Originally posted by Dr. Davis on 2015-01-27
on the Wheat Belly Blog, sourced from and currently found at: Infinite Health Blog.
PCM forum Index of WB Blog articles.

Wheat Belly: NOT just weight loss

A lichen planus rash, from Wikipedia

Catherine shared this wonderful story of wheat- and grain-free success on the Wheat Belly Facebook page. Her comments are such a wonderful and concise summary of what can happen beyond weight loss that I share it here.

“Thank you, Dr. Davis, for changing my life. Having your Facebook page available is so helpful and gives me a chance to communicate with people who are living my new lifestyle.

“After 44 years of marriage, I became a widow five years ago. I have pretty much been in the doldrums ever since. Eating the Wheat Belly way has changed everything for me.

“I am starting day 10. I have lost 5 pounds and 2½ inches off my waist. I feel like a New England Patriots’ Football that has been deflated. But, best of all, I feel real good and my mood is very happy. I haven’t had diarrhea since I started the plan and my autoimmune skin disease, lichen planus, has totally disappeared for the first time in about 15 years.

“At this point, I see no reason why I will ever got back to eating wheat and grains.”

You can understand why I bristle at criticisms of this lifestyle such as “It’s just cutting calories,” or “Wheat Belly is just a new twist on low-carb.” No: Wheat Belly is an indictment of the health havoc caused by wheat and other grains. It is also a celebration of all the wonderful changes in emotional and physical health that develop when you remove them. Catherine is not only on her way to fitting back into a size 4 dress, but has been freed of the depression that lingered so long after losing her husband. She is losing inflammatory visceral fat, as reflected in the outsized loss of waist size. She has been freed from bowel inflammation and the embarrassment and inconvenience of diarrhea. She has been cured of the autoimmune skin condition she had, the disfiguring lichen planus.

This is why I remind everybody over and over: Wheat Belly is not a “diet”–it is a lifestyle that helps restore health in so many varied ways.