Can I see your linea alba?

2. November 2010 William Davis (19)
As more and more people are eliminating wheat from their diet and losing their "wheat bellies," i.e., the muffin top around their waists along with the visceral fat beneath, I am frequently seeing something I haven't seen in years: the linea alba.

Linea alba, or "white line," refers to the band of connective tissue running vertically from sternum to pubic area. It underlies the depression that separates the horizontal abdominal rectus muscles of the "six pack" abdomen.

It's like digging in your closet and finding something you thought you'd lost years earlier. Surprise! It's been there all along. Buried deep beneath the abdominal fat from dozens of deep-crust pizzas, whole wheat pasta, and whole grain sandwiches is this pleasing anatomical feature long lost from most peoples' anteriors.


Can you see your linea alba?

Dwarf mutant wheat

31. October 2010 William Davis (13)
Here's my 12-year old standing next to dwarf wheat grown near my house. The wheat is full-grown, harvested about 2 weeks after I took this photo.

Wheat is no longer the 4-foot tall "amber waves of grain" of the 20th century. Over 99% of all wheat grown worldwide is now the 18- to 24-inch tall dwarf. New size, new biochemistry, new effects on humans. I call it dwarf "mutant" wheat despite its lack of extra limbs or eyes because of the dramatic transformation required to breed this unique synthetic plant. 

Short-stature means less stalk, faster growing. The stockier stalk also means that the heavy seed head won't cause the plant to "buckle," as 4-foot tall wheat used to. 





The thousand-plus proteins of wheat that have been transformed to generate this dwarf mutant also changed wheat's relationship to consuming humans.

Medical education in the days of Big Pharma

30. October 2010 William Davis (43)
I received this detailed email from an unexpected source: a 3rd-year medical student.

In her email, Theresa describes her frustrations in what she is witnessing for the first time, proceeding through her training and getting exposed to the realities of medical life.

Medical training, particularly clinical training from the 3rd and 4th years of medical school, onwards through internship, residency, and fellowship training, consists largely of bullying, "pimping" (meaning rapid-fire grilling of questions at trainees), and sleep deprivation. It is an extended hazing period meant to demoralize and inculcate the trainee into following the lead of superiors. Buck the system and you're . . . out. Imagine you've just sunk $190,000 and 8 years of college into getting to your internship. You are not going to chance being thrown out on principle. So you just swallow your pride, go along with the game, and echo all the answers they want you to repeat.

While Theresa laments the sad state of modern American pharmaceutical- and procedure-obsessed medicine, she provides me with hope that some young people training to practice medicine today will carve out their own paths, not the one laid for them by the pharmaceutical industry, nor fall for the temptation of higher-paying procedural specialties like orthopedics and cardiology. I am impressed with her ability to see this so early in her career.


Dr. Davis,

I am a 3rd year medical student at ________ University. I came across
your blog today, and I'm very glad I did. I appreciate the value of your time,
so I want to be as succinct as possible while still getting across what I'm
really thinking and feeling:

From what I gathered exploring your blog for a while this afternoon, the
wellness strategies you incorporate into your practice are some of the exact
things I want to do with my future patients. Personally, I strongly believe in
staying healthy by eating right, staying active, etc. For instance, I don't eat
grains or much in the way of starches and sugars. So I love the fact that you
are helping your patients make these powerful and foundational changes in their
lives.

As I'm sure was your experience, a full appreciation of nutrition and lifestyle
as a first-line health strategy is not something that was taught to me in
medical school. I came to school with this deep conviction already in my heart
and mind, and now, on my 3rd year rotations, I am still conflicted and at a loss
as to how I'm going to be able to practice medicine the way I want to, which is
to incorporate these all-important principles into the care of my patients.

What I've come to understand about the medical field today is that the
information that exists is primarily subsidized by the pharmaceutical industry,
and dictated to medical professionals as "evidence-based" treatment guidelines
and recommendations by organizations with sincere and official sounding names
like American Heart Association and American Cancer Society. Add to that the
pressure of potential malpractice litigation and the complexities of the
insurance reimbursement game, and it seems to me like what you get is a bunch of
diagnostic and medication management algorithms that any half-trained monkey
could follow. In his sleep. Which I guess would be alright if at least they
weren't algorithms based on misguided, self-serving, profit-seeking Big Pharma,
Food Inc, insurance conglomerates, and agri-politics (I think I just made that
word up.)

A lot of well-intentioned physicians are just parroting the party
line, as their patients dutifully and gratefully chomp down their statins and
diabetes drugs and blood pressure pills. And I'm sorry, but "diabetes
education" programs with curriculum put together by drug companies? How is that
even legal? Massive corporations raking in massive profits that are dependent
on uncontrolled blood sugars telling people how to best control their blood
sugars?!

Anyway, forgive my rant. What I'm getting at is this: How can I practice
medicine, with the freedom to educate/coach/treat my patients with diet and
lifestyle changes to mitigate/reverse their chronic health conditions? Without
feeling like I automatically have to first and foremost prescribe the litany of
drugs dictated by "evidence-based" guidelines? Without excessive fear of
litigation or loss of credibility among my peers? Without having to lie through
my teeth to my patients, and tell them that eating low-fat and heart-healthy
whole grains is the best way (implication also being the only scientifically
proven way) to control their diabetes, lower their cholesterol, etc, etc, etc?

I want my patients to have the full benefit of honest nutrition and lifestyle
information, and medications and surgery as necessary. I'm afraid that there
isn't room for this kind of holistic emphasis in the medical profession today.
Are there residencies that include this kind of training or at least respect
these "unconventional" philosophies? Are there clinics or practice groups that
would allow me to practice with this emphasis, or is there a bias against docs
who do not necessarily conform to the party position? Will I have no other
option but to go it alone under the auspices of my own shingle? How do you
handle these kinds of issues in your professional life?

Sincerely,
Theresa M.


A ray of hope! Perhaps Theresa is just the first among many more medical students who refuse to submit to the brainwashing practices of the pharmaceutical industry, the same mind manipulation that has hopelessly turned most of my colleagues into their unwitting puppets.

I'll be interested in watching how Theresa's experience unfolds. I've asked her to keep us informed every so often.

The Great Low-Carb Connector

28. October 2010 William Davis (15)
The effusive Jimmy Moore of Livin' La Vida Low-Carb asked me to help get the word out about his new podcast subscription service, The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show Fan Club.

Jimmy has been The Great Connector for the low-carb discussion, from his ubiquitous online and social media presence, to his annual low-carb cruise. He has also broadcast first class interviews of nutritional notables like Gary Taubes, Dr. Robert Lustig, and blogger Stephan Guyenet. His Fan Club expands listener involvement in the podcast process and, potentially, greater access to his guests:

My faithful listeners have long been asking me about how they can become even more engaged in the behind-the-scenes workings of the show to get the inside scoop about what’s coming next. I’ve heard people ask specifically for access to transcripts of the most popular podcasts, a listing of the interviews I’m currently working on with the ability to ask questions of those guests, to have sneak peek of audio from not-yet-released interviews and more. My amazing podcast producer, Kevin Kennedy-Spaein, and I have been discussing how to best do this for a while in an effort to meet the demands of our biggest fans and we think we’ve got just the answer for you. Introducing The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show Fan Club!

This is for all intents and purposes the quintessential destination for people who can’t get enough of this podcast that goes much deeper than discussion about the low-carb lifestyle. Yes, I speak with a lot of people who are supporters of carbohydrate-restricted diets, but I also talk with fitness gurus, people who support alternative eating plans, those who have interesting theories and beliefs regarding health and much more. Wouldn’t you love to have a chance to know who’s coming up in my schedule to be able to ask them questions BEFORE I interview them? Keep in mind that my interviews are pre-recorded and air sometimes as much as 5-6 months afterwards. Members of the “fan club” would know all about who’s coming and likely will have their question asked on the air just for signing up to be a part of this exciting new addition to “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show.”

Jimmy is the guy who is bringing this disparate and widely-spread community together. He's the guy we all know, he knows "everybody." I'm looking forward to seeing how this new project makes a more involved, personal delivery of interaction possible.

New Track Your Plaque record!

27. October 2010 William Davis (19)
The record for the largest drop in heart scan score (by percentage of starting score) has been held for around three years, with 63% reduction in score.

Well, the longstanding record was broken this week: 75% reduction in score.

At the start, Freddie has disastrous lipid values:

LDL cholesterol 263 mg/dl
HDL 26 mg/dl
Triglycerides 323 mg/dl
Total cholesterol 354 mg/dl

Lipoproteins (NMR) were worse:

LDL particle number 3360 nmol/L
Small LDL 2677 nmol/L

Heart scan score: 732

Interestingly, Freddie had virtually no vitamin D in his body, with a 25-hydroxy vitamin D level that was unmeasurable.

Freddie was miserably intolerant to statin drugs, with even the smallest dose resulting in intolerable muscle aches. That's when his doctor sent him to me.

Because I felt that the dominant abnormality in Freddie's lipids and lipoproteins was small LDL particles, representing 80% of total LDL particle number, we focused his program on correcting this parameter. Freddie's program was therefore focused elimination of wheat, cornstarch, oats, and sugars, along with an eventual vitamin D dose of 20,000 units to finally achieve a 25-hydroxy vitamin D level of 66 ng/ml. No statin drug in sight.

43 lbs of weight loss and 18 months later, a second heart scan score: 183--a 75% reduction.

While the rest of the world continues to insist that coronary calcium (heart scan) scores cannot be reduced, I am seeing records being broken. I add Freddie's experience to the rapidly growing list of people who have not just stopped coronary plaque from growing, but are seizing control and reducing it, sometimes to dramatic degrees.

The Anti-AGEing Diet

22. October 2010 William Davis (36)
Advanced Glycation End-products, AGEs, are a diverse collection of compounds that have been associated with endothelial dysfunction, cataracts, kidney disease, and atherosclerosis in both animal models and human studies. Not all involve glycation nor glucose, but the catch-all name has stuck.

There are a number of actively-held theories of aging, such as the idea that aging is the result of accumulated products of oxidative injury; a genetically pre-programmed script of declining hormones and other phenomena; genetic "mis-reading" that results in disordered gene expression, debris, and uncontrolled cell proliferation (e.g., cancer); among others.

One of the fascinating theories of aging is, cutely, the AGEing theory of aging, i.e., the accumulation of AGE debris in various tissues. Such AGEs have been recovered in lenses from the eyes, atherosclerotic plaque in arteries, kidney and liver tissue, even brain tissue of people with Alzheimer's dementia. AGEs perform no known useful physiologic function: They are relatively inert once formed (especially polymeric AGEs), they do not participate in communication, they make no contribution of significance. They simply gum up the works--debris. (AGEs are to health as the USDA food pyramid is to dietary advice: material for the junkyard.)

There are two general ways to develop AGEs:

1) Endogenous--High blood glucose (any blood sugar above 100 mg/dl) will permit glycation of the various proteins of the body. The higher the blood glucose, the more glycation will proceed. Glycation also occurs at low velocity at blood glucose levels below 100 mg/dl, though this would therefore represent the "normal," expected rate of glycation. Endogenous glycation explains why people with diabetes appear to age and develop all the phenomena of aging faster than non-diabetics (kidney disease, eye diseases, atherosclerosis, dementia, etc.). Hemoglobin A1c, HbA1c, is a readily-obtainable blood test that can show how enthusiastically you have been glycating proteins (hemoglobin, in this case) over the last 2 to 3 months.

A low-carbohydrate diet is the nutritional path that limits endogenous glycation leading to AGE formation. Restricting the most obnoxious carbohydrates, the ones that increase blood sugar the most, such as wheat, cornstarch, rice starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, and sucrose, will limit endogenous AGE formation.

2) Exogenous--AGEs (here especially is where the "AGE" label is misleading, since many other reactions besides glycation lead to such compounds) are formed with cooking at high temperatures, especially meats and animal products. Therefore, a rare steak will have far less than a well-done steak. A thoroughly baked piece of salmon will have greater AGE content than sashimi.

The forms of cooking that increase AGE content the most: roasting,deep-frying, and barbecuing. Temperatures of 350 degrees Fahrenheit and greater increase AGE formation.

Therefore, cooking foods at lower temperature (e.g., baking, sauteeing, or boiling), eating meats rare whenever possible (not chicken or pork, of course), eating raw foods whenever possible (e.g., nuts) are all strategies that limit exogenous AGE exposure. And minimize or avoid butter use, if we are to believe the data that suggest that it contains the highest exogenous AGE content of any known food.

If we connect the dots and limit exposure to both endogenous and exogenous AGEs, we will therefore not trigger this collection of debris that is likely associated with disease and aging. So following a low-AGE diet may also be an anti-aging strategy.

The New Track Your Plaque Diet, soon to be released on the Track Your Plaque website, has incorporated strategies to limit both endogenous as well as exogenous AGEs.

Butter: Just because it's low-carb doesn't mean it's good

21. October 2010 William Davis (59)
The diet I advocate in the Track Your Plaque program to gain control over the factors that lead us to coronary plaque and heart attack is a low-carbohydrate diet. We begin with elimination of wheat, cornstarch, oats, and sugars in the context of an overall carbohydrate-reduced diet. We refine the program by monitoring postprandial (after-meal) glucoses.

But not everything low-carb is good for you. Fried sausages, for instance, are exceptionally unhealthy, despite having little to no carbohydrates.

An emerging but potentially very powerful issue is that of Advanced Glycation End-products, or AGEs. There are two general varieties of AGEs: endogenous (formed within the body) and exogenous (formed in food that is consumed).

Endogenous AGEs form in the body as a result of high blood glucose, i.e., glycation. When exposed to any blood glucose level of 100 mg/dl or greater, some measure of glycation will develop due to a reaction between glucose and various proteins, e.g., proteins in the lens of the eye, forming cataracts over time.

Exogenous AGEs form in food, generally as a result of heating to high-temperature. (AGEs is really a catch-all term; there are actually a number of reactions that occur in foods, not all of them involving sugars. However, the "AGE" label is used to signify all the various related compounds. The values quoted here are from Dr. Helen Vlassara's Mt. Sinai Hospital laboratory; reference below.)

Beef cooked to high-temperature yields plentiful AGEs. One gram of roast beef, for instance, contains 306,238 units. This means that an 8-oz serving yields 13.8 million units AGEs. Compare this to a boiled egg with 573 units per gram, raw tomato with 234 units per gram.

Butter contains an impressive 264,873 units AGEs per gram, the highest content per gram in the entire list of 250 foods tested in the Mt. Sinai study. A couple pats of butter (10 g) therefore contains 2.64 million units. A stick of butter that you might add to cake batter to make a cake therefore yields 30 million units of AGEs.

So there's nothing wrong with the fat of butter. It's AGEs that appear to be responsible for the endothelial dysfunction/artery-constricting, insulin-blocking, oxidation and inflammation reactions that are triggered. Among all of our food choices, butter is among the worst from this viewpoint.

Throw in the peculiar "insulinotrophic" effect of butter, and you have potent distortion of metabolic pathways, courtesy of the butter on your lobster.

(AGE data from Goldberg 2004. In this analysis, carboxymethyllysine was the marker used for AGE content.)

Incidentally, the new Track Your Plaque diet will soon be released as chapter 9 of the new Track Your Plaque book on the website.

Einkorn now in Whole Foods

16. October 2010 William Davis (19)
I just saw this at Whole Foods: einkorn pasta.

In my einkorn bread experience (In search of wheat: We bake einkorn bread), I was spared the high blood glucose and neurologic and gastrointestinal effects of conventional whole wheat grain (dwarf Triticum aestivum). I shared the einkorn bread  with four other people with histories of acute wheat sensitivities, only one of whom experienced a mild diffuse joint reaction, the other three not experiencing any symptoms.

Anyone wishing to try einkorn can now obtain commercial pasta from Jovial, an Italy-based manufacturer. It comes in spaghetti, linguine, rigatoni, fusilli, and penne rigate shapes.

Eli Rogosa, founder of The Heritage Wheat Conservancy, tells me that, in her experience, celiac suffers seem to not experience immunologic phenomena triggered by conventional wheat.

However, we've got to be careful here. The so-called ("diploid") "A" genome of einkorn shares many of the same genes as the ("hexaploid") "ABD" genomes of modern wheat, including overlap in the sequences coding for the 50-or so different glutens and glutenins. Most of the genes that code for the glutens that cause celiac and related illnesses reside in the "D" genome that are absent in the einkorn "A" genome. However, the "A" genome still codes for glutens. So there is potential for activating celiac disease in some people. Insufficient research has been devoted to this question. It is a question of extreme importance to people with celiac and other immune-mediated conditions, since re-exposure to the wrong form of gluten can increase risk of intestinal lymphoma 77-fold, as well as risk of other gastrointestinal cancers.

So einkorn should not be viewed as a cure-all for all things wheat, but as something to consider for a carbohydrate indulgence. Yes, indeed: It is a carbohydrate, with 61 grams ("net") carbs per 4 oz (uncooked) serving.
Should anyone give it a try, please be sure to report back your experience, especially if you have a history of wheat intolerance. If you have a glucose meter, pre- and 1-hour post values are the ones to measure to gauge the blood sugar effects of consumption. Because pasta tends to cause long sustained blood sugar rises, another value at 2-4 hours might be interesting.

Noodles without the headaches

14. October 2010 William Davis (26)
If you are looking for a wheat-free noodle or pasta, shirataki noodles are worth a try.

Shirataki noodles are low-carbohydrate (less than 3 g per 8 oz package) and, of course, do not trigger all the unhealthy effects of wheat--no blood sugar/insulin provocation, no addictive brain effects (exorphins), no gluten-mediated inflammatory effects.

(I advise avoiding gluten-free pasta alternatives made with rice flour and other common gluten alternatives, since they trigger blood sugar, small LDL, and growth of visceral fat just like wheat.)

I made a stir-fry using the shirataki-tofu noodles, shown below. (Tofu is added to make the noodles more noodly in consistency, as opposed to the chewier non-tofu variety.) The noodles were a lot like the ramen I used to eat as a kid. They were filling and tasted great in the sesame oil, soy sauce, tofu, and vegetables I used.


The noodles are easy to use. Just drain liquid out of package. (The noodles come in water.) Rinse in collander 30 seconds, then boil for 3 minutes. Add to your stir-fry or other dish. Some manufacturers, such as House Foods, also have angel hair and fettucine style noodles.

You're fried

13. October 2010 William Davis (26)
If I could invent a food that illustrates nearly all of the shortcomings of the American diet, it would be French fries, the familiar fixture of fast food.

What we have come to view as French fries contain just about every one of the unhealthy ingredients that lead us down the path of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc.

Let's take them one by one:

Potato starch--Potato starch exerts an effect on blood sugar similar to that of table sugar, only worse. (Glycemic index french fries 75; glycemic index sucrose 65.)

Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs)--AGEs form when proteins and fats are subjected to high temperature cooking; the longer the high temperature, the more the food reaction creating AGEs proceeds. AGEs are the likely culprit in roasted and fried foods that made it appear that saturated fats were bad, when it was really AGEs all along. AGEs have been shown to block insulin's effects, increase blood sugar, cause endothelial dysfunction and high blood pressure.

Acrylamides--Acrylamides, like AGEs, are created through high-temperature heating. French fries are unusually rich in AGEs. Brewed coffee also contains a small quantity, while French fries contain 82-fold greater quantities, among the highest of all known sources of acrylamides.

Oxidized oils--The amount of oxidized oils will depend on what sort of oil was used for frying. As more restaurants are trying to get away from hydrogenated oils, many are turning back to polyunsaturates. Others are turning to commercial-grade oils that contain both hydrogenated and polyunsaturates. If oils are permitted to oxidize, then they will trigger oxidative phenomena in your body upon consumptions, e.g., LDL oxidation (Staprans 1994).

In other words, the innocent appearing French fry unavoidably triggers oxidation, all the phenomena triggered by high blood glucose (high insulin, glycation, visceral fat accumulation), along with the cascade of effects arising from AGEs and acrylamides.

Top your French fries with some ketchup made with high-fructose corn syrup that exagerrates AGE formation, visceral fat, and distorts postprandial (after-eating) effects.

Is it any wonder that we've lost control over diet?
Wheat Belly explodes on the scene!

Wheat Belly explodes on the scene!

29. August 2011 William Davis (64)


Wheat Belly is finally available in Barnes and Noble and all major bookstores nationwide! Also available at Amazon. Electronic versions for Nook and Kindle, as well as an audio CD, will also be available.

The notion of Wheat Belly got its start right here on The Heart Scan Blog and the diet developed for the Track Your Plaque program to conquer heart disease and plaque.



Chapters in the book include:

Not Your Grandma's Muffins: The Creation of Modern Wheat
Whence and where did this familiar grain, 4 1/2-foot tall "amber waves of grain," become transformed into a 2-foot tall, high-yield genetically unique plant unfamiliar to humans? And why is this such a bad thing?

Cataracts, Wrinkles, and Dowager's Humps: Wheat and the Aging Process
If you thought that bagels and crackers are just about carbs, think again. Wheat consumption makes you age faster: cataracts, crow's feet, arthritis . . . you name it, wheat's been there, done that and brings you one step closer to the big nursing home in the sky with every bite.

My Particles are Bigger than Your Particles
Why consuming plenty of "healthy whole grains" is the path to heart disease and heart attack and why saying goodbye to them is among the most powerful strategies around for reduction or elimination of risk.

Hello, Intestine: It's Me, Wheat
No discussion of wheat is complete without talking about how celiac disease and other common intestinal ailments, like acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome, fit into the broader concept of wheat elimination.

Here's a YouTube video introduction to the book and concept posted on the YouTube Wheat Belly Channel. Also, join the discussions on The Wheat Belly Blog and Facebook. Have that last bite of blueberry muffin, because I predict you won't be turning back!

Tags :

Comments (64) -

  • Bill Davis

    8/30/2011 12:18:20 PM |

    My copy was delivered to my PC Kindle reader first thing this morning. Look forward to reading it. Thanks.
    Bill

  • Guy Jones

    8/30/2011 12:45:33 PM |

    Congratulations Dr. Davis! I just listened to you on Robb Wolf's podcast and I'll be downloading the Kindle version for my iPad this evening. I hope you have a best seller and I hope it starts a trend toward a healthier country.
    Guy

  • Jana Miller

    8/30/2011 2:28:14 PM |

    Congratulations...it's so exciting to read all the breakthroughs you are making with heart disease.I bet the drug companies don't like you to much..hahah.  I enjoyed my almond-flour blueberry muffin this morning...no more wheat at our house. We are actually looking forward to our physicals in a few months.
    Jana

  • Joe Lindley

    8/30/2011 2:50:49 PM |

    Congratulations Dr. Davis.  I have you book tucked away in my Kindle and it looks to be very enlightening.  I've also alerted my followers on Twitter.  I have a personal friend who has been off wheat and sugar for years to reverse pretty serious medical problems, so was a believer even before I found your work.  Best of luck with the release!!

  • Chris

    8/30/2011 3:05:37 PM |

    Congrats!  Looking forward to reading the book!

  • Joe

    8/30/2011 5:09:24 PM |

    Michael:

    There is nothing "easy" about open-heart surgery.  I have many friends, relatives, and colleagues (of my own generation) who have had various bypass operations, and to a man (and a few women), when asked if they'd ever have another one, the answer is no. No way, Jose, in fact. Too much pain, too many "complications," too much reduction in "quality of life," etc.  Plus, valve repair or replacement operations (according to the literature) are also rife with similar "complications," e.g., leakage, mechanical malfunction, etc. Nope, I have no desire to become a cyborg.

    Now, if I was, say, 25, and not 68, maybe I'd think differently about it. I've already outlived the projected average lifespan for a person born in 1943 (63.95 years). I've had a pretty good life, and I have no desire to live as an incapacitated individual, mostly dependent on others for my care, etc. I'm divorced, and have no children, so no one is dependent on my survival. I also have Alzheimer's in the family tree (three uncles and two aunts).

    Plus, Dr. Davis has suggested that vitamin D, for one, may help put off the inevitable for those of us with aortic insufficiency, based on his own clinical experience. It gives me some additional hope that I may be able to fight this off for a few more years, which will give me time to arrange my affairs, etc. And serving as an n=1 experiment, and then seeing what happens, may be helpful to others facing the same decision.

    You said that "no amount of exercise or supplementation and nutrition will correct your current situation." Perhaps you're right, but how do you know that with any degree of certainty? Maybe it won't "correct" the situation, but maybe it will postpone the inevitable? Dr. Davis suggests that it just might do that. And getting  another 5-10 years would be a satisfactory resolution, at least it would for me. Provided I was generally healthy and independent for that entire time, and was physically able to continue the exercise, etc.

    So I hope Dr. Davis will add some additional insight regarding my situation.

    Joe

    PS: Apparently there is only one live thread at a time here.  I wanted to reply to Michael Goroncy in the Bad Fat-Good Fat thread, but this is the only thread that will accept it. I keep getting "500" errors otherwise.

    PPS: I received my copy of the "Wheat Belly" book yesterday.  It's mostly for my brother-in-law, who subsists mostly on cereal, bread, and pasta, and who has a "wheat belly" of growing proportions.  Maybe it'll help him see the light. But I may also learn a few things myself.

  • Dr. William Davis

    8/30/2011 6:29:54 PM |

    Hi, Jana-

    That's okay. I'm not sure I'd like any drug company to be my friend, anyway!

  • James Buch PhD

    8/30/2011 9:38:17 PM |

    Congratulations on the new book and for getting it featured in "Woman's World" cover recently.

    Where else to put a new idea on eating and weight control but in a magazine that for years has featured endless weight loss articles?  I think it is a great move to get exposure there.

    I'll be ordering my book soon, but will be gone for a week long bicycle camping trip as part of my keep in shape because I am too old to fall out of shape and get back easily. Then, when I rest up, I'll want the book.

    I really enjoyed the wheat articles you have posted, and am beginning to feel that my escalating blood glucose reading are linkable to the previous day's carb and wheat content.  However, there is so much variability in the function of my home blood glucose monitors that I can't yet be sure of such associations being real, yet.

  • Princess Dieter

    8/30/2011 11:36:02 PM |

    Bought the Woman's World yesterday. Read it in the pm today. And I Nook-ed WHEAT BELLY about 10 mins ago. Smile Gonna read it after supper.

    Thanks, Doc!

  • Linda

    8/30/2011 11:38:31 PM |

    I also asked this question in the Vit D post from a few days ago.

    I began experiencing tightness and soreness in my hips and lower back this year. Have been low carbing for over three years, and, except for a short period of stupidity earlier this year, have not consumed any flour products. My multi-vitamin contains only 500 IU of D3, so I am adding this to my daily supplementing. Should I start slowly, 1000 IU a day for a month, and slowly increase? Is D3 toxic? BTW I am in my late 60′s, and I do exercise 5-6 days a week as well.
    I do not hang out in doctors' offices unless it is absolutely totally necessary, so I am choosing not to have any testing done.

  • Dr. William Davis

    8/31/2011 12:55:34 AM |

    Hi, Linda--

    The best way to think of vitamin D is as sunlight exposure. However, the vitamin D in your multivitamin is, more than likely, an unabsorbable or poorly absorbed form. It should be taken as gelcap.

    I know of no advantage to doing it slowly. Embrace the D!

  • Dr. William Davis

    8/31/2011 12:59:38 AM |

    Hi, Dr. Buch--

    I am mindful of what Woman's World is, seeing it in the checkout line at the grocery store. Please know that I did not "place" it there; I simply responded to questions posed by the reporter.

    I can, with every confidence, assure you that wheat in the diet exerts outsized effects on blood glucose due to the unique configuration of branching of the glucose polymers in the amylopectin A unique to wheat.

  • michael goroncy

    8/31/2011 2:10:36 AM |

    In reply to Joe
    You are 68 yo....”hope to get another 5-10yrs”
    Gosh! Your attitude is negative and perhaps a different outlook may be the biggest weapon in your arsenal of 'tricks' that you have at the moment. From what you have said..I can't see why you can't be looking at  20-30 yrs more.
    You can run 5k+ 3-4 p/w....I would have to wake up early and hope to get back by sunset to walk 5k.

    My heart problems (self inflicted) are a tad different than yours...
    MI and CAGB at age 37 (25yrs ago) Pumping on LAD and collaterals currently. Treated with medication and a similar nutrition and supplement list as your own.
    Have smoked since 15yo and still do..insane! I know..will make first attempt to quit by years end..simply tired of being breathless and feeling ordinary. Also drink a litre of red wine daily (to take the edge off)
    Needless to say am not qualified to be a mentor to anybody (just sharing thoughts and experiences)

    Now back to you and your 'faulty parachutes'....
    (1) Consult an interventional cardiologist and a holistic cardio man for opinions on surgery (write a list of all your questions beforehand)
    (2) Seek other patients that have been in your position to get their feedback (google away)
    (3) CHD is a scary disease that draws us into a feeling of doom and if you can cross this barrier...zippidy -do-da.

  • Wayne

    8/31/2011 4:21:20 AM |

    If certain farmers started growing the "old" type wheat would this eliminate the problems of  "modern" wheat?
    Maybe some entrepreneurial farmers could fill this niche market at least as far as flour for home use, then we could eat bread without concern. It's hard to completely give up the all the crunchy stuff. Drinking and smoking is easier to quit  (no joke).

  • Stipetic

    8/31/2011 7:50:20 AM |

    Congratulations, Dr. Davis. Looking forward to reading your book.
    BTW, do you know if Europe has switched to the dwarf variety too?

  • Dr. William Davis

    8/31/2011 11:53:29 AM |

    Hi, Stip--

    Yes, most farmers in Europe and Asia, big and small, have converted to the semi-dwarf variant. I'm told this by wheat breeding experts, as well as by Dr. Gary Vocke at the USDA, who collects all data relative to wheat worldwide.

  • Dr. William Davis

    8/31/2011 11:55:47 AM |

    Hi, Wayne--

    Yes, it can be difficult psychologically for many.

    Wheat in all its forms has been a problem for as long as humans have eaten it. We have records suggesting, for instance, that celiac disease was described in 100 AD. The modern forms have made it much, much worse, however.

    I believe that a return to the forms of wheat--einkorn, emmer, non-genetically-manipulated "heritage" cultivars of wheat--would be far better, though it would not be perfect since some people will still respond with abnormal immune responses, while others react to the carbohydrates. But it would indeed be somewhat better.

  • Mike Larocque

    8/31/2011 3:00:36 PM |

    Hi Dr. Davis,
    I just read Tom's review over at his 'Fat Head' blog and I'm looking forward to reading the book. Do you have any idea why the Kindle version isn't available in Canada? Hopefully it's just a timing issue and it will be available shortly.

  • Joe

    8/31/2011 4:23:34 PM |

    To Michael Gorancy:

    No, Michael, my attitude is extremely positive. But I'm also a realist. I just don't have a desire to undergo open-heart surgery, and I never expected to live forever anyway. I'm already past my anticipated expiration date.

    I'm sorry to hear about your problems; yes, they seem self-inflicted.  Most of our health problems are. I smoked for about 15 years, early in life, and thankfully quit about 38 years ago. And that you continue to smoke in your condition, well, that seems pretty negative to me. I'm fighting back; you seem to be giving up. But it's definitely your decision to do so, as it is mine.

    Another "20-30" years? I don't think so. That would mean I'd be 88-98 years old at death.  Are you serious? As stated before, I have Alzheimer's in my family, and there may not be a worse disease than that. Dropping dead from a sudden heart attack or heart failure (say, while out jogging) versus perhaps decades of not even knowing who I am, needing to be confined for my own safety, and a burden to others? That's a no-brainer for me, Michael.

    Your points:
    1. I've already decided not to have open-heart surgery.
    2. Yes, I wish I could find such patients.  But as Dr. Davis has said, it's apparently a rare condition. I can't find anything in the literature or on the Internet that's been any real help in that area.
    3. Again, I don't have a feeling of doom. Quite the contrary, in fact. Someone once said that "life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a ride!"  I want to be able to "skid in broadside" when I go, not be forced to lie in a bed in my own feces.

    I wish you the best of luck, Michael! But I sure wish you'd stop smoking!

    Joe

  • Paul

    8/31/2011 6:34:41 PM |

    I suggested to my mother-in-law that she eliminated sugar and flour from her diet.  She is overweight, and has hypertension, IBS, depression, hypothyroidism and fatigue (and, I believe, undiagnosed low cortisol based on an at-home salivary test)- she is a delight for the drug firms.  Without any exercise, she has now lost 23 pounds in about 4 months.  She is a lot better mentally and has more energy.  We will have to wait and see with her other problems pan out.

    I have ordered the book from Amazon and looking forward to its arrival. It is hard to argue against bread with its biblical endorsement - your book changes this.

  • Big Wave Dave

    8/31/2011 6:38:22 PM |

    Was 30 pounds overweight and suffered frequent heartburn.  I ate a lot of bread and pasta as I though it was healthy.  WRONG!  After reading Dr. Davis' "Have some more" I gave up wheat entirely and lost 20 pounds of fat in four months (muscle strength has remained constant.)  I eat as Dr. Davis recommends and am never hungry.  Friends have commented that I look quite robust (I am 58.)  No more heartburn to boot!  I am spreading the word about this great site to whoever will listen.  Thank you very much!

  • Jesper

    8/31/2011 6:56:07 PM |

    Hello and gratz on the book.

    I heard your interview on Robb Wolf's podcast. A fantastic show i must say and extremely interesting with all these stories of what wheat can do.

    My son who is 1½ years old has been suffering from som nasty wounds in his head for the last 6 months.
    The doctors have given the diagnosis Ofujis disease. Do you have any knowledge if this disease could be caused by wheat?
    I can find nothing on the disease besides it's rare and there seem to be no cure.

    Keep up the good work,

    best regards
    Your knew danish fanSmile

  • Vin Kutty

    8/31/2011 7:44:55 PM |

    Got the book yesterday from Amazon and already a few chapters into it. Congrats, Dr. Davis!

    Left it on the dining table for friends and family to read. People have read parts of it (my plan is working!) and the verdict: it's scary. They should be scared.

    Dr. Davis any comments on the CNN show last weekend with Dr. Gupta called 'Last Heart Attack'? There was an awful lot of disturbing talk about eating healthy whole grains and avoiding meats and oils. At least they talked a lot about calcium scans and interviewed Dr. Agatston. Wish they'd interviewed you instead of Ornish. Too bad.

  • Linda

    9/1/2011 1:53:13 AM |

    I would also enjoy reading your opinion regarding "The Last Heart Attack". It has been discussed on other blogs as well. Many of us feel that our former president looks awful. Not at all healthy or robust. He's been taking the advice of Ornish for quite awhile and has had heart problems at the same time. Perhaps he needs a new physician!

  • Tom

    9/1/2011 2:08:30 AM |

    I got my copy in the mail and read the first section before looking at the rest of the mail.  Following your advice from just this blog I've lost 70 lbs, raised my hdl and got my triglycerides to 80 and lowered my total cholesterol. I don't think any words are enough to say how thankful I am for your advice.  You're not only helping people lose weight and feel better, you're extending their lives.

    I've been waiting for a post to comment on and this seemed like a good one...

  • Might-o'chondri-AL

    9/1/2011 6:15:48 AM |

    Hi Michael G.,
    Smoking generates myelo-peroxidase enzymes that oxidize the Apo A1 lipo-protein and then the ApoA1 component of HDL doesn't function well ... maybe you know this already.

  • nina

    9/1/2011 11:54:11 AM |

    Good work.

    The book is turning up all over the place.

    http://suzanneloomscreativity.blogspot.com/2011/09/roaming-ancestors-standing-still.html

    Nina

  • Soul

    9/1/2011 12:32:17 PM |

    Congrats Dr. Davis on the new book!  Look forward to learning more about the problems wheat can cause the body.

  • Joe Lindley

    9/1/2011 3:36:57 PM |

    Dr. Davis,
    I just posted a review of Wheat Belly on my blog ( see below).  I think the release of Wheat Belly will be a watershed event.  With the increased focus that has occurred recently on low carb diets and now this, the indictment of wheat as the primary culprit, I think many Americans will finally see a way out of this health nightmare.

    http://cravingsugar.net/wheat-belly-book-review-william-davis-gluten-intolerance-diet.php

    As I read your book I kept on running across the thoughts that "that happened to me" or "so that's what happened to one of my friends".  I think many will get the same reactions.

    Congratulations on publishing such an important book!
    ...Joe...

  • ChrisB

    9/1/2011 8:32:16 PM |

    +1.  As someone thats new to the paleo/primal diet and a young heart attack survivor I'm very concerned and confused after watching this.

  • ChrisB

    9/1/2011 8:33:11 PM |

    This was meant to be in response to "The Last Heart Attack" comment above.

  • Peter Silverman

    9/2/2011 1:54:19 AM |

    RE: The Last Heart Attack, my suspicion is that any diet that gets people off of factory produced food is a giant step in the right direction, whether it's Dr. Davis's, or Ornish's, or Esselstyn's or Agaston's.  These doctors all blame different foods, but they all advocate eating natural foods and staying away from processed ones.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:21:25 AM |

    Wow, Joe! You wrote a basic primer on the Wheat Belly project!

    Very nice. And thanks!

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:22:25 AM |

    Thanks, soul! Stay tuned. On both The Heart Scan Blog and the Wheat Belly Blog, I will continue to chronicle the growing wheat-free experience, as well as better ways to enjoy diet while remaining 100% wheat-free!

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:23:40 AM |

    Hi, Nina--

    That's great . . . provided I don't receive any unmarked packages with a ticking sound!

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:25:34 AM |

    Thank you, Tom, for sharing your experience. Simply telling your story will catch the attention of a few more people, who will then return and post their experiences, which will then . . . and that's how you and I build this grassroots effort to buck the nonsensical "cut the fat and eat more healthy whole grains" nonsense that passes for dietary advice today.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:31:12 AM |

    Hi, Vin--Thank you!

    What I told Linda a few comments above applies here as well. The world has been misled by the faulty logic: If something bad (white processed flour) is replaced by something less bad (whole grains), then more of the less bad thing is great. This is faulty, and potentially fatal, logic, but the basis for the entire nationwide advice to "cut your fat and eat more healthy whole grains." Gupta fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:35:15 AM |

    Hi, Linda--

    I admire Gupta's intentions. But he fell for the same nonsense that passes for conventional advice in health and heart disease prevention.

    In particular, the world has been misled by the faulty logic: If something bad (white processed flour) is replaced by something less bad (whole grains), then more of the less bad thing is great. This is faulty, and potentially fatal, logic, but the basis for the entire nationwide advice to "cut your fat and eat more healthy whole grains."

    I obviously don't have access to Mr. Clinton's health records, but he has every sign of being a small LDL particle kind of guy. He might also have Lp(a). I'd be surprised if either of these have been identified.

    Interestingly, while I admire much of Arthur Agatston's work, he has stated publicly that coronary calcium cannot be reduced. Anyone following these discussions knows that this is not true: coronary calcium can be reduced, even to extreme degrees. But the solution does not involve cutting fat, whole grains, and does not necessarily involve statin drugs.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:38:41 AM |

    Thank you, Jesper. Sorry, I know of no association of wheat consumption and your son's condition. However, I have to say that the reach of wheat into multiple health conditions even continues to surprise me.

    I wish the best for your son.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:41:11 AM |

    Thanks, Dave! And thank you for coming back to share your experience.

    It's stories like yours that build the experience. Please continue to come back and report your progress!

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:43:24 AM |

    Hi, Paul--

    Congratulations to your mother-in-law!

    In Wheat Belly, you will learn that the wheat of the Bible is different from the stuff being passed off to us today--it's completely different.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:54:08 AM |

    Hi, Mike--

    Sorry, no idea. I can't imagine that will continue.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:58:05 AM |

    Did you notice Bill Clinton's odd red face? While it could be that he simply drinks too much, I've seen this rash in many, many people who have odd responses to wheat; accordingly, the rash goes away with wheat elimination. Interesting. I suspect Clinton has a wheat addiction, since programs like that advocated by Ornish cultivate this sort of thing.

  • Dave Dixon

    9/2/2011 2:28:10 PM |

    Hi Dr. Davis. I'm reading "Wheat Belly", and one thing that really jumped out at me were the studies about reduction of intake of wheat-based foods from naloxone administration. Did these studies have any control to measure the amount of appetite reduction for non-wheat foods? Thanks.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:45:50 PM |

    Hi, Dave--
    The researchers didn't look specifically at wheat foods, but made statements like "the reduction in unhealthy fatty and sugar foods like cakes, cupcakes, and pie were reduced." So there was a bit of extrapolation on my part, but the final message, I thought, was pretty clear even though the investigators with their pre-existing dietary biases did not see it.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/2/2011 2:49:10 PM |

    Yes, Peter. I agree.

    An argument could be made for this approach in some genetic types, e.g., apo E4. Note also that neither of these docs are cardiologists and have probably treated as many heart attacks or dealt with real heart disease as the kid working at Home Depot.

    We should learn from them what lessons might be useful for people outside of the exceptional apo E4. It was the Ornish diet that, 20 years ago, made me gain 30 lbs, pushed my HDL to 27 mg/dl, increased my triglycerides to 350 mg/dl, and made me diabetic. Going off their diet and eliminating all wheat and sugars corrected everything, including no more diabetes. Having seen a similar scenario play out many, many times, these guys are, in my view, flogging a dead horse. The horse ran a good race while it was alive, but now it's dead.

  • ChrisB

    9/2/2011 3:01:19 PM |

    Dr Davis, you seem to have nailed it in my opinion.  Still trying to get my wife on board.  It was that (Ornish) diet that gave me a heart attack two years ago (34 yo and 155 lbs).  HDL was 16!  TC 115!  I just very recently found the whole Paleo, or eat fats, not grains, diet and I really hope this works for me.  I am very very confident it will.

  • Dave Dixon

    9/2/2011 4:49:18 PM |

    Right. And presumably they were looking at binge eaters, and I suspect most people don't have a problem binging on foods which don't contain wheat and/or refined sugar.

  • Mike Larocque

    9/2/2011 5:12:25 PM |

    Just as an FYI, from my Canadian IP, going to the Kindle version of the page ( http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Weight-Health-ebook/dp/B00571F26Y ), it says "This title is _not available_ for customers from Canada". The 'not available' links to the following explanation: "Due to copyright restrictions, certain Kindle Titles are not available everywhere...". So it appears to be something to do with the publisher.

  • Thomas Geisner

    9/8/2011 8:01:36 AM |

    Dr. Davis,

    I heard your interview on Robb Wolf's podcast and I'm eager to read your book after your very convincing appearance! As a Cardiothoracic Surgeon (in Norway), I've put my head on the block by both publicly and on my blog recommending people to take grains out of the diet. Imagine my disappointment when I found that I can't buy the e-book because I'm situated in Norway! Is there any way I can get around "the ban of Europe"?

    Best regards,

    tg

  • Tom Nikkola

    9/9/2011 1:28:59 AM |

    I'm looking forward to reading the new book. I'm going to download it to Kindle as soon as I finish The Art and Science of Low-Carb Living. Based on what I've read on you blog in the past, I'm sure I will be recommending it to our RDs and Personal Trainers at Life Time Fitness.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/9/2011 2:26:55 AM |

    Dr. Geisner--

    I saw your question over on the Wheat Belly Blog. I will need to check into what is going on.

    Thanks for asking!

  • varicose veins detroit michigan

    9/13/2011 6:02:55 PM |

    Looks like a great book. It's startling to know--for a beginner like me how twisted the food production process has become from the books and documentaries i've seen since i've converted to eating healthy.

  • Anon

    9/20/2011 12:56:33 AM |

    Perhaps William Davis is correct in the claims he makes in Wheat Belly. And perhaps not. Time will tell. Many have made nutritional proclamations about a number of things, including the “fact” that eggs should be avoided, or that red meat can and will certainly cause heart disease, or that we must stay away from anything white, including flour, milk, and yogurt. And now the claim is that wheat is an opiate that must be eschewed at all costs.
    Has wheat been genetically engineered—with deleterious effects—for mass production? Probably. But what hasn’t been? Davis recommends eating salmon…is that wild caught or farm raised? Even if advertised as wild caught, how do we know this? There has been some unresolved controversy over mislabeling, and serious concerns over mercury and PCB content in some salmon. Eggs are recommended by Davis— “not in the once a week” style as we’ve been taught—but as often as one’s body tells one to eat them. But what kind of chickens produce these eggs and what are they eating? How do we know? The same holds true for the other recommended items on the Davis diet. Even if all of the “cage-free, grass-fed, wild-caught, organic, super organic, sustainable, pesticide-free” goods were accessible and affordable to the average American (a separate topic, of course), there are all sorts of issues about authenticity—some of which probably won’t surface for years. It’s not necessarily possible for us to each have a plot of land with our own chickens, cows, pigs, vegetable gardens, and spring water.
    Among other issues, there are two things that are especially troubling about Davis’s work. One is the polemical tone that allows for nothing less than everyone going off of every form of wheat--and not having wheat in any quantity ever again (unless one wants to face uncomfortable and even dire side effects). Regardless of family history, exercise, indigenous foods, cultural background, etc., the message is the same for everyone. The second troubling feature is that those who write positive reviews on Davis’s blogs are often commended by him, while those who write in to say that perhaps his stance is a little extreme are not even addressed (and perhaps not included?). “Pascal” from Davis’s blog on oatmeal, for example, writes in to say that his glucose level after eating a regular serving of oatmeal is nowhere near what Davis prophesied that it would be—and says that his is not an isolated case. There was no response to this.
    Walter Willett, MD, and Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard Public Health Department, argues that it’s not at the starting line that we determine whether or not a particular diet is effective. It is not over the course of three or six months, or even a year or two. All the “before” and “after” pictures in the world don’t really matter if five or ten years down the line, the individuals in question have gone back to their “before” weight and numbers—or worse. What counts is that which can be sustained over a lifetime…and this takes time and resources to chart and scientifically assess. (As a sidebar, Willett promotes certain types and quantities of whole grains, in conjunction with a number of other food types, as well as exercise).
    Time will tell whether or not Davis’s work is the best thing since sliced bread—or not.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/20/2011 12:35:08 PM |

    If you're going to go on like that, I think it would be best to leave a name or identifier. Nothing like throwing rocks and then running.

    One issue: There is absolutely no question that wheat has changed genetically. Ask any agricultural geneticist. This is not concealed; in fact, it is openly talked about, even proudly. The incredible thing is that it is not seen as the cause of multiple health problems.

    And I have to pick my battles. Some are simply not worth fighting.

  • Anon

    9/20/2011 4:13:07 PM |

    Please forgive me if my response seemed too strong. As I say, you may be right about everything in your book; you certainly make some fine points and have given people good things to think about. My point was simply that some claims in Wheat Belly may need to be mitigated or adjusted over time—and that there are medical professionals, researchers, and scientists with varying opinions on the topics you present.  Hopefully that is a good thing in that it encourages further thought and study in an ever-changing field. Your diet may work perfectly for some people, and that is great. For others, perhaps your recommendations work in modified form. And for yet others, maybe another nutritional plan works best. Hopefully that’s okay. Thank you for taking the time to respond, and for helping people to consider such an important topic. And thank you for helping me to think carefully about some new ideas.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/20/2011 11:11:36 PM |

    Ah, THAT anon.

    Please keep in mind that it is a book. It is not a round table discussion.

    From where I view the world, wheat looks to me like the biggest nutritional blunder ever committed on a large scale. Removal of it yields some of the most incredible weight and health turnarounds I have ever seen. It doesn't have to work for everybody and it's okay with me if this makes some people angry. My concern is that people need to hear the side of the argument that few are talking about . . . while being inundated with proclamation of the benefits of "healthy whole grains."

  • Alejandro

    9/23/2011 11:25:09 AM |

    I just bought your book today.  I'm only about a quarter-way through it, and it's excellent so far.  Intriguing, and very well written.  

    I'm full blooded Mexican born and raised in the US on a pretty typical American diet.  Rice and beans were staples in my house, but we favored bread and flour tortillas over corn tortillas like good Americans.  Everyone in my family has struggled to varying degrees with weight.  I'm by far the thinnest because I've worked very hard to stay fit and trim.  I work out about 4-5 times a week, lifting and doing cardio.  I can't eat like most other guys who seem to be able to consume 50% more than I do, workout less, and look just as good or even better.  When I was younger I thought maybe Mexicans were just prone to more pudge around the middle.  Even at my thinnest, fittest, and buffest I still maintain some semblance of a belly.  It's frustrating.

    When I was 15 I traveled to Mexico for the first time to visit extended family.  I wasn't in as good of shape then as I am now (at 35), and had more belly fat.  A very curious thing happened on that trip:  In spite of eating copious amounts of my grandmother's delicious food for a solid month - 3 hearty meals a day including "cena", the last Mexican meal of the day which happens right before bed - I shed pounds.  To my American friends this seemed implausible.  "But Mexican food is soooo fattening!"  "Eating right before bed?  That's the worst!"  "All that cheese?"  etc.  Still I lost weight without any physical effort, and while eating way more than I did as a self-conscious teenager back in the States.  

    I've since traveled to Mexico more times than I can count, and every single time without fail, I eat more and lose weight, noting the difference especially in my belly.  Chilaquiles (fried strips of corn tortilla with cheese), chiles rellenos (stuffed peppers with cheese), tamales made with lard (yes, lard), etc.  Doesn't matter.  Pounds come off without additional exercise, indeed without the exercise I'm used to in the States.  It dawned on me one day that maybe there's something about the American diet and our processed food that makes it so challenging for me to stave off gut flab.

    I just spent a month there this summer, and this time I did do a little exercise (push ups and sit ups in my hotel 3 times a week and running on the beach just a few times - far less than I do at home), but I certainly didn't skimp on food.  By the end of my trip, my stomach was the flattest it's ever been in my life, finally exposing those two elusive cans on my lower abdomen to reveal my six pack.

    A couple of weeks after my return to the States, I was back to my four pack in spite of eating much less and ostensibly healthier food, and working my ass off at the gym.

    All this to say, maybe it's the wheat.  (You nod.)  When I'm in Mexico my main source of carbs is corn not wheat.  Could it be that that simple switch is why my belly flattens out when I'm in my ancestral homeland?  I'm going to put it to the test, and will let you know how it goes.  Smile

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/25/2011 12:15:48 AM |

    Hi, Alejandro--

    Wonderful observations! You seem to have a gift for connecting cause-effect relationship.

    While corn is, by no means, without its own set of concerns, given a choice of corn vs. wheat, I'd pick the corn. Perhaps that's at least part of the reason you experience the weight loss with each trip.

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