Man walks after removing wheat

9. May 2010 William Davis (27)
No, this isn't some National Enquirer headline like "Woman delivers alien baby."

Tom is a 26-year old man with a complex medical condition, a malformation he was born with and has had reconstructed. Aside from this, he leads a normal life: works, is married, and is, in fact, quite intelligent.

He came to me for an opinion regarding his overall health. Tom was worried that his congenital condition would impair his long-term health and longevity prospects, so he wanted to optimize all other aspects of his health.

But, when I examined Tom, he could barely get himself up on the exam table without wincing in pain. When I asked him to walk, he hobbled a few steps, again clearly in pain. When I asked him what hurt, he said "everything." He said that all his joints hurt just to move.

He told me that his several doctors over the years didn't know why he was in such pain: It wasn't rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudogout, or any of the other inflammatory joint diseases that might account for virtually incapacitating this 26-year old man. Even the rheumatologists were stumped. It was also unrelated to his repaired congenital condition. So Tom went on with his life, barely able to even go for a walk with his wife without pain, slowing him down to the pace of an 80-year old.

So I suggested that he eliminate all wheat products. "I don't know for a fact whether it will work, Tom. But the only way to find out is to give it a try. Why not try a 4-week period of meticulously avoiding wheat? Nothing bad will come of it."

He and his wife look perplexed, but were so desperate for a solution that they agreed to give it a try.

Tom returned 6 weeks later. He walked into the room briskly, then bounded up on the exam table. He told me that, within days, all his joint pains had completely disappeared. He could walk, stretch, do all the normal physical things with none of the pain he had suffered previously.

Tom told me, "I didn't think it could be true. I thought it was just a coincidence. So I had a sandwich about 2 weeks into it. In about 5 minutes, I got about half my pains back."

Tom now remains wheat-free and pain-free, thankfully with no discernible joint impairment.

So, yes, Tom walked freely and without pain simply by eliminating wheat from his life.

Is it an immune phenomenon? Does wheat gluten trigger some inflammatory reaction in some people? There is surely something like this underlying experiences like Tom.

Wheat contains far more than gluten. Modern wheat is a collection of hundreds of different proteins, though gluten is the most plentiful, the one that confers the "viscoelasticity" of dough. But there's plenty more to wheat than gluten or celiac disease.

AGEing gracefully

5. May 2010 William Davis (32)
Advanced Glycation End-products, or AGEs, have the potential to change our entire conversation about diet.

AGEs come from two principal sources:

1) Endogenous--Glucose-protein interactions that arise from high blood glucose levels

2) Exogenous--From diet

The first is sensitive to glucose levels: the higher the glucose level, the greater the AGE formation. The second depends on the quantity of AGE in the food consumed.

A compelling body of evidence points towards AGEs as an agent of aging, as well as kidney dysfunction, dementia, and atherosclerosis. Some of the observations made include:

--If AGEs are infused into an experimental animal, it develops atherosclerosis, kidney disease, and other "diseases of senescence" within weeks to months.

--In endothelial cells (cells lining arteries), AGE induces expression of adhesion molecules and inflammatory signals. In fibroblasts, AGE provokes collagen production. In smooth muscle cells, AGE triggers migration and proliferation. In monocytes and macrophages, AGEs induce chemotaxis and release of inflammation mediators. In short, AGEs have been implicated in just about every step leading to atherosclerosis.

--In humans, greater quantities of AGEs are present in diabetics, pre-diabetics and people with insulin resistance. We all know that these people develop atherosclerosis, kidney disease, cataracts, and other conditions at an accelerated rate.

--Foods containing greater quantities of AGEs cause endothelial dysfunction, i.e., artery constriction via blockade of nitric oxide and other mechanisms.

Short of taking agents that block AGE activity, how can you minimize the absorption or production of AGEs? There are two general strategies:

1) Keep blood glucose low--The Whitehall study demonstrated increased cardiovascular mortality with a postprandial (actually 2-hour post- 50-gram glucose challenge) blood sugar of 83 mg/dl. Lower blood glucose, less glycation. Less carbohydrates in the diet, the lower the blood sugar, the less the glycation. Studies like Whitehall demonstrate that glycation begins with glucose values within the normal range. Thus, aging occurs even with normal glucose levels. It occurs faster with higher glucose levels.

2) Choose and prepare foods with lower AGE content. Food content of AGEs is a major determinant of blood AGE levels. Fats and meats are the primary dietary source of AGEs, particularly if cooked at high temperature (broiling, frying). While this does not mean that meats and fats need to be avoided, it can mean that limiting serving size of meats and fats, while being selective in how they are prepared, are important. This can mean cutting your meats in thinner slices or smaller pieces to permit faster cooking, eating rare when possible (not poultry, of course), avoiding cooking with sauces that contain sugar (which enhances AGE formation). Is this an argument in favor of sashimi?

Minimizing exposure to AGEs, endogenous or exogenous, has the potential to slow the aging process, or at least to lessen the likelihood of many of the phenomena of aging.

More on this to come.

Small LDL: Simple vs. complex carbohydrates

4. May 2010 William Davis (17)
Joseph is a whip-smart corporate attorney, but one who accepts advice at his own pace. He likes to explore and consider each step of the advice I give him.

Starting (NMR) lipoprotein panel on no treatment or diet change:

LDL particle number 2620 nmol/L (which I would equate to 262 mg/dl LDL cholesterol)
Small LDL 2331 nmol/L--representing 89% of LDL particle number, a severe dominance of small LDL

I advised him to eliminate wheat, cornstarch, and sugars, while limiting other carbohydrate sources, as well. Joseph didn't like this idea very much, concerned that it would be impractical, given his busy schedule. He also did a lot of reading of the sort that suggested that replacing white flour with whole grains provided health advantages. So that's what he did: Replaced all sugar and refined flour products with whole grains, but did not restrict his intake of grains.

Next lipoprotein panel with whole grains replacing white refined flour:

LDL particle number 2451 nmol/L
Small LDL 1998 nmol/L--representing 81.5% of LDL particle number.

In other words, replacing white flour products with whole grain products reduced small LDL by 14%--a modest improvement, but hardly great.

I explained to Joseph that any grain, complex, refined, or simple--will, just like other sugars and carbohydrates, still provoke small LDL. Given the severity of his patterns, I suggested trying again, this time with full elimination of grains.

Next lipoprotein panel with elimination of whole grains:

LDL particle number 1320 nmol/L
Small LDL 646 nmol/L--48.9% of total LDL particle number, but a much lower absolute number, a reduction of 67.6%.

This is typical of the LDL responses I see with elimination of wheat products on the background of an overall carbohydrate restriction: Big drops in precisely measured LDL as LDL particle number (i.e., an actual count of LDL particles, not LDL cholesterol) and big drops in the number of small LDL particles.

You might say that wheat elimination and limitation of carbohydrate intake can yield statin-like values . . . without the statin.

Is Cocoa Puffs no longer heart healthy?

29. April 2010 William Davis (17)
Until recently, Cocoa Puffs enjoyed the endorsement of the American Heart Association (AHA) as a heart-healthy food.

For a price, the AHA will allow food manufacturers to affix a heart "check mark" signifying endorsement by the AHA as conforming to some basic "heart healthy" requirements.

Odd thing: The list of breakfast cereals on the check mark program has shrunk dramatically. When I last posted about this, there were around 50-some breakfast cereals, from Cocoa Puffs to Frosted Mini Wheats. Now, the list has been trimmed down to 17:

Berry Burst Cheerios-Triple Berry
Cheerios
Cheerios Crunch
Honey Nut Cheerios
Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat Cereal
Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters
Kashi Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon Oat Cereal
Multi Grain Cheerios
Oatmeal Crisp Crunchy Almond
Oatmeal Crisp Hearty Raisin
Quaker Cinnamon Life
Quaker Heart Health
Quaker Life
Quaker Life Maple & Brown Sugar
Quaker Oat Bran
Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Brown Sugar
Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Cinnamon


According to sales material targeted to food manufacturers, the American Heart Association boasts that "The American Heart Association’s heart-check mark is the most recognized and trusted food icon today . . . Eighty-three percent of consumers are aware of the heart-check mark. Sixty-six percent of primary grocery shoppers say the heart-check mark has a strong/moderate influence on their choices when shopping."

So, is Cocoa Puffs no longer heart healthy?

I suspect that agencies like the AHA, the USDA, the American Diabetes Association as starting to understand that they have blundered big time by pushing low-fat, having contributed to the nationwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes, and that it is time to quietly start backpedaling.

While it's a step in the right direction, judging from the above list of breakfast cereal "survivors" of the check mark program, the criteria may have been tightened . . . but not that much.

Fractures and vitamin D

27. April 2010 William Davis (25)
This is a bit off topic, but it's such an interesting observation that I'd like to pass it on.

Over the past several years, there have been inevitable bone fractures: People slip on ice, for instance, and fracture a wrist or elbow. Or miss a step and fracture a foot, fall off a ladder and fracture a leg.

People will come to my office and tell me that their orthopedist commented that they healed faster than usual, often faster than anyone else they've seen before. My son was told this after he shattered his hand getting slammed against the boards in hockey; his orthopedist took the screws and cast off much sooner than usual since he judged that healing had occured early. (My son was taking 8000 units vitamin D in gelcap form; I also had him take 20,000 units for several days early after his injury to be absolutely sure he had sufficient levels.)

My suspicion is that people taking vitamin D sufficient to enjoy desirable blood levels (I aim for a 25-hydroxy vitamin D level of 60-70 ng/ml) heal fractures much faster, abbreviating healing time (crudely estimated) by at least 30%.

For any interested orthopedist, it would be an easy clinical study: Enroll people with traumatic fractures, randomize to vitamin D at, say, 10,000 units per day vs. placebo, watch who heals faster gauged by, for instance, x-ray. My prediction: Vitamin D will win hands down with faster healing and perhaps more assured fusion of the fracture site.

T3 for accelerating weight loss

25. April 2010 William Davis (57)
Supplementation of the thyroid hormone, T3, is an underappreciated means to lose weight.

Thyroid health, in general, is extremely important for weight control, since even subtle low thyroid hormone levels can result in weight gain. The first step in achieving thyroid health is to be sure you are obtaining sufficient iodine. (See Iodine deficiency is real and Healthy people are the most iodine deficient) But, after iodine replacement has been undertaken, the next step is to consider your T3 status.

I've seen T3 ignite weight loss or boost someone out of a weight loss "plateau" many times.

Endocrinologists cringe at this notion of using T3. They claim that you will develop atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heart rhythm) and osteoporosis by doing this. I have yet to see this happen.

Adding T3 revs up metabolic rate at low doses. The idea is to push free T3 hormone levels to the upper limit of normal, but not to the hyperthyroid range. While an occasional person feels a little "hyper" like they've had a pot of coffee, most people just feel energized, clear-headed, and happier. And weight trends down much more readily.

Taking T3 by itself with no effort at weight loss generally yields only a modest weight reduction. However, T3 added to other weight reducing efforts, such as wheat elimination and exercise, accelerates the weight loss effect considerably. 5 lbs lost will likely be more like 8 to 10 lbs lost; 10 lbs lost will likely be more like 15 to 20 lbs, etc.

It's also my suspicion that more and more people are developing a selective impairment of T3, making it all the more important. I believe that you and I are being exposed to something (perchlorates, bisphenol A, perflurooctanoic acid, and others?) that may be impairing the 5'-deiodinase enzyme that converts the T4 thyroid hormone to the active T3. Relative lack of T3 leads to slowed metabolism, weight gain, and depressed mood. While avoiding or removing the toxin impairing 5'-deiodinase would be ideal, until we find out how to do this, taking T3 is a second best.

The tough part: Finding a prescriber for your T3.

The world according to the Wheat Foods Council and the Whole Grains Council

23. April 2010 William Davis (26)

You might get a kick out of what the Wheat Foods Council and the Whole Grains Council recommend for a sample meal plan:

Breakfast: Whole grain raisin toast
Lunch: Sandwich on whole grain
Snack: Rye bread crackers
Dinner: Whole grain pasta with your favorite sauce

Breakfast: Whole grain waffles 
Lunch: Hamburger on whole grain bun
Snack: Graham crackers
Dinner: Whole grain homemade pizza on whole grain pita crust

Remember Morgon Spurlock's documentary movie, Super Size Me? (If you haven't already seen it, Super Size Me is viewable for free on Hulu.) Spurlock conducts a self-inflicted 30-day experiment of eating at McDonald's fast food restaurants every day. In short, the results on Spurlock's weight and health are disastrous. 

How about Wheat Belly: The Movie? We would chronicle our star through a 30-day course of meals served up by the Wheat Foods and Whole Grains Councils, all featuring wonderful wheat products in every meal. We could measure blood sugar, triglycerides, LDL, small LDL, weight, etc.


Any predictions?

Why bananas increase cholesterol

21. April 2010 William Davis (0)
Anything that increases postprandial (after-eating) blood sugar will increase the number of LDL particles in the blood.

An increase in LDL particles is an important factor in causing heart disease: The greater the number of LDL particles, the more opportunity they have to interact with the walls of arteries, contributing to atherosclerosis.

Carbohydrates increase small LDL, especially if postprandial sugar is increased. Here's another way carbohydrates increase LDL particles: The duration of time LDL particles hang around in the blood stream is doubled.

When blood sugar increases, such as after the 30 grams carbohydrates in a medium-sized banana, glycation of LDL particles occurs. This means that a gglucose (sugar) molecule reacts with a lysine residue in the apoprotein B of the LDL particle. This induces a change in conformation that makes it less readily recognized by the LDL receptor. Thus, the glycated LDL particle persists for a longer period of time in the blood stream.

LDL particles are therefore cleared less efficiently, numbers of LDL particles increase.

Plant-based or animal-based?

19. April 2010 William Davis (78)
The ideal diet for heart and overall health restricts carbohydrate intake. I say this because carbohydrates:

Make you fat--Carbohydrates increase visceral fat, in particular.
Increase triglycerides
Reduce HDL
Increase small LDL particles
Increase glycation of LDL
Increase blood pressure
Increase c-reactive protein

Reducing carbohydrates reverses all the above.

But here's a common mistake many people make when following a low-carbohydrate diet: Converting to a low-carb, high-animal product diet.

It accounts for a breakfast of a 3-egg omelette with cheese and butter, 4 strips of bacon, 2 sausages, cream in coffee. Low-carb? It certainly is. But it is a purely high-animal product, no-plant-based meal.

I believe a strong argument can be made that a low-carbohydrate but plant-based diet with animal products as the side dish is a better way to go.

Consider that:

1) Animal products have little to no fiber, while plant-based products like spinach, avocado, and walnuts and other raw nuts have substantial quantities.

2) Plant products are a source of polyphenols and flavonoids--This encompasses a large universe of nutrients, from epigallocatechins in tea, polymeric procyanidins from cocoa, to hydroxytyrosol from olives, and anthocyanins from red wine and eggplant. The inflow of these beneficial compounds needs to be frequent and generous, not piddly amounts taken infrequently.

3) Vitamin C--While it's easy to obtain, the fact that you and I need to obtain vitamin C from frequent ingestion of plant sources suggests that humans were meant to eat lots of plants. While it may require a few months of deficiency before your teeth fall out, imagine what low-grade deficiency can do over a long period.

4) Vitamin K1--Rich in green vegetables, vitamin K1 is virtually absent in animal products.

5) Tocotrienols--I've been watching the data on this fascinating family of powerful oil-soluble antioxidants unfold for 20 years. Tocotrienols come only from plants. (I recently had an extended conversation with the brilliant biochemist, Dr. Barrie Tan, who is incredibly knowledgeable about tocotrienols, having developed several methods of extraction from plants, including his discovery of the highly concentrated source, annatto. Be sure to watch for future conversations about tocotrienols.)

6) Meats and dairy yield a net acid load--While plant foods are net basic. At the very least, this yields risk for osteoporosis, since acids are ultimately buffered by basic calcium salts from the bones. Tissue and blood pH is a tightly regulated system; veering off just a teensy-weensy bit from the normal pH of 7.4 to an acidic pH of, say, 7.2, leads to . . . death. In short, pH control is very important. A net acid challenge from animal products is a lot like drinking carbonated soda, a huge acid challenge that leads to osteoporosis and other health issues.

Conversely, a pure plant-based diet has its own set of problems. Eating a pure plant-based diet can lead to deficiencies of vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids (no, linolenic acid from flaxseed will NOT cut it), vitamin K2, carnitine, and coenzyme Q10.

So, rather than a breakfast of 3-egg omelet with bacon, sausage, cream, and cheese, how about a handful of pecans, some blueberries, and a 2-egg omelet made with basil-olive oil pesto? Or a spinach salad with walnuts, feta cheese, and lots of olive oil?

Fat is not the demon

16. April 2010 William Davis (36)
So my patient, Dane, generously volunteered to be on the Dr. Oz show, as I discussed previously.

What we didn't know, nor did the producer who contacted us mention, that Dane would be counseled by low-fat guru Dr. Dean Ornish on a strict low-fat diet. The teaser introduction essentially tells the entire story.

Ironically, that is the exact opposite of the dietary program that I advocate. I rejected the 10% fat diet long ago after I became a type II diabetic, gained 30 lbs, and suffered miserable deterioration of my cholesterol values on this diet. I also witnessed similar results in many hundreds of people, all following a strict low-fat diet. In fact, elimination of wheat--whole, white, or otherwise--along with limitation or elimination of all other grains has been among the most powerful health strategies I have ever witnessed.

I now regret having subjected my patient to this theatrical misinformation. Dane is a smart cookie--That's probably why he was not allowed more than a "yes" or "no" during Dr. Oz's monologue, else Dane might have pitched in about some ideas that would have tripped Oz and Ornish up.

In their defense, if we took 100 Americans all following a typical 21st century diet of fast food, white bread buns, Coca Cola and other soft drinks, chips, barbecue sauce, and French fries, converting to a plant-based, high-carbohydrate, grain-rich diet is indeed an improvement. People will, at first, lose weight and enjoy an initial response. (The occasional person with the Apo E4 genetic pattern, heterozygote or homozygote, may even enjoy long-term benefits, a topic for another day.)

But the majority of people, in my experience, after an initial positive response to an Ornish-like low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet will either plateau (stay overweight, have low HDL, high triglycerides, plenty of small LDL, and high blood sugars) or deteriorate, much as I did.

Thankfully, Dane has been a good sport about this, understanding that this is essentially show business. I believe he understands that the information was all well-intended and, after all, we are all working towards the same goal: reduction of heart disease risk.

By the way, regardless of which diet you follow, it is, in my view, absurd to believe that diet alone will do it. What about vitamin D normalization, thyroid normalization (thyroid disease is incredibly common), omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil, identification of hidden sources of risk (something that is unlikely in Ornish, since small LDL particles skyrocket on a low-fat diet), postprandial glucoses, etc., all the pieces we focus on to gain control over coronary plaque? Eating green peppers and barley soup alone is not going to do it.
Do lower heart scan scores grow faster?

Do lower heart scan scores grow faster?

11. July 2007 William Davis (0)
If Mary's heart scan score increases from 2 to 4 in one year, it represents a 100% increase in score.

If Jane's heart scan score increases from 1002 to 1004 over the same period, it represents <1% increase, even though the true growth is the same: 2 points.

This quirk of arithmetic needs to be factored in whenever you and your doctor try to puzzle out the meaning of an increasing CT heart scan score. Lower numbers, particularly those <100, can grow at seemingly much faster rates if viewed by percent per year increase. If no effort is taken to stop the growth in your coronary plaque, then scores of 10, 20, 30, or the like can easily grow 50-100% per year.

In contrast, scores of 1000, 1500, and 2000 tend to grow at "slower" rates of 20% or so per year without corrective efforts, even though the absolute growth may be substantial. (Obviously, this bit of confusion can be best eliminated by reducing your heart scan score, but it doesn't always work out that way.)

If we were all adept at advanced math, we should probably rely on logarithmic measures of plaque increase, rather than percent increase. Or, you can just keep in mind that the rate of plaque growth must always be viewed in the context of the absolute score.
Tags :

Add comment

Loading
Wheat belly

Wheat belly

23. July 2007 William Davis (31)
You've heard of "beer bellies," the protuberant, sagging abdomen of someone who drinks excessive quantities of beer.

How about "wheat belly"?

That's the same protuberant, sagging abdomen that develops when you overindulge in processed wheat products like pretzels, crackers, breads, waffles, pancakes, breakfast cereals and pasta.



(By the way, this image, borrowed from the wonderful people at Wikipedia, is that of a teenager, who supplied a photo of himself.)

It represents the excessive visceral fat that laces the intestines and triggers a drop in HDL, rise in triglycerides, inflames small LDL particles, C-reactive protein, raises blood sugar, raises blood pressure, creates poor insulin responsiveness, etc.

How common is it? Just look around you and you'll quickly recognize it in dozens or hundreds of people in the next few minutes. It's everywhere.

Wheat bellies are created and propagated by the sea of mis-information that is delivered to your door every day by food manufacturers. It's the same campaign of mis-information that caused the wife of a patient of mine who was in the hospital (one of my rare hospitalizations) to balk in disbelief when I told her that her husband's 18 lb weight gain over the past 6 months was due to the Shredded Wheat Cereal for breakfast, turkey sandwiches for lunch, and whole wheat pasta for dinner.

"But that's what they told us to eat after Dan left the hospital after his last stent!"

Dan, at 260 lbs with a typical wheat belly, had small LDL, low HDL, high triglycerides, etc.

I hold the food companies responsible for this state of affairs, selling foods that are clearly causing enormous weight gain nationwide. Unfortunately, the idiocy that emits from Nabisco, Kraft, and Post (AKA Philip Morris); General Mills; Kelloggs; and their kind is aided and abetted by organizations like the American Heart Association, with the AHA stamp of approval on Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp Cereal, and Berry Kix; and the American Diabetes Association, whose number one corporate sponsor is Cadbury Schweppes, the biggest soft drink and candy manufacturer in the world.

As I've said many times before, if you don't believe it, try this experiment: Eliminate all forms of wheat for a 4 week period--no breakfast cereals, no breads of any sort, no pasta, no crackers, no pretzels, etc. Instead, increase your vegetables, healthy oils, lean proteins (raw nuts, seeds, lean red meats, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, Egg Beaters, low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese), fruits. Of course, avoid fruit drinks, candy, and other garbage foods, even if they're wheat-free.

Most people will report that a cloud has been lifted from their brains. Thinking is clearer, you have more energy, you don't poop out in the afternoon, you sleep more deeply, some rashes disappear. You will also notice that hunger ratchets down substantially. Most people lose the insatiable hunger pangs that occur 2-3 hours after a wheat-containing meal. Instead, hunger is a soft signal that gently prods you that it's time to consider eating again.

You will also make considerable gains towards gaining control over your risk for heart disease and your heart scan score, a crucial step in the Track Your Plaque program.
Tags :

Comments (31) -

  • JT

    7/23/2007 1:42:00 PM |

    Ahhhhh.... a picture of an average American, fat and round.  I don't mean to say that in a negative way about my countries people but looking around I've noticed how many obese people there are in the USA.  Being overly thin at 6' and 145lbs makes me stick out and that's no fun.  I wish more Americans would take better care of their health, avoid high glycemic foods like wheat, and become thin.  If that happened then I could look like an average American.

  • ortcloud

    7/23/2007 10:23:00 PM |

    I did it, I am off wheat and sugar and it wasnt easy, its very addictive and its everywhere.

    So, the consensus is I feel GREAT !!

  • Stan

    7/23/2007 11:18:00 PM |

    100% true!  Especially the brain fog part!

    Heretic

  • Anne

    7/24/2007 11:03:00 AM |

    Convincing others that wheat may be contributing to their health woes is an uphill battle. I have found most people refuse to consider that food may be affecting their health. They usually tell me that their medication is working and they could never give up foods with wheat.  

    I am not only wheat free, but gluten free and so much healthier than I was when I was eating breads. It was not easy to give up my favorite food, but well worth it.

  • Dr. Davis

    7/24/2007 12:59:00 PM |

    I believe that we can only set examples for others to follow.

    If you are a clear-thinking, energetic, slender person, free of wheat products, eventually the wheat bellies around us will ask why. That's your opportunity to instruct.

  • Bix

    7/25/2007 12:08:00 PM |

    Wheat bellies Smile

    I agree with anne, especially the uphill battle part.  My experience: people nod in agreement but silently dismiss the no-wheat message, thinking, "It can't be my Shredded Wheat!"

    Please excuse my icon.

  • JT

    7/26/2007 12:55:00 PM |

    These are two reports I do not enjoy reading this morning.
    JT  

    Panera Bread reports 28 per cent revenue boost

    By Karen Willmer


    Industry develops whole grain 'action plan'
    Panera raises outlook after strong Q3 results
    Panera holds up against higher costs
    Panera Bread to acquire 23 bakery-cafes
    Strong growth for Panera Bread offset by high costs?




    News Archives

    All news for July 2007
    All news for June 2007

    26/07/2007 - Panera Bread said yesterday second quarter revenues for 2007 increased 28 per cent over the same period last year, but operating profit fell by 3.4 per cent.

    Operating profit was $18.9m (€13.8m) for the quarter compared to $21.4m (€15.6) the previous year.

    The company said this was due to shifts within the product ranges and the high prices of raw materials.

    "While second quarter results are somewhat disappointing, we are pleased to see some of our investments in the bakery-cafes pay off with higher comp store sales increases," said chief executive Ron Shaich.

    Bakery-café sales increased 2.1 per cent during the period, and Panera Bread expects this to increase by 3.6 to 3.9 per cent over the four weeks up to July 24.

    The company also predicts bakery sales growth of 2.25 to 4.75 per cent following the opening of 39 new bakery-cafes and the acquisition of a further 32 bakery cafes during this last quarter.

    Bakery-café sales revenue increased from $157m to $209m for the second quarter of 2007, forming 82.9 per cent of the company's total revenues. Bakery-café sales formed 79.7 per cent of total revenue during the same quarter the previous year.

    "We look forward to continuing our positive sales trends while at the same time addressing the margin issues currently impacting our results," Shaich said.

    Panera Bread operates 1,027 bakery-cafes across US, 391 are company owned, and 696 franchised, all producing speciality breads and bakery products.

    The company's focus on the bakery-cafes helped increase revenues, however fresh dough sales to franchises were down 2.1 per cent of total revenue to $26m and revenue from franchise royalties was down to 6.7 per cent of total revenue to $17m.
    ___________________________________

    Researchers: Obesity Can Be Contagious in Social Circles

    Wednesday, July 25, 2007

    LOS ANGELES —  If your friends and family get fat, chances are you will too, researchers report in a startling new study that suggests obesity is "socially contagious" and can spread easily from person to person.

    The large, U.S.-funded study found that to be true even if your loved ones live far away. Social ties seem to play a surprisingly strong role, even more than genes are known to do.

    "We were stunned to find that friends who are hundreds of miles away have just as much impact on a person's weight status as friends who are right next door," said co-author James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego.

    The study found a person's chances of becoming obese went up 57 percent if a friend did, 40 percent if a sibling did and 37 percent if a spouse did. In the closest friendships, the risk almost tripled.

    On average, the researchers calculated, when an obese person gained 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms), the corresponding friend put on an extra 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms).

    Gender also had a strong influence. In same-sex friendships, a person's obesity risk increased by 71 percent if a friend gained weight. Between brothers, the risk was up by 44 percent and 67 percent between sisters.

    Researchers think it is more than just people with similar eating and exercise habits hanging out together. Instead, it may be that having relatives and friends who become obese changes one's idea of what is an acceptable weight.

    Despite their findings, the researchers said people should not sever their relationships.

    "There is a ton of research that suggest that having more friends makes you healthier," Fowler said. "So the last thing that you want to do is get rid of any of your friends."

    The study was published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the National Institute on Aging.

    Researchers analyzed medical records of people in the Framingham Heart Study, which has been following the health of residents of that Boston suburb for more than a half century. They tracked records for relatives and friends using contact information that participants provided each time they were examined over a 32-year period.

    In all, 12,067 people were involved in the study.

    After taking into account natural weight gain and other factors, researchers found the greatest influence occurred among friends and not among people sharing the same genes or living in the same household. Geography and smoking cessation had no effect on obesity risk.

    Indiana University statistician Stan Wasserman said while the study was clever, it had its limitations because it excluded relationships outside of the Framingham group.

    Obesity is a global public health problem. About 1.5 billion adults worldwide are overweight, including more than 400 million who are obese. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese.

    Much of the recent research focus has been on the intense hunt for obesity genes involved in appetite or calorie burning.

    The findings could open a new avenue for treating this worldwide epidemic. The researchers said it might be helpful to treat obese people in groups instead of just the individual.

    "Because people are interconnected, their health is interconnected," said lead author Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a Harvard sociologist.

  • Dr. Davis

    7/26/2007 1:47:00 PM |

    Yes--connect the dots. Our overweight friends and relatives who eat at Panera and similar wheat-prmooting establishments don't realize that the inches they pack on fatten someone elses' wallet.

    What I find puzzling is the focus in the second article on genetics as a cause:

    Much of the recent research focus has been on the intense hunt for obesity genes involved in appetite or calorie burning.

    It ain't the genes. It's the food.

  • JT

    7/26/2007 5:28:00 PM |

    I agree,  

    The way I see it, we live in a pc era.  If one makes a judgment in the general pubic concerning why someone is overweight chances are the pc police will attack.  It is easier to blame something else, like genes, as being the cause.

  • Cindy Moore

    8/4/2007 3:30:00 AM |

    I've been using the beer belly as an example recently and I'm amazed that people think a beer belly is from the alcohol, not the carbs! That's when I explain the difference in appearance, etc between a big belly due to cirrhosis and one from too many carbs....and how it's not where the carbs come from, but the levels.

    Until recently I thought most of my co-workers thought I was nuts, and many still do, but lately I've had a couple of conversations with a few that are trying to get healthy and they've been listening! There are now a few of us that discuss things, compare diets and share articles. It's nice to see people questioning the dietary advice that the "experts" promote.

    I've been off sugar for over 22 weeks...and wheat is the next thing I'm cutting out. I'm hoping cutting wheat will bring my triglycerides down to where I want them. Last checked they were 146! My doc was happy, but I'm not!

  • Dr. Davis

    8/4/2007 3:36:00 AM |

    My prediction: You will be amazed at the results in plummeting triglycerides, weight loss, clearer thinking, increased energy.

  • Jerome

    12/24/2007 1:46:00 PM |

    Being a 32 y/o male and just having finished nursing school, I can say that in the past year I have gained 32#'s.  I was attributing this to my mediterrainian diet of pasta/starches, vegetables, meat, pasta, bread and pasta but must also now add beer.  A drink surely given to us by the gods that I had abstained from consumption until the past 1.5 years.  I can really tell you that I have noticed not only weight gain but definate truncal expansion.  When discussing it with some close friends and trusted sources of info (over a pint of the good stuff) we all can say we notice that it is becoming more prominant especially since we enjoy so much of the wheat based product.  All though I cannot say I can guarantee I can break from the wheat stronghold entirely, I can surely start making a change and see how that effects my life, health, weight.

  • Syera

    6/11/2008 2:11:00 PM |

    I've heard vegetarians blaming these protuberant paunches on meat of all things - it's nice to see someone on the Interwebs actually pointing a finger in the right direction for once.  Smile

  • DrBee

    7/15/2008 7:23:00 PM |

    What about other sources of processed carbs?  I'm mainly thinking of things like rice and corn-based products that are presented as alternative to wheat.

  • Ricardo Carvalho

    9/12/2008 4:10:00 AM |

    I think this can be called Paleodiet: www.thepaleodiet.com, www.marksdailyapple.com, www.staffanlindeberg.com, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet, www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com/2007/11/start-running-your-body-on-the-right-fuel/

  • Anonymous

    9/19/2008 9:32:00 PM |

    Wow, look at those PECS, he must work out a LOT!

    I heard you had to eat a lot to gain muscle, and some of it is fat. So WOW!

  • Anonymous

    3/9/2009 3:47:00 AM |

    Let's not forget that nearly ANYTHING done out of balance can cause problems. Eat enough carrots (like tons) and you go … a bit orange. Eat nothing but fats and … Well, you get it. ANY diet that's far our in ANY direction will cause problems. Heck, even eating a balanced diet but loaded with snacking and no exercise… right back where we started. So while Wheat can be a bad guy, it's far from the only one.

    Erik

  • Gardener Cath, mum of some

    11/5/2009 4:14:31 AM |

    Is it wheat specifically or other grains also?

    I have had a battle (lately lost) to control my weight but always knew that if I cut carbs I lost weight very quickly. Never maintained the weight loss because whenever I went back to a normal diet (and I eat a well balanced vegetarian diet and always have, not a snack-ridden processed one) the weight crept back on.

    Recently dropped wheat (and all other cereals) after stumbling across this site and already shedding excess baggage.

    When I get back to the size I like to be can I include some non-wheat grains and carbs?

  • Anonymous

    6/9/2010 1:39:50 PM |

    I've been on low-carb (no wheat , no processed sugar ) since November. I feel GREAT ! I have lose my wheat belly ( lost 23 lbs. ) and no more acid reflux. This is a great change. I do feel more mentally clear.  No more IBS since giving up the glueten. I am convinced this is the way to go.

  • ADVENTUREinPROGRESS

    7/26/2010 12:46:34 PM |

    I hear what you are saying, but I don't think you can necessarily blame wheat. I think the problem is refined foods in general and lack of fresh fruit/vegetable consumption. It just so happens that wheat is in most of those processed foods, and thus looks like the culprit. I would posit that we would see exactly the same problems if any other refined starch were used as the base.

    Eating some whole grains and starches (including wheat) - and I am not talking about flour based - like rolled/steel-cut oats, sweet potatoes, etc. can be a very healthy part of a good diet.

  • Dorothy Minichiello

    8/19/2010 2:03:52 PM |

    Great article that most folks need to read.  I must also point out with all due respect to the young man who supplied the photo that just by observation alone, he has had excessive exposure to xenoestrogens which can come from plastic, herbicides, pesticides etc. (that's just the tip of the iceberg and a whole other subject) - this is something he should also address in his diet makeover and would be another great health improvement in his life.  

    Great article I will certainly repost!!

  • buy jeans

    11/2/2010 7:45:04 PM |

    As I've said many times before, if you don't believe it, try this experiment: Eliminate all forms of wheat for a 4 week period--no breakfast cereals, no breads of any sort, no pasta, no crackers, no pretzels, etc. Instead, increase your vegetables, healthy oils, lean proteins (raw nuts, seeds, lean red meats, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, Egg Beaters, low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese), fruits. Of course, avoid fruit drinks, candy, and other garbage foods, even if they're wheat-free.

  • roberto cavali

    11/19/2010 11:08:27 PM |

    Hello to all Smile I can�t understand how to add your site in my rss reader. Help me, please

  • O Primitivo

    1/28/2011 5:17:31 PM |

    Low density lipoprotein cholesterol is inversely correlated with abdominal visceral fat area: a magnetic resonance imaging study. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21247428

  • Margaret

    7/10/2011 11:05:16 PM |

    After being off all grains and being healthier would eating oatmeal once in a while be permitted? Also should dairy be eliminated and what about Soy or Rice milk?
    I find some advice confusing.
    Margaret

  • melissa

    7/15/2011 4:33:16 AM |

    Am I wrong, or is it pretty much impossible to establish a wheat-free diet AND maintain a vegetarian one? Sure seems like that would be the case.

  • JLC

    8/6/2011 10:36:12 PM |

    Question. I have only been doing this a week but it sounded like I would see results like "1 pound a day for the first 10 days". I am not seeing that. I went cold turkey and have not had any grains, processed foods, or sugars in that time and intend to continue. Should I be concerned? I lost 5 pounds after the first few days, and now seem to have gained it back. Not sure what's going on. I HAVE NOT CHEATED!
    Thanks for any advice or help. Maybe I just need to stick with it? I have tested and am not in ketosis judging by the strips, my blood sugars never seem to go above 100 or 105 even 1 hour after a meal. Thanks again.

  • Dr. William Davis

    8/8/2011 12:07:02 AM |

    Hi, J--

    More than likely there's something in your diet that is booby trapping your weight loss or you are hypothyroid.

    Hypothyroidism is incredibly common and underdiagnosed.

  • JLC

    8/8/2011 1:15:21 AM |

    Please another question. The only thing I can think of is a scotch after dinner. Does alcohol sabotage this process? Can't wait to get the book. I'm sure it will be great. Just put it on my wish list on amazon and it said it would be delivered to my ipad (kindle app) Aug 30.

  • Anna D.

    9/28/2011 11:31:31 PM |

    Alcohol can absolutely sabotage any weight loss. Although one or two drinks should not cause weight gain, many people say that a day they consume ANY alcohol is a day that they will not lose any weight. So you want to limit drinking to 1-2 days per week, and limit the number of drinks to 2-3. Elimination of alcohol consumption, or limiting to only special occasions would however be most ideal.

  • Carole

    11/6/2011 5:41:00 PM |

    Please clarify regarding the use of the following foods on the Wheat Free plan- brown rice pasta, brown rice bread, spelt bread. I have had success on the program losing 20 lbs in 6 weeks but wanted to know if I could have small quantities of the above mentioned products and still avoid the perils of wheat! Thanks

Add comment

Loading