Are we suffering from "Wheat Belly" in North America?

reply to post by YogaGinns


I've been paleo nearly a year now. It's not the sort of diet you drop when you reach your target weight, its a life time thing. (That may sound daunting, but after a month you'll never want to eat any other way).
The first couple of weeks are a bit funny as you get out of the snack/fast food habits, but you soon find what works.
The best bit of advice I can give is when its meal time, eat properly. There will be times you don't feel like cooking or eating, but don't skip, because that'll make your body act strange. If you keep it fueled, the weight drops off quick and you'll feel great.

Got a bunch of recipes on my blog if you want a look, also Google marks daily apple, great site.

Its been quite awhile since I visited this thread and have to admit that I fell off the 'wheat free' wagon and got back into my old habits again of eating anything and everything without much thought as to the process and products that go into their manufacture.

The link below was sent to me and has brought back that nagging question of whether or not the "wheat of today" is actually helpful or harmful to our diets.

www.cbsnews.com...

I admit to being a carb-aholic and a slave to baked goods of any kind. When I was trying to avoid wheat products I did drop five pounds in over just over two weeks....but got lazy and started buying my bread from the grocery store again.

I had also picked up another book "Serial Killers" by Drs. Anthony W. & Anthony P. Martin, who stress eating less processed and more natural foods like meats, dairy and vegetables to increase the proteins we ingest. This one sounds more like the paleo diet mentioned in previous posts. Their flour of choice is "almond" rather than wheat.

It is so hard to determine what is the best advice to follow, one common aspect seems to come through in all of these diet strategies is to look at how far from the original food source is the item your purchasing.

I realize that all of these diets also have books written about them and that most articles are meant to promote the authors and their works. But there are studies and research involved to back up each of them, its just so hard to separate the "wheat from the chaff" to offer up a bad pun.

I Welcome all your comments on any of the above mentioned topics, and any success/failures you've had with any of them. As the colder weather approaches, and we all reach for comfort foods, I want to try for the best and healthiest choices.

Namaste,
YogaGinns

reply to post by YogaGinns


Wow on the MSM no less, Monsanto is going to poop bricks of chemicals over this article.


Good read and regards, Iwinder

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


guess i'm screwed since due to health i'm on a
mainly carb diet. *LOL*

evolvify.com...

I have been gluten free since this thread was started. Since then I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease. It causes the thyroid to be attacked by the immune system.

This is becoming epidemic in my opinion because of glutens and GMO foods. I also believe there is a lack of Iodine in our diet as well as most of the basic minerals we need.

I have been supplementing minerals and vitamins as well as replacing all known glutens with non gluten alternatives. My local supermarkets now have an isle or part of it dedicated to gluten free foods. There are a few fast foods there, but mostly just supplies for your cooking. I get noodles and flour. I also stock up on beans and nuts. I have to stay away from peanuts so i get walnuts, almonds and sunflower seeds.

I have my thyroid under control now. I will have to take thyroid hormones for the rest of my life now, but it is manageable. I am always watching what I buy now and I pass up anything with HFCS, bleach or wheat/grains. I still have my cookies, but I use gluten free products and oatmeal with real butter and cane sugar.

I have lost about 10 lbs and I figure I could lose another 5 easily if I wanted to, but I am not in any hurry to go completely healthy just yet. I still can't tolerate a vegan diet. Maybe over time it will happen naturally, but I am trying to be as health conscious as possible when we shop now.

reply to post by onecraftydude



Tips from a low carb dieter:

- almond flour. I cannot say this enough. Almond flour. It is manna. Ill give you a quick start, and you can just apply creative sense to it to make it better Take 1cup almond flour, 1/2 stick butter, and 4tbs of your favorite heat tolerant sweetener (erythritol isn't too bad, but all polyols tends to create stomache upset if you have more than a couple of tbsp in a 4 hr period, as they leach water from the intestinal walls). Mix the items together well, but the best bet is to not let the butter get warmer than room temp, or the almond flour kind of melts into it. You can also add nutmeg, if you like. Bake at 350 for about 10 mins or so. It is the best pie crust known to man. Honestly, far far far better than graham cracker crusts.

- coconut flour. It is nice to add into almond flour and flax if you are wanting a more cake like texture. It is also the star ingredient for some amazing low carb (gluten free) pancakes. I always take a few quarts of the batter with me when my son and I go hunting, so we can have a good breakfast before we head out in the morning (gives me time to fill each thermos with some french press coffee)

- Flax. This stuff will really add fiber to your diet, and is a great calorie/carb neutral filler for bread foods. I can make brownies that are outstanding. I also use a similar recipe to make banana nut bread, cranberry walnut muffins, blueberry muffins, lemon cake, so on and so forth.

with these three items and some creativity (and don't forget the egg....its the binder), i can account for a completely gluten free diet that is filling and satisfying. Of course, none of it tastes as good as a slice of white bread, or a flour tortilla. So its a choice, for sure.

Originally posted by severdsoul
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

guess i'm screwed since due to health i'm on a
mainly carb diet. *LOL*

Well....depends on if you are carb sensitive or not. If you are, you will gain weight. If not, you likely will not gains as much nearly as fast.

What health problem? like, not maintaining weight? People don't generally get a high carb diet prescribed without having some issues with wasting.

reply to post by onecraftydude


Glad to hear that this is working for you and you have enjoyed some weight loss. The thyroid is a tricky thing, when mine was overactive (Graves' Disease) I could, and did, eat everything in sight and still lost weight. Now that is has been rendered inactive by irradiation, I seem to hang onto to every pound with a death grip (maybe a bad visual). So much is not known about how it affects us and I find that doctors do not seem take it seriously, even the endocrinologist I saw was very vague with treatment.

With the Christmas baking season coming I am going to need to come up with better options to the traditional shortbread feast. Keep up the good work with your diet, you may be my inspiration to get back to my bread making experiments.

Namaste,
YogaGinns

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


BFFT, thanks for the pie crust suggestion you are a wealth of information...wish you were my neighbour because I would be on your doorstep begging for scraps.

On vacation for a week, so maybe I will have more time to spend in the kitchen treating myself to healthier foods. Thanks again.

Namaste,
YogaGinns

Originally posted by mcrom901
evolvify.com...

Thanks for the link, it is going to take me awhile to digest all that information.

BTW I love your avatar.

Namaste,
YogaGinns

I have come across yet another link that warns that wheat is not the wonderful food the agribusiness would like us to believe.

www.wakingtimes.com...

I really need to stop making excuses and start to seriously get this grain out of my diet. Its my lazy side that wants to hang onto the convenience of grocery store breads and bakery items. If only I had a dietitian to look after me. *sigh* not likely to happen.

Namaste,
YogaGinns

Sorry to tag to an old thread, but I wanted to give my story on Wheat Belly and what a grain free diet has done for me.

In June of 2014 I had a pulmonary embolism at 41 and weighed 200lbs. I had to quit drinking then because of the blood thinners (which I'll probably have to take for the rest of my life) and my weight really didn't change that much over the summer. I continued to have some sort of grain with every meal.

In August of 2014 I came across Dr. Davis's first book Wheat Belly and listened to it on audio while driving to and from work. The information made a lot of sense to me and so I figured why not give it a try. I made a decision to start the "lifestyle" change Labor Day of 2014. By the beginning of December I had lost 30 lbs, with no exercise. I started to moderate weight lifting in Jan 2015 and started biking in March of 2015. Last month I did the Tour of Long Beach and ride 64 miles, and I will do 100 miles next month in the LA River ride.

Today I weigh 142 lbs and went from a size 36 to 29, and a shirt size of XL to S or M (depends). People tell me I'm a transformed person, a new person. Some people thought I was dying and was on a starvation diet, lol.

In addition to weight loss, here are some of the other benefits

Clear skin, no more adult acne
Much improved sleep (7 to 8 hours instead of 5 to 6)
Improved mood
No Anxiety

I eat meats, vegetables, seeds, nuts, cheeses, full fat yogurt, fruits and healthy oils. No more processed food made of wheat, corn or rice. Definitely not anything labeled gluten free, as it is made with fillers such as corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, etc.

Sample meal plan.

Breakfast
3 egg omelet with bell pepper, onions, salsa cooked in coconut oil and then topped with sliced avocado

Lunch
Salads with greens, vegetables, cheese, bacon and chicken. Olive oil and vinegar as dressing.

Dinner
Just meat and vegetables. I use cauliflower a lot as a rice substitute. Just take raw cauliflower and throw it in a food processor and pulse it for about 10 seconds, until it looks like rice.

Dessert
Dark chocolate (85% or more) covered in home made almond butter.

I really can't say enough about this lifestyle. It can be hard to stick to at times, especially when others are smoking bread in their crack pipes. The results I've had are typically seen in many others. There is a pretty big following on the Wheat Belly Facebook page. Check it out!

a reply to: ThreeNF

While Dr. Davis's book is not completly bad, I sometime think that he have some sort of obsession against wheat.

I think that the variable results from his method are because some peoples already having most of carb intake as being wheat based, when they remove wheat, they may infact begin a low carb or even ketogenic diet without knowing it.

Just reading the list of what you eat indicate low carb. Would be interesting you control yourself with Ketostix since you use coconut oil (ketone bodies promoter).

originally posted by: PeterMcFly
a reply to: ThreeNF

While Dr. Davis's book is not completly bad, I sometime think that he have some sort of obsession against wheat.

I think that the variable results from his method are because some peoples already having most of carb intake as being wheat based, when they remove wheat, they may infact begin a low carb or even ketogenic diet without knowing it.

Just reading the list of what you eat indicate low carb. Would be interesting you control yourself with Ketostix since you use coconut oil (ketone bodies promoter).

Yes, it's definitely a low carb diet. I try not go above 50g of net carbs on any day, and no more than 15g net carbs during any meal. I could probably eat wheat - I've never had a gluten intolerance, but I'm comfortable with the change in diet I've made. I would have never even considered if I hadn't come across Dr. Davis's book, which I just happened to stumble upon at the library.

For new recipe ideas, I go to a site called againstallgrain.com... I do like Danielle's story, and I would probably buy anything that has her face on it (which includes two books so far)

a reply to: ThreeNF

Yes, it's definitely a low carb diet. I try not go above 50g of net carbs on any day, and no more than 15g net carbs during any meal.

If you're not ketogenic, you're not far! You should definitively do control using Ketostix and use a glucometer occasionnaly to check glucose in blood.

I have a thread here somewhere on the subject of low carb diet. It is a little bit technical but I recommend you check it.

a reply to: ThreeNF

I would have never even considered if I hadn't come across Dr. Davis's book, which I just happened to stumble upon at the library.

That is the great merit of Dr. Davis's book, in his own opinion, he chosen to make a book not technical and made many tradeoff knowing that anything too technical or complicated would not be accepted. Even if I find the book insuficient, he succeded well in that respect.

A recent study kind of makes me skeptical about this thread:
www.livescience.com - 'Cereal Fibers' May Help You Live Longer...

People in the group that consumed the most whole grains were 17 percent less likely to die over a 14-year period, compared with those who ate the least amount of whole grains.

But the people who consumed the most cereal fiber were 19 percent less likely to die during the study period, compared with those who ate the least cereal fiber.

The results "indicate that intake of whole grains and cereal fiber may reduce the risk of all-cause mortality and death from chronic diseases," the researchers said.

In addition, the findings suggest that "cereal fiber partly accounts for the protective effects of whole grains," they said.

The researchers also looked at people's risk of dying from specific diseases during the study period. They found that those who ate a diet high in whole grains were about half as likely to die from diabetes as those who ate the least amount of whole grains. High consumption of whole grains was also linked with an 11 percent reduced risk of dying from respiratory disease, a 17 percent reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 15 percent reduced risk of dying from cancer during the study period.

Cereal fibers are found in the bran part of whole grains, so all whole-grain products contain cereal fibers, said study researcher Dr. Lu Qi, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. But products with added fiber would not necessarily contain whole grains, Qi said.

Qi said he would recommend eating products high in whole grains or cereal fiber.

The new findings agree with previous research linking consumption of whole grains to a reduced risk of premature death and chronic diseases. A study published last month found that people who ate at least 28 grams of whole grains a day had a reduced risk of death over a 25-year period.

This reminds me of the study which found vegetables/fruits did not decrease rates of cancer signficiantly. This flies in the face of what most people say and think about vegetables/fruits.

Another study which counters our intuitions is the one which says if you skip meals it increases chances of getting obese and diabetes. It don't make sense! It somehow causes people to be insulin resistant:
www.medicalnewstoday.com - Skipping meals tied to increased belly fat, prediabetes...

There's anotherstudy which found being overweight is healthiest. This of course flies in the face of the skinny japanese having the highest lifespan average and past studies. Our intuitions are wrong again.

Join me as we enter the twilight zone and everything is not as it seems. Maybe tomorrow they'll find out drinking small amounts of engine oil is good for us. Or maybe cutting ourselves is good too!!!!

a reply to: jonnywhite

A recent study kind of makes me skeptical about this thread

The study: Consumption of whole grains and cereal fiber and total and cause-specific mortality: prospective analysis of 367,442 individuals

by: Tao Huang, Min Xu, Albert Lee, Susan Cho and Lu Qi

Some exerpt:

This study is funded by an unrestricted research fund from NutraSource.

NutraSource (SSC), Clarksville, MD 21029, USA.

Have a look at Dr Susan Cho bio:

Link to bio

NutraSource, Clarksville, MD, April 2005- present
...
Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1983 April 2005
Director of Nutrition and Nutrition Business Partner, Kellogg-USA & Research, Quality, and Technology, 2000 – April 2005

One of the researcher fund the study and have worked at a high position in the "food chain" at Kellogg.

That conflict of interest kind of makes me skeptical about this study...

a reply to: PeterMcFly
You're referring to this I suppose"

Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1983 April 2005

Director of Nutrition and Nutrition Business Partner, Kellogg-USA & Research, Quality, and Technology, 2000 – April 2005 ;
Various positions at Quality, Research & Development, 1983 – 2000.

From this link:
www.consult-nutrasource.com