exposure of a wheat and grain indulgence.
Among the reasons why it is important that you never cheat:
- Appetite is stimulated for several days following the cheat, an effect I call “I ate one cookie and gained 30 pounds.” Re-exposure to gliadin-derived opiate peptides will erode your will, typically giving way to consuming a flood of junk.
- Inflammation is re-ignited, an effect that typically lasts for about one week.
- Small LDL particles are formed, the most common abnormality in people with heart disease. (No, it is not high cholesterol. This is a fiction of the drug industry who very skillfully duped a generation of physicians in order to grow the statin franchise.) Unlike large LDL particles that persist in the bloodstream for about 24 hours, small LDL particles typically persist for nearly a week, sometimes longer. This means that one indulgence per week of wheat/grains/sugar triggers yields an excess of small LDL particles 52 weeks a year–year-round risk for heart attack.
- People with autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, will completely turn off any hope of remission. Re-exposure after a long period of wheat/grain abstinence can also re-trigger autoimmune inflammation, swelling, and pain that can last for months–months from one indulgence.
- You distort bowel flora. Given the incredible bowel toxicity of gliadin, gliadin-derived peptides, and wheat germ agglutinin, toxic to the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, and colon, you never fully regain the chance to restore healthy bowel flora
- You can experience re-exposure reactions. The most common: joint pains, skin rashes, acid reflux/heartburn, diarrhea, bloating, anger, anxiety, mental “fog,” depression. These typically last from a few hours to several days.
(For those of you with sophisticated understanding of coronary disease causality, people with genetic variants, apoprotein E2 and lipoprotein(a), can have persistent and high levels of small LDL particles for 2 weeks.)
with occasional indulgences.
You can see that, while some wheat/grain effects are perceived, many are not. You may feel just fine while you trigger oodles of small LDL particles that grow your coronary or carotid plaque. You may be perfectly happy while bowel flora is changed, or autoimmune inflammation is gathering steam.
The key is to never go back. If you are wanting a piece of pizza or two, a big slice of cheesecake, a cookie, or other indulgence, make them without wheat, without grains, without gluten-free junk replacements, without sugar–precisely the way that all Wheat Belly recipes are crafted. Also, if you are taking in sufficient quantities of fat and calories, you should not be experiencing cravings or hunger.
I have adopted the Wheat Belly lifestyle (except for a beer every now and then).
I’m sure I’m not the only on in this club. :)
Eric wrote: «I have adopted the Wheat Belly lifestyle (except for a beer every now and then).»
Beer alternatives has been a frequent topic here, going back to:
https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2011/10/gluten-free-beer/
Net carb (even ignoring the alcohol) is a consideration. Many GF beers hit the 15 gram whole-meal limit all by themselves.
«I’m sure I’m not the only on in this club. :)»
If neither wine nor a suitable GF beer is available, I’ll consider a Bud Lite. It’s very low net carb, but does contain barley and rice.
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If I am having a craving for beer I found that Michelob Ultra Light has even less carbs than Bud Light. Are the ingredients comparable to Bud Light when it comes to grains? I can’t find info on that.
Those beers are terrible.
I drink craft beers. They have wheat, they have carbs, and they are bad for you. Depending on the circumstances, I could have five in a week, or none in a month.
Given that I am otherwise grain free, I can have my occasional indulgence.
Eric wrote: «Those beers are terrible.»
Speaking as a former Guinness drinker, I can’t argue with that. But when I usually have one of these watery wonders, my only real alternative is usually municipal water that is so laced with non-native halogens that it tastes like drinking an over-treated swimming pool. My thyroid has asked me to avoid that.
«I drink craft beers. They have wheat, they have carbs, and they are bad for you.»
Indeed; a bottle is basically one slice of liquid bread.
«Given that I am otherwise grain free, I can have my occasional indulgence.»
Argue for your optional ailments (short or long term), and you get to keep them.
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Oh, I know to most people they are terrible. And me being from the Pacific NW, the craft and micro-brew capital of the Universe (lol) I should love them. I am a beer wimp and only like the very light, not real (as my boyfriend calls them) beer. I enjoy drinking them once in a while and they are my only “cheat” since I started this whole new way of eating.
KT wrote: «Michelob Ultra Light has even less carbs than Bud Light.»
And the ciders are apparently actual GF, but higher in carbs.
«Are the ingredients comparable to Bud Light when it comes to grains? I can’t find info on that.»
I can’t find it either, which usually (but not always) translates to “you wouldn’t drink it if you knew”. They used to be able to blame the BATFE for not putting Nutrition Facts and ingredients on labels. They no longer have that excuse.
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Thanks for letting me know I m not the only one who couldn’t find the info.
Bob, you’ve recommended Wheatbelliers consume a bottle of wine per month, not all at once. What would be the equivalent in spirits, specifically scotch, vodka, rum, bourbon, gin and tequila?
BTW, should we avoid diet sodas?
palo wrote: «…you’ve recommended Wheatbelliers consume a bottle of wine per month, not all at once.»
Umm, that’s not what I’ve said. Wheat Belly does encourage people to consume wine. If you do, Wheat Belly doesn’t have a specific target in mind. See:
https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2011/08/toast-to-wine/
There is a general rule-of-thumb in LC/paleo/primal/ancestral circles of “bottle a week, not all at once” (note: week, not month, and it’s just a maximum dose, and not an RDA). Some sites discourage it entirely. Obviously it’s not a sound idea for an alcoholic, or anyone with liver impairment.
«What would be the equivalent in spirits, specifically scotch, vodka, rum, bourbon, gin and tequila?»
There are several separate issues that arise:
1. With spirits, you are giving up any benefits specific to wine (see wiki for arguments).
2. You need to avoid hazardous ingredients and distilling leftovers in the spirits, many of which are grain-sourced. Added sugars are a potential issue as well.
3. Once those tests are passed, merely work out the math for an alcohol concentration equivalent to, say, a 5 ounce glass of wine.
«BTW, should we avoid diet sodas?»
Almost all of them.
Let me update something I originally wrote about that on Tom Naughton’s blog:
The vast majority of carbonated beverages rely on artificial sweeteners that are not endorsed by Wheat Belly, for a variety of reasons. In many cases, what appears to be a drink with a safe sweetener is not – the can might have a prominent stevia claim, but the Ingredients list admits of ample simple sugars.
A very few, like Zevia (which I find to be too sweet), are based on acceptable alternative sweeteners, but then there are still additional concerns for any packaged carbonated beverages:
Carbonated Water
Makes the drink slightly acidic, which is probably not a big problem. The gas it produces might be more of a challenge for those with acid reflux, GERD, etc. Bottlers are usually silent on the source of the water (more below on that).
Colorants
For caramel, in colas, it’s burned corn, basically. For beverage of any other color, some homework is needed.
Brominated Vegetable Oil
Watch out for this fire retardant on any citrusy drinks. Bromine could easily be a thyroid antagonist. BVO is banned as a food additive in Europe and some other locales.
Natural Flavors
Could actually be unnatural flavors, but are allowed to be called natural flavors if the FDA can be fooled into thinking they are sufficiently similar chemically. Could easily be MSG as well.
Phosphoric Acid
This well-known rust remover is mostly harmless, but isn’t something you want to consume in mass quantities. Just two cans of pop a day is associated with doubling the risk of chronic kidney disease.
Potassium Benzoate
Another acid. Now I’m actually beginning to wonder what the pH is for a product containing this. Meanwhile, keep this stuff away from your Vitamin C, or you might synthesize some benzene, a carcinogen.
Caffeine
May be natural or synthetic. The readership here probably already has all taken their individual positions on caffeine. I prefer to get mine from coffee.
Ingredients Not listed
More Non-Native Halogens
In addition to any BVO, most pops are manufactured at regional bottling plants, which may be relying on municipal water sources, complete with their load of chlorides and fluorides. Ignoring the popular legacy anti-fluoridation activism, my concern is again thyroid impact. Non-native halogens may compete with iodine at the thyroid. They could easily be a major factor in the pandemic of under-diagnosed and mal-treated hypothyroidism.
BpA or BpS
Cans have plastic liners (have to, or the contents would eat through the walls pretty promptly). Pop bottles are usually plastic these days. To assess the risk, you need to know what the polymer is, and how it was made and applied.
Although it will still have a plastic lid liner, glass is the material of choice for containers, and perhaps single-use glass at that. Any bottles that are re-filled, rather than recycled, raise a new risk of residual cleaning agents including antibiotics.
Elemental Aluminum (cans only)
Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust, but is naturally bound up in compounds. Isolated elemental Al was a precious metal until just over a century ago. Humans are adapted to the natural compounds (and largely ignore them metabolically).
Exposure to elemental Al is novel, as is exposure to novel alloys and Al compounds. Is it problem? The rise in the production of Al during the 20th (see wiki) is a perfect match for the rise in various chronic ailments. Coincidence? Correlation? Causation? Beats me. If you must drink canned beverages, first decant into glass, until the jury returns.
Bottom Line
The precautionary principle asks: do I really need to take a chance on all this stuff?
Add your own flavorings and sweetener to a glass bottle of credible spring water.
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re: Wheat Belly does encourage people to consume wine.
Urk. Make that “Wheat Belly does not encourage people to consume wine.”
It’s optional. Heck, if I can’t even accurately paraphrase myself, I can hardly expect Eric to …
Try a bud light. Brewed from rice
David Potack wrote: «Try a bud light. Brewed from rice»
Only partially. Anheuser Busch finally published, just over a year ago, an ingredients list for the US brewing of that product. It turns out that the #2 ingredient (after water) is barley malt.
Barley is a gluten-bearing grain, and one informal end user test suggests that the gluten content of Bud Lite is not high, but is above 20ppm (the FDA limit for “Gluten-Free”). People have also report 5ppm and 10ppm. So it’s low but not zero, and perhaps not reliably GF per current FDA standards.
The rice raises issues of its own, namely wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), which is inherent to rice, and contamination from inorganic arsenic, which varies by field and cultivar. I can’t find dose estimates for either of these in Bud Lite.
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i have diarrhea after beer days after, i wonder if pure ethanol like vodka would not cause this
wrotek wrote: «i have diarrhea after beer days»
What beer?
«i wonder if pure ethanol like vodka would not cause this»
Vodka isn’t pure ethanol, and may be wheat-based. Wiki tells us “Traditionally, vodka is made by the distillation of fermented cereal grains or potatoes…”
I’d pick something else for that experiment, perhaps a dry red wine.
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normal beer, barley based…
Wrotek >>> i have diarrhea after beer days
Me >> What beer?
Wrotek > normal beer, barley based…
Well, Wrotek, I dunno. I researched all the beer-reviewed papers on PubLine, and I suspect that maybe the barley is trying to tell you something. ☺
The hordein in barley gluten, after all, does have aspirations of acting like the gliadin of wheat gluten. Suspect mechanisms of action include but are by no means limited to: being a direct gut antagonist, and/or opening the tight junction. For either, your body’s response is “get this stuff outta here”.
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I don’t know. I have a beer every now and then and nothing happens to me. I have a slice of pizza every now and then and nothing happens to me.
This is not cheating and this is not craving. I just like beer, and if my family wants to go out for pizza, I go out for pizza.
My grain consumption is probably down 98% from what it was before I found Wheat Belly. Blood levels and weight are perfect.
Obviously some people react very badly to wheat (aside from celiac) and should never eat wheat. However, the vast majority do not.
I actually think that the goal here is to get people 100% off grains is counterproductive. It’s sort of like vegan telling you that you should never eat animal products (not even once) because they will destroy your health.
But to end on a positive note, my sincere thanks to Dr. Davis for my 20 lb. weight loss and elimination of statins, and making me see the light about nutrition.
Or maybe it is just alcohol simply
Eric wrote: «I have a beer every now and then and nothing happens to me. I have a slice of pizza every now and then and nothing happens to me.»
It could be that you’ve never been sufficiently free of grain effects to experience re-exposure.
Or it could be that you aren’t highly reactive. Acute reactions may be striking, but are not universal. Dr. Davis’ efforts to get his patients and clients off grains appears to have started in 2006. It was not until 2012 that re-exposure reactions rose from odd anecdote to persistent trend. People even complained that the original Wheat Belly book failed to warn about it.
«This is not cheating and this is not craving. I just like beer, and if my family wants to go out for pizza, I go out for pizza.»
The downside of grains is not merely near-term obvious consequences. We are also trying to avoid irreversible future consequences (say, cataracts or periodontitis), and not-necessarily-reversible conditions such as any number of auto-immune ailments.
«Obviously some people react very badly to wheat (aside from celiac) and should never eat wheat. However, the vast majority do not.»
Read Fasano. Everyone (not just a minority) gets leaky gut from from gliadin, and perhaps from analog proteins in other grains. Zonulin doesn’t just open the intestinal tight junctions. It also compromises the blood-brain barrier. Every time you unlock those gates, you’re playing Russian Roulette (with one or more live rounds that might have prompt and/or delayed impacts). That 5 out of 6 people survive a round of one-bullet RR doesn’t mean it’s safe for the majority.
«I actually think that the goal here is to get people 100% off grains is counterproductive.»
There is no metabolic case for grain consumption. Humans are only partially adapted to tolerating seeds of grasses as a consolation prize substitute for food. There is no downside to 100% avoidance.
«It’s sort of like vegan telling you that you should never eat animal products (not even once) because they will destroy your health.»
Pretty much everything we eat has benefits and hazards. Various named diets make the errors of starting from a philosophical, or even political agenda (that may trump outcomes), focusing on what may be minor or hypothetical hazards, which hazards are outweighed by the benefits, and being unwilling to evolve the recommendations based on results. Yes, beware of dogma diets.
Wheat Belly did not start as an anti-grain religion, and has not become one. WB has a praxeological agenda: results. The problems with grains were uncovered almost be accident as part of developing a diet to avoid, arrest and reverse heart disease. Wheat Belly continues to evolve, based on unambiguous results and such unconfounded science as can be found.
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wrotek wrote: «Or maybe it is just alcohol simply»
That’s easily challenged. You can try low-carb grain-free alcoholic beverages to test for alcohol effects. You can try alcohol-free beer to test for fermented grain effects.
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Please forgive me if this has already been covered here, but the Israeli’s have brought another much needed device to the world. It’s a mini-scanner to determine what is in a food product of if buying a leather coat if it’s real. It will be marketed under the name nof SC
Forgive me if this is old news or covered already. Out of Israeli engineering comes a new device that will determine the contents of a food. It will also determine if a leather coat is real leather. It dumps the results to your smartphone but plans indicate it will be on your smartphone in the future. It’s a molecular scanner/near infrared spectrograph/ Computer Physics/SCIO
tool and retails now for $250. How cool is that and I want one now! Available Dec. 2015. Would have prevented me from numerous re-exposures. I’m sure it will take a couple of years to work out the kinks but could potentially save thousands of lives in those diabetic.
I
Please forgive me if this has already been covered here, but the Israeli’s have brought another much needed device to the world. It’s a mini-scanner to determine what is in a food product of if buying a leather coat if it’s real. It will be marketed under the name of SCIO.
Forgive me if this is old news or covered already. Out of Israeli engineering comes a new device that will determine the contents of a food. It will also determine if a leather coat is real leather. It dumps the results to your smartphone but plans indicate it will be on your smartphone in the future. It’s a molecular scanner/near infrared spectrograph/ Computer Physics/SCIO
tool and retails now for $250. How cool is that and I want one now! Available Dec. 2015. Would have prevented me from numerous re-exposures. I’m sure it will take a couple of years to work out the kinks but could potentially save thousands of lives in those diabetic.
I
Neecie wrote: «It will be marketed under the name of SCIO.»
I guess “tricorder” was already taken. Anyway, product is still in kickstarter phase. It works on spectroscopy of absorbed/reflected NIR, under an app running your your mobile device. The app evidently does not perform the spectral analysis, but sends the raw data back to ConsumerPhysics. Their servers analyze it, and compare it to their {growing} database. See also:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-infrared_spectroscopy
I can see this being really really useful for a variety of things, but testing food might not be one of them right away.
«…mini-scanner to determine what is in a food product…»
It can only identify things with catalog spectra, and only to the depth of IR penetration and reflection.
Their own FAQ admits that it will be unreliable for anything present at less than 1% concentration (so then perhaps of no use to celiacs). They are specifically disclaiming use for detecting allergens. This may be either because they are allergic to the FDA, or because the device is really iffy for that use.
With foods, pretty much every dish is going to have a unique (and data-noisy) spectrum. Apart from the 1% problem, sheer complexity and molecular metamerism are going to be challenges.
«Forgive me if this is old news or covered already.»
I don’t recall seeing it. It’s a development worth watching. I don’t know that I would place an early $250 bet on it.
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OK, I havn’t a clue how I double posted? Apologies all around.
Above and beyond I misspelled my own name twice – Bob, rather than enjoy another whole night waiting for your tummy to explode I’d have to consider it cheap to spend $250 – most that suffer from IBS/celiac would. And their families would as well. Yea, I already checked out the pros/cons of the product.
Thank you Dr. Davis for the latest newsletter – and those that are just now coming on board please sign up for it. Lots of great info and reminders to consider.
this sounds like the same reasoning as why alcoholics can never have “just one drink”-addictive substance consumed; addictive response activated. starting on the Not-so-merry-go-round again and again, which is why people feel like they are running in place and getting nowhere; because they are.
Deb, another up there with the 80/20 rule saying.
Deb wrote: «this sounds like the same reasoning as why alcoholics can never have “just one drink”»
The wheat situation is actually more severe than the alcohol situation, from a dependency standpoint.
Wheat, of course, is not widely seen as anything but an innocuous food whose consumption is promoted by government policy, but it provides at least two separate strongly addictive components:
▲ exorphins (analogous to nicotine in cigarettes, but without the buzz), and
▲ glucose from amlyopectin A (which provokes dopamine and serotonin responses)
Alcoholics are already commonly advised to avoiding trading one addiction (alcohol) for another (sugar), but the first two sites I looked at on that were oblivious to the problems with fast carbs in general (which become glucose) and wheat in particular (which does that and has exorphins).
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Actually, wheat activates the same receptors as heroin, so just as bad. Heroin addicts report giving up tobacco is worse.
I do not cheat. It can occur occasionally that I am contaminated without realizing it, but hate being sick badly enough, due to being celiac, that I avoid ways of contamination as much as possible.
I can honestly say that I do not miss bread AT ALL; however, I have not been confronted with a cupcake (in real life – only on facebook) or another tempting dessert.
And, as far as pizza is concerned – my husband makes the best pizza crust using chick pea flour. Last time around, he substituted a ready made crust that was gluten free. It was horrible! We each had a piece and threw the rest in the garbage.
November will be four years on the lifestyle. Never cheated. 147 pounds and complete reversal of my assorted ailments. Dr Davis I’m a true believer.
Dr. Davis,
In July, 2015, I bought your Wheat Belly book and read it straight through over the course of a single evening…I couldn’t put the thing down; it was as addictive as the bread that I had been eating all these years…but in a good way, obviously.
Well, I have been enjoying the results ever since. Things have gone exactly as you said they would in your book. It has been 2 months, and I have lost 12 pounds easily-so easy, in fact, that I still keep thinking my scale is broken or that my husband tampered with it somehow :)
I’m thrilled to report that I am no longer ever very tired (exhaustion does not even set in, even after very long days at work—wow!). I am never hungry, cranky, and have NOT had a single craving! My skin is flawless for the first time ever. To be honest, I have had wheat in small doses a few times since reading the book, but each time I went down that road, I swore to never do it again. Each time, I woke up with brain fog, grumpiness, and bloat. One day, I ate literally one slice of bread and woke up to find that the scale moved upwards exactly 10 pounds overnight. WATER RETENTION was severe!! After a few days of wheat-free living, the scale went right back down again. That was an interesting lesson to learn…heck, that situation had been the case my whole life!! Now, I totally “get it” and love that my stomach is flatter than the pancakes I used to love!
Everyone asks me how I am losing weight, and it is still hard to convince people that elimination of wheat and gluten really does produce these amazing results-people always tell me that my diet must be boring, filled with bland, weird ingredients. They are so wrong! I am now realizing just how little the general population understands about grains and the detrimental effect they can have on the body. I do feel very concerned about the health of those around me, as I notice many of them struggling with conditions that I now know could be completely remedied or prevented just by eating according to Dr. Davis’s plan. I hate knowing that good, well-intentioned people everywhere have been sold a line of cr#p for so long. Myself, included!
I feel amazing, and there is not a pizza, bread, or other wheat-derived food that tastes better to me than the feeling I get from no longer having to slug through my life feeling tired, anxious, depressed, and hopeless. Geez, after 10 years of psychotherapy for depression and OCD, I have felt nothing but happiness, freedom, and total comfort in my own skin for THE FIRST TIME IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!! I am 41 years old, and this is the best I have ever felt. I didn’t even know what true happiness was until I did away with wheat. Dr. Davis, you are a life saver to me. This $25 book was worth more than the sum total I have spent on medical care throughout the course of my entire life. The pursuit to become healthy has long been my passion, and after reading your book, things are now in sharp focus; it is obvious why I was never experiencing results like this. As someone with a thyroid problem, I was always told that losing weight would be very difficult and likely impossible. That has NOT BEEN my experience with your eating plan, and those around me can’t believe it. I am still pinching myself-so proud that I finally have control of my health, appetite, and emotional well-being.
Dr. Davis, I also appreciate that you were so thorough in your research. I have followed up on many of the studies and citations in your book. What phenomenal work, expert guidance, and flawless organization of the presented information from start to finish! Thank you is not really sufficient, considering all you have done to help me improve my life. Once I finally earn the degree and certifications to become a registered Dietician, my dream job will be one in which I share this information with others before they continue down the pathetic road I was on for decades!
Wheatfreeme wrote: «…bought your Wheat Belly book…»
Be sure to check out Wheat Belly Total Health as well. New info and more depth.
«One day, I ate literally one slice of bread and woke up to find that the scale moved upwards exactly 10 pounds overnight. WATER RETENTION was severe!!»
That’s pretty striking. If Big Pharma ever takes notice of this, I’m sure they come up with a patented potion that interferes with edema. EdeTrimPM – lose 10 pounds overnight! (see enclosed Drug Facts booklet for side effects, some serious, some fatal).
«…and it is still hard to convince people that elimination of wheat and gluten really does produce these amazing results-people always tell me that my diet must be boring, filled with bland, weird ingredients.»
It’s amazing what people will argue for without realizing it. To paraphrase a politician – if you like your optional ailments, you can keep your optional ailments.
«This $25 book was worth more than the sum total I have spent on medical care throughout the course of my entire life.»
And that is the breathtaking scope of chronic non-infectious ‘illness’ today – largely avoidable, arrestable and reversible with simple steps.
«As someone with a thyroid problem, I was always told that losing weight would be very difficult and likely impossible.»
Have you been able to find competent assessment, and what treatment is underway?
«Once I finally earn the degree and certifications to become a registered Dietician, my dream job will be one in which I share this information with others before they continue down the pathetic road I was on for decades!»
Caution: most such training is about learning the dogma, and then preaching the dogma (under the thumb of an MD and/or management also married to the dogma). What is true and what works are largely irrelevant. Life-saving heresy can result in quite a bit of trouble for a dietitian. Plan your career strategy carefully.
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The desire to cheat comes when hunger pangs arrive, but I am fearful to see myself with a big gut and fluffy face so that is more than enough to keep me from cheating and sneaking a bite. My husband is very good and reminding me of the consequences.
Once I eat something healthy, the desire to fall of the wagon is gone and I’m delighted my will power conquered.
Lori Lei wrote: «.The desire to cheat comes when hunger pangs arrive…»
Have some cheese (dairy sensitivities permitting).
Once an initial wheat withdrawal period is over, hunger pangs are not an expected routine experience in the Wheat Belly lifestyle. See also:
https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2014/02/wheat-withdrawal-zinger/
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8 days in and feeling great!
Japanese restaurant suggestions please??
Edamame??
Gary wrote: «Japanese restaurant suggestions please??»
What dishes do you favor?
Minimize the rice. Forget the plum wine. Saki might be OK.
«Edamame??»
Soy. Unfermented soy products are considered “limited”, and even then only if organic and non-GMO. Concerns with soy generally include pesticide uptake (and Bt GMO soy *is* a pesticide, suspect as a gut biome hazard), other GMO genetic hazards, phytoestrogens (and for soybean oil, being an inflammatory Omega 6 PUFA).
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Soy sauce contains wheat, lots of wheat.
Uncle Roscoe wrote: «Soy sauce contains wheat, lots of wheat.»
Typically, yes. There are GF products, such as from San-J. But if an Asian restaurant doesn’t make credible claims about what soy sauce they use, it’s safe to assume that they are cooking with wheat-contaminated sauce, even if the bottle on the table is San-J.
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Yes, I asked to see the label on the large container of soy sauce at the high end Japanese restaurant we went to and it read in the following order:
water, wheat, soybean, salt
I was disappointed although after reading several other labels today, I don’t really find any that appear to be appropriate for me as a newbie who is trying to adhere as closely as possible.
ANY OTHER OPINIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
Does a wheat-free person with no gluten issues really have to worry about a minor issue like this? Seems kind of extreme to me.
Eric wrote: Does a wheat-free person with no gluten issues really have to worry about a minor issue like this? Seems kind of extreme to me.”
If you had no gluten issues then you would not need the Wheat Belly diet. If on the other hand, there is a reason for you being on the Wheat Belly diet, then as Dr. Davis points out, strict wheat avoidance is an absolute necessity.
Why? Because the problems brought on by wheat are activated by the immune system. Those problems begin with small intestine permeability. If the immune system recognizes ANY gluten then you get a leaky gut.
You’ve seem to miss the entire point. Wheat Belly is a grain-free diet for everybody, whether you have or don’t have an issue with gluten.
My question was why need to worry about minor things such as what Japanese food is cooked in (or having a beer every now and then) if you don’t have an issue with gluten?
Gary wrote: “I was disappointed although after reading several other (soy sauce) labels today, I don’t really find any that appear to be appropriate for me as a newbie who is trying to adhere as closely as possible.
ANY OTHER OPINIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.”
It took years, but I found a bottle of Wan Ja Shan Organic Gluten Free Soy Sauce. However, where Asian restaurants are concerned, most use wheat-laden soy sauce for cooking. So it doesn’t matter much what soy sauce you use at the table.
Ask before you order. Yes, it’s difficult. Accept this as a prerequisite.
Eric wrote: “You’ve seem to miss the entire point. Wheat Belly is a grain-free diet for everybody, whether you have or don’t have an issue with gluten. ”
Wrong. The Wheat Belly diet is for everyone because EVERYONE has “issues with gluten” …..and these issues begin with autoimmune gut permeability whenever we eat ANYTHING containing gluten.
….ANYTHING.
The human body determines these rules, not me.
Gary wrote: «…high end Japanese restaurant…»
As you can see, “high-end” with many ethnic foods refers to increased wallet distress rather than decreased metabolic distress.
Here’s my situation, as someone who used to eat Chinese regularly, and make periodic visits to a sushi place – I have only been to an Asian restaurant once since reading WB in 2011, and even that wasn’t my idea, and I ate as little of it as I could politely manage. Western menus I can navigate. Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese) have just too many potential problems.
Eric wrote: «Does a wheat-free person with no gluten issues really have to worry about a minor issue like this? Seems kind of extreme to me.»
Yes. My cliché, supported by Fasano’s repeated trial outcomes, is:
We are all essentially celiac, it’s just a matter of degree and decades.
Gluten-sourced zonulins open both the tight junctions of the gut wall, and the blood-brain barrier. This results in things getting into the blood stream and brain that do not belong there, including the addictive and inflammatory junk in wheat itself. Reactions can be prompt and/or delayed and insidious (auto-immune, perhaps Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s).
Even if you aren’t getting prompt distress – if you want the older you to hate the younger you, just keep playing Russian roulette with gluten-bearing grains.
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How do you stop eating wheat and still live in the world? I tried going wheat free though not 100% and immediately gained 5 to 6 pounds. I do get the opiate effect of eating wheat but am having a hard time making the change without spending all my time in the kitchen making alternatives. I don’t have a lot of “health issues” other than a little acid reflux, toenail fungus, eczema. The eczema came after the weight gain. I find it very hard to go totally wheat free after this failure and especially the weight gain, but I do believe your science. Really struggling with putting every thing ino practice.. Can you help?
Marcella wrote: «How do you stop eating wheat and still live in the world?»
Basically, the same way your ancestors did, but with more awareness of how to optimize human nutrition. The reality of modern food-like substances is indeed sobering. Over 97% of what is pretending to be food in the modern market is unfit for routine consumption.
«I tried going wheat free though not 100%…»
What information are you working from? Wheat Belly has never been about just going wheat-free, and in particular, advises 100% WF. It is possible to adopt the lifestyle based just on reading this blog, but you are better served by reading the 2014 Wheat Belly Total Health book.
«…and immediately gained 5 to 6 pounds.»
Now that is an unusual report, and not one I recall seeing on the blog before. What were you eating instead of products containing wheat? Net carbs per day, for example?
«…having a hard time making the change without spending all my time in the kitchen making alternatives.»
Preparing our own meals is at the moment a necessity. If we let others prepare our foods, they will fail us. Packaged meals are uniformly a disaster. Restaurant eating can be done, but is a minefield.
«I don’t have a lot of “health issues” other than a little acid reflux, toenail fungus, eczema.»
Those are all conditions that commonly vanish with diet correction, based on reader testimonials here. You may have other less obvious problems lurking as well.
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I think it’s more difficult if you go out a lot or travel a lot. For instance, I just got back from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That’s a tough place to go and eat with no wheat. Known for fried food, and specifically fried fish, it can be tough to find options without wheat sometimes.
Also, when traveling long distances, it can be difficult to avoid wheat. I was in Europe and got served reindeer sandwiches on rye/wheat bread on a flight. It was that or nothing, and I’d already missed lunch and didn’t know when I’d get a real dinner.
For me, my downfall is pizza. I still like to have a good pizza every once in a while.
I no longer drink beer (except rarely), and I’ve switched to wine or alcohol. I’m not that much a fan of red wine, though. For alcohol, I started with mixed drinks, but many of these have high carb content. Then I realized most of them are made with wheat, too.
I do notice I have increased allergies if I eat pizza and other wheat. Other than that, though, I don’t have too many other symptoms when I eat wheat. Of course, I gain some weight, but that also could be due to a higher carb count. I generally have a very low carb count per day.
BobM wrote: «…Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That’s a tough place to go and eat with no wheat.»
Being originally from the region, I tend to disagree. Although breaded and fried foods may be more prevalent than inland, there’s more seafood. Baked, broiled and boiled can easily be wheat-free and low carb. Learn how to dissect a boiled lobster, and you’ll never look back at lobster rolls or lobster newburg.
«…it can be tough to find options without wheat sometimes.»
There’s no doubt about that, but the internet has totally changed the game. We never go to an unfamiliar restaurant without first researching them on line. There are smartphone apps for finding GF places, which can then simplify further pre-qualification. Don’t pay too much attention to whinny Yelpers.
«…got served reindeer sandwiches on rye/wheat bread on a flight. It was that or nothing…»
Flying requires planning. I suspect Dr. Davis has become something of an expert on navigating that particular minefield. As a later response suggests, “airline food” is pretty much an oxymoron. That said, if the ticket includes a “meal”, it is usually possible to specify allergen requirements. Not having flown in years, I would expect GF to be a common option now, “wheat free” to sometimes be an option, but low carb not so much yet.
«For me, my downfall is pizza. I still like to have a good pizza every once in a while.»
Pizza is easy to mimic within Wheat Belly guidelines.
«I do notice I have increased allergies if I eat pizza and other wheat.»
Some pizza restaurants now offer GF pizza. It will be high-gly junk grains, of course, but may not provoke the needless allergies (and more subtle and dangerous long-term ailments).
«Of course, I gain some weight, but that also could be due to a higher carb count.»
Carbs can do that all by themselves, but the edema that gluten-bearing grains induce is spectacularly effective at it. We lately had a testimonial here of gaining 10 pound overnight after wheat exposure. That can’t be fat. It’s water, inflaming and inflating things that don’t need such abuse.
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Evolution HATES overpopulation, and jumps through hoops to kill populations in species which become too successful. Evolution only does this in ways which adapt the surviving members to whatever kills off the unfortunate members.
Why do humans succumb to grains and the diseases which grains introduce? Humans are built so that agricultural abundance, the kind which swells populations, places antigens into the bloodstream, and kills people. The most deadly antigens are viruses. Someday humans will be immune to many of the viruses and other antigens which now kill us. But that will only happen after millions of death. And we can thank grains for introducing these antigens to our bloodstreams.
What? You’d like to avoid all of this? Then stop eating grains.
i use to eat potato chips…. not the flavored kind….. but the home made kind that are fried in lard.
i gave them up and still occasionally have okra chips or sweet potato chips.
when i get tired of pig skins…. i usually have the desire for chips. i have never been able to lose that even though i have been off all grain and sugar for several years.
are vegetable chips bad to eat ? i dont have them but once every 3 months or so.
i just LOVE them. lol
i never get any reaction from them…. i eat some….. and feel happy afterwards that i did.,
i dont know that i will ever be able to break the habit.
i have tried making my own and they never come out as well .. maybe i need a better recipe.
ok…. i have confessed my sin here.
sorry…..i have my faults…. i guess i am a cheater.
but really i LOVE everything about a wheat free lifetyle…. even though i didnt even know who Dr. Davis was when i first changed my diet years ago.
i just did it to avoid being diabetic.
it worked and i am fine now.
i wouldnt go back to my old way of eating ever again.
Ann wrote: «…are vegetable chips bad to eat ?»
Some on the market are getting close to being OK. They are still too high in net carbs, so moderate the portion sizes accordingly. Look for organic, non-GMO, not cooked in industrial seed oil or soybean oil, and not containing any mystery ingredients.
«ok…. i have confessed my sin here.»
Don’t mistake Wheat Belly for a religion, where you are handed a code of conduct incompatible with human reality, expected to not conform, and the priesthood profits from the resulting guilt. There are no dispensations for sale here. You make your metabolic choices, and consequences follow, not all immediately. This is praxeology, and not philosophy or morality.
«even though i didnt even know who Dr. Davis was when i first changed my diet years ago. i just did it to avoid being diabetic.»
Consensus diet was getting so destructive, and so hard to avoid, that many people took deliberate steps and discovered parts of the big picture (my family was doing a wheat elimination trial prior to the publication of the original Wheat Belly). The great thing about what Dr. Davis is doing is that he didn’t stop with just one dietary insight (as many fleeting fad diets have), but is constantly examining everything about metabolic health, and making enhancements based on results and unconfounded new science.
«i wouldnt go back to my old way of eating ever again.»
And that’s why approaches that incorporate the key advocacies of Wheat Belly are not fads. The results are too appealing to abandon, and the consequences of returning to consensus are often prompt and pronounced.
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YESSS BOB ! it is a religion to me ! lol
thats the way i see it.
i have a better life now that i have come to this way of living.
i have my frailties for better or worse…. but it is a way of living i will never give up.
i continue to work on my short comings.
and ……Dr. Davis has become my go to guy for questions.
so…. i have a question for you Bob… or Dr. Davis….
i dont undertand what is unlimited food and what isnt.
i have seen the list.
i keep my protein to under 50g a day…. but could eat much more if i let myself.
why does it say unlimited for things like protein and nuts…. because i could REALLY go to town on all that. lol
i would like to know.
thanks
and Dr. Davis…. even though i found you long after i had been off grains and sugar….. i thank you for your work…. and your recipes.
i made the decision to let go of grain and sugar….. BUT YOU make my life easy with all your fine recipes…. and your medical insight into all this.
and for that… i am grateful.
Re: “i keep my protein to under 50g a day…. but could eat much more if i let myself.
why does(n’t) it say unlimited for things like protein and nuts…. because i could REALLY go to town on all that. lol”
At any given time, if the liver perceives that you are carbohydrate-adapted, and that you lack sufficient blood glucose for a carb-adapted person, and that you have an abundance of protein, the liver can make proteins into glucose …..gluconeogenesis. You can suppress this using three strategies.
1. Abundant fat intake.
2. Suppressed carb and opiate intake.
3. Moderate protein intake.
I feel that meat protein is far superior to nut protein, because nut protein is accompanied by carbs and opiates. That’s why nuts are so addictive.
Uncle ? i have NO idea what you are talking about.
sorry…. i dont know what all that is.
all i was asking is why Dr. Davis says unlimited protein and nuts are ok.
i’m sorry i dont know the nuts and bolts of this diet like a medical person would.
but… if thats the answer….. then ok.
i do understand that gluconeogenesis means that too much protein can turn into fat ( which is why i was asking about eating unlimited amounts of any of these proteins on the list)……. but i dont know what else you are talking about.
are you telling me that eating more fat can negate eating too much protein ?
really i am sorry lol …. i just dont understand what you mean by those 3 things.
but thanks anyway.
Ann wrote: «i dont undertand what is unlimited food and what isnt.»
What list are you working from, by the way. On the Blog, the latest is:
https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2012/12/wheat-belly-quick-dirty-2/
For the vast majority of people, it means you can have as much of the “unlimited” food as you want, subject to net carb targets, excess amounts of anti-nutrients (like phytates in nuts), and too much bulk fiber in the diet. The carbs alone tend to set an actual limit on nuts, but it’s pretty high for the suggested nuts.
With high-fiber carbs, like many veggies, the sheer volume of what you’d need to consume to exceed the net carb target would tend to be self-limiting.
Some homework might be indicated before exceeding, say, 300% of a normal portion size with unlimited slow carbs.
Fats tend to be safer to over-satiate on, but some fats might raise caveats for some phenotypes. Bovine beta casein A1 dairy fats, even as “unlimited” cheese, might be an issue in almost any quantity for many people. In general, absent some lipidemia or allergy, you won’t want to eat as much fat as would be required for it to be a metabolic problem. So, unlimited.
As Uncle Roscoe points out, we can convert protein to glucose, so I would tend to go with moderate protein if you suspect that glucogenesis is an issue for you. This is not common (it’s rarely raised as an issue on the blog). Postprandial BG readings can settle this matter pretty quickly.
“Limited” foods tend to be limited by a variety of considerations, and typically anything more than condiment portions is going to break one or more budgets at hand. Net carbs is often the main concern, but considerations could also be anti-nutrients, excess adverse fats, or outright toxins (like WGA and arsenic in rice).
«are you telling me that eating more fat can negate eating too much protein ?»
Eating more fat slows down absorption of carbs and proteins, but I’m not sure it’s enough to rely on. Popular wisdom says “you can have as much baked potato as you want, if you put enough butter on it”. Sorry, but the effect isn’t that strong, and it only slows the glucose absorption (and may even feed undesired gut bacteria if actually delayed enough).
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OOPS…..correction…..what i meant to say was….. too much protein can turn into SUGAR… not fat !
sorry … my mistake
thanks for your post.. still not sure i understand how all this works. i know it does work because i have one hell of a HUGE appetite and i usually eat alot and most times…. i dont ever see any gain on the scale. i do see a gain when i eat too many carbs…. which is usually TOO many vegetables.
hard to believe thats what can move the scale…. but there are carbs in alot of the plants i eat.
i limit sweet potato and beets … which i love….. to some every few months…. but the scale will move if i have had more than i should…. i can even eat too much cabbage and zucchini as well.
i am still trying to lose the last few pounds from eating TOO much natural peanut butter i got hooked on earlier in the year……so my veg. and protein are being carefully watched.
peanut butter is SO addictive to me. i dont go near it anymore. lol
anyway…. the list of foods unlimited that i saw was the link you sent me.
i work on doing this right every day.
i really dont mind. i love this way of living….. its been so rewarding.
Ann wrote: «i do see a gain when i eat too many carbs…»
That, alas, is how carbs work for most people. Have you worked out what your net carb consumption is per day? I would not assume you have some exaggerated response to carbs until running that number.
Also, the same factors that impede weight loss can promote weight gain, so see this article:
https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015/05/i-lost-the-wheat-but-didnt-lose-the-weight-updated-version/
and the three linked from it.
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when i gain weight…. its usually when i have eaten too much fruit…. or had too many of my homemade ranch beans. i try hard not to eat alot of beans but i adore them and sometimes… if i have too much…. the scale shows it.
right now…. i am not eating them because i am trying to keep my carbs under 20g a day…. so i can get rid of some weight.
i have to try adding up the carbs …..but it doesnt take much to push me over the line… when i am on my normal wheatbelly style diet.
i know when i have had too much…. and i dont even have to eat anything more than
some extra beans… or beets and carrots and other veg that have a high carb content.
that will do it. lol
i can eat loads of fat and even protein ( with no scale movement) ……. but not carbs.
as you said….. this is what happens when you do.
thanks for the link….. i’ll get to it when i have some time.
i do have another question to ask…. but i’ll have to make it later on as i dont have time to write anymore right now.
thanks for your comment.
Ann, the easiest snack is broth, preferably home made. It’s usually salty and quenches any thoughts of doing something you really don’t want to do to you self. A good approach is to take Dr. Davis’ list of approved foods and cut to the bare bones of it. I cut out all carbs (wheat, grains, potatoes, rice, corn – not just gluten, but lentils too) and stuck to meat, eggs, veggies, and a small portion of berries with heavy cream. Anything else is added one at a time to see how I’m going to react it. The only other thing to remember – keep up those levels of good fats (butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and finish off the fat from your meat. Follow his advice of supplements and enjoy yourself.
Hi… i just saw your comment. you really went down the list of all
the things i do eat.
thats what i did…. i stripped away all of the carb stuff and left in all the fat etc.
but i dont care for broth as a snack. if i want something…. usually i will have ONE macademia nut. Yes…. just ONE.
i can do that.
or…. i’ll bake myself a microwave cake with a tablespoon of coconut flour…. just a muffin sized cake. i have all kinds of wonderful recipes using low carb foods to make desserts. its mainstay that helps to keep me in line.
and it works fine.
still though….. i crack every once in a while and eat something i shouldnt.
the bad part is….. i have NO reaction to it.
but i feel terribly guilty and have a terrible fear of heading down the wrong road again. that is what snaps me back to reality before i can do any damage.
anyway…..speaking of treats….. i feel a coconut oil candy coming on so…. i am off to the kitchen. lol
LOVE the coconut oil treats. YUMMMM
Travel is all about planning. Pack some nuts, cheese, hard boiled eggs, whatever. Easier than making excuses. Who would want airplane food of any kind. UUGH!!!
My favorite is string cheese, bag of nuts, and a fresh pear – where in the early days of TSA I had to bite into an apple to prove it wasn’t loaded with some such ingredient.
Oh, and a half dozen boiled eggs, even a small container of heavy cream or cottage cheese.
Neicee wrote: «…in the early days of TSA…»
My personal priorities for long-distance travel nowadays are:
⌂ stay home
⌂ drive
⌂ take the train
⌂ treat flying as an intermittent fasting opportunity
⌂ figure out to get non-lethal food from airline
⌂ figure out how to get real food past TSA
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Bob, that was so funny I’m still laughing. All options are on my husband’s list of to do things before a trip. He hates to travel by air, which is hard to do because I insist on Hawaii once a year. The Big Island is like home (where I should have been born). Kona or Kalua pork is right down the alley of a paleo/primal diet.