William Davis's Blog: Dr. Davis Infinite Health Blog, page 127

Can your “diet” provide relief from migraines?

Kristin shared her 6-month Wheat Belly experience:

“Thank you for your books and blog. They have changed my life for the better. I have been a yo-yo dieter all my life, each time gaining more weight back. I was always tired and had migraines several days a week. Now 6 months in and 55 lbs lighter, I feel great and rarely get migraines!”

Kristin’s experience once again highlights that, yes, the Wheat Belly lifestyle achieves substantial weight loss in the majority (who don’t begin with hypothyroidism, adrenal dysfunction, substantial dysbiosis, etc.), but it also eliminates a source–wheat and grains–of so many health problems such as chronic migraine headaches.

While we know that there is an association between migraine headaches and celiac disease, we’ve had far too many people experience total or near-total relief from migraines to believe that they all have celiac disease, a condition that applies to only 1% of the population. Many have also been tested for celiac disease via antibody testing (endomysium or transglutaminase antibodies) and are negative.

My suspicion is that migraine headaches have nothing to do with celiac disease, but they have everything to do with some component of wheat and grains that provokes the vasospasm that defines this condition–gliadin, gliadin-derived peptides, the absorbed microgram quantities of wheat germ agglutinin, or one of the other dozens of proteins/peptides that result from wheat and grain consumption. An autoimmune mechanism, as in celiac disease, seems unlikely. But some blood-borne inflammatory, endothelial-disruptive (the endothelium lines blood vessels), or other mechanism seems more plausible. There are triggers for migraines beyond some component of wheat and grains in others, such as the tyramine of cheeses or MSG, though it’s tough to discern why such disparate triggers exist.

Nonetheless, whether or not we understand the “why,” we see this wonderful story play out over and over again: the impressive relief from migraine headaches by banishing all wheat and grains–the seeds of grasses, indigestible by humans–from the diet . . . while dropping weight without effort, losing the visceral fat of the waist, reversing inflammation, and looking and feeling better than you have in years.

The post Can your “diet” provide relief from migraines? appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

More energy, love, no acid reflux, a new “glow” . . . what’s not to love?

Brad first heard about the Wheat Belly lifestyle through an unusual source:

“I found out about you from The Colbert Report.

“Mood improved with vitamin D, magnesium, iodine, omega-3 so much, I felt so good that I adopted a dog for the first time in my life because I felt I had so much energy and love to share. And acid reflux no longer requires medication.”

Brad was especially proud of the “glow” he now seems to exude, living the wheat/grain-free lifestyle:

It all started with some pretty funny satire, but ended up with Brad enjoying a complete turnaround in his health. “Just what is it in the yeast beast that makes it so addictive?” Colbert asks. It’s the gliadin-derived opiates that also impair energy and cause body-wide inflammation. I know how outrageous this sounds to newcomers, but people like Brad understand how this simple tweak in lifestyle yields outsized benefits, powerful enough to change his mental/emotional outlook, effective enough to get him off a prescription drug.

And, once again, look at the eyes.

The post More energy, love, no acid reflux, a new “glow” . . . what’s not to love? appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

It’s all about poop, isn’t it?

Did you know that you can have your bowel flora assessed in detail? And that you can do it on your own?

Ubiome is the first direct-to-consumer bowel flora assessment service that uses the same cutting-edge technology as the Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health.

I’ve used their service and find it invaluable in charting serial changes as you proceed through your program of cultivating the “garden” called bowel flora. An assessment is easy to perform and costs $89, no doctor’s order required. They are also at the forefront of a movement that I find VERY exciting: the crowd-sourcing of answers in health. If you permit, your data will be added to their research database, an enormous undertaking that will, like the Human Microbiome Project, be yielding some fascinating observations.

Here’s an excerpt from a Ubiome email they recently sent:

The Lowdown On Brown

“We love your poop. It’s so wonderfully rich in information about the microbiome, unlocked when we analyze it using DNA sequencing technology to reveal the make up of the three to six pounds of bacteria you carry in and on your body.

“But what exactly is poop? Since so much (excuse the expression) ‘passes’ through our lab, you might not be too surprised that we know a thing or two about its ingredients.

“First and foremost, feces contains a boatload of water. About 75% to be exact.

“Put that aside, however, and things get more interesting.

“About 50 to 80% of the remainder is bacteria, both living and dead. This is the stuff we’re focused on.

“On top of that there’s protein, undigested food residue (more on this in a minute), waste material from food, cell membranes, fats, salts and material released from your intestines and liver (e.g. mucus).

“If you’re anything like the average person you’ll produce around half your own body weight in feces every year.

“That’s a lot.

“Fortunately we require the tiniest proportion of this when you send in a gut microbiome test sample to us. It’s also far less yucky than you might imagine: simply swab your used toilet paper to collect just enough to turn the tip of the cotton swab brown.

“Poop is generally brown, by the way, largely because of a pigment called bilirubin produced when your red blood cells break down.

“And speaking of toilet paper, although it might seem as if you’re forever buying the stuff, this relatively minor inconvenience has to be better than living in Ancient Rome.

“In those days you’d have wiped yourself with a communal sponge rinsed in a bucket of water or vinegar after use. Nice.

“Oh yes, one last thing about that undigested food residue in your poop. (It’s okay, just about everyone has it, as some food is simply indigestible.)

“The outside of corn kernels is a perfect example. While you’ll probably have no trouble processing the insides, the hulls are made of cellulose so they generally pass through your body intact.

“Examine your poop after eating yellow corn, therefore, and you’ll likely spot what looks like intact kernels – actually just the “skins”.

“In fact they can provide a neat way to time how long your body takes to digest food.

“Like we said, your poop can tell you an enormous amount. All you have to do is listen.

“Or at least send a little of it our way.”

Disclaimer: I have no relationship with Ubiome beyond being a customer.

The post It’s all about poop, isn’t it? appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

Elaine freed of anxiety, heartburn, sinusitis, prescriptions, and 37 pounds

“Before and after photo: wheat, grain and sugar free 5 months, down 37 lbs and off all meds: Xanax for anxiety, Dexilant and Prilosec for heartburn and indigestion, a steroid spray for chronic sinus infections. Feels good!

Elaine lost the 37 pounds put there by national advice to eat more “healthy whole grains.” But, even more, she reversed anxiety and inflammatory conditions.

By removing wheat and grains, she is no longer exposed to gliadin-derived opiates with their peculiar mind effects. She is no longer exposed to the gliadin that remains undigested and intact and initiates autoimmune phenomena. She is no longer exposed to wheat germ agglutinin that is a potent gastrointestinal toxin and, when it gains entry into the bloodstream, is exceptionally inflammatory, even in minute quantities. She is no longer exposed to the collection of other irritants and allergens they contain. She is no longer exposed to the blood sugar- and insulin-raising effects of the amylopectin A that take you closer and closer to diabetes with every pretzel, bagel, or bran muffin you eat.

This can often sound cynical and pessimistic–but it’s not. If you understand just how destructive the seeds of grasses (“grains”) can be, made worse by the manipulations of geneticists and agribusiness, when you appreciate the range of diseases they cause, well . . . you now have the key to astounding reversals of so many health problems, just like Elaine did, all achieved by simply not eating them.

The post Elaine freed of anxiety, heartburn, sinusitis, prescriptions, and 37 pounds appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

Spiced Raw Potato Smoothie

Here’s another excerpt from Wheat Belly Total Health, a recipe for Spiced Raw Potato Smoothie.

Recall that we treat critically important bowel flora as a garden in which you plant “seeds”–probiotics and fermented foods containing healthy bacterial species–then nourish them with prebiotic fibers/resistant starches to allow desired species to proliferate and out-muscle undesirable species. A raw white potato is a wonderful source of such fibers. While some people enjoy eating raw potatoes like an apple, many do not and struggle with ways to incorporate them into daily habits. Here is a very easy way: simply include your raw potato in a low-carb smoothie.

This is just one smoothie flavor; many variations are possible, of course: a handful of berries in place of the spices; unsweetened cocoa powder (though more sweetener will usually be needed to overcome the bitterness); green veggies/leafy greens; peanut or almond butter + cocoa powder, etc.

Spiced Raw Potato Smoothie

Adding a raw potato is a way to add around 20 grams prebiotic fibers to your daily intake. Because it is raw, the quantity of digestible carbohydrates to add to blood sugar effects is negligible. In the beginning, 20 grams of prebiotic fibers may be too much, so either set some of your smoothie aside for another time (covered in refrigerator) or share with someone. You can also add a raw potato to other smoothie recipes and it will thicken up considerably. Be sure to pick potatoes that have no green skin coloring and skin the potato; this avoids the low quantity of toxic residues of solanine contained in green-colored skin.

Because the potato is dense, you will need a high-powered blender or food processor for this. (I use a VitaMix or NutriBullet and they easily handle the job.) Depending on your sensitivity to sweetness, you may or may not need any additional sweetener, such as stevia or erythritol.

Makes approximately 2 cups

1 medium potato, raw, skinned and cubed

1 cup coconut milk (canned or carton)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Sweetener equivalent to 1 tablespoon sugar, if desired

¼-½ cup water to desired thickness

Combine potato, coconut milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweetener, and water in blender and blend at high-speed until liquefied. Add additional water, if necessary, to obtain desired thickness.

The post Spiced Raw Potato Smoothie appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

An update from Kristen and Marvin, wheat-free newlyweds

Remember Kristen and her husband Marvin? I shared their story last year after Kristen lost a substantial amount of weight and enjoyed a wheat- and grain-free wedding celebration. Kristen and Marvin are back with an update:

“We’d never thought that we would be writing you in this capacity but today, August 3rd, is our 3-year Wheat Belly Anniversary. We are simply gratified with all that we have gone through, to not only have done it, but maintain it. Together, we have lost a total of 110 pounds. I have lost 85 pounds and my husband, 25. Just a month ago, my doctor named me her top patient in cholesterol out of 1500 patients. My husband has lowered and is maintaining his blood pressure and my sciatica nerve has improved so much, that we can hike for miles on end.

“We have not only traveled numerous times in the past 3 years from Los Angeles to Boston and vice versa to care for my mother, but since her death, our health has become more important than ever. This grief has been so treacherous for me personally and, even through that, we are marking this incredible anniversary.

“Not only did we have a wheat-free wedding last year, but we provide organic wheat-free meals at our Bi-Annual Glam Nights in the Domestic Violence Community. We live it, we breathe it, we cook it and we eat it. Our families have said that we are a living example of health and they have joined this movement with us. We now are officially known as “EatMeetnGreet,” where we bring health and wellness into the community.

“We are grateful for you, Dr. Davis. We are in this together and not only fighting for our health, but for the people in our community as well. We are living proof that it can be done at 40 and 46, respectively.

“We started in the beginning and what a beautiful community of people whom we have met through Wheat Belly, who are now lifelong friends.”

Kristen and Marvin provide living proof that this wheat/grain-free lifestyle can indeed be practiced in a community, even carrying them through a wedding. How can people around them NOT sit up and take notice with their 110-pound weight loss, health improvements, and their glowing good health seen in their photographs?

The post An update from Kristen and Marvin, wheat-free newlyweds appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

Erica and Art’s Wheat Belly journey to health and 85 collective pounds lost

Erica shared her 6-month progress photos, along with the photos of Art, her fiance.

“We decided to start this journey together 6 months ago. We were a little skeptical at first, but couldn’t believe how good we felt.

“Although I still have a ways to go, I thought I would post my 6 month pics. I am a 33 year old mother of three and have lost 40 lbs in the 6 months since my fiance and I started the Wheat Belly way of eating. I have no depression or cravings like I used to. Overall I feel much healthier.

“He is 45 years old and has lost 45 pounds since we started strictly following Wheat Belly. His anxiety isn’t as bad and his overall health is much better.”

Isn’t that spectacular? Relieved of depression, anxiety, losing weight without cravings . . . that is how it works in the Wheat Belly world in which the powerful appetite stimulants from wheat gliadin and related grain proteins, along with the mind-active gliadin-derived opiates, are all eliminated, releasing nice people like Erica and Art from their obesogenic, mental health-impairing effects.

And did you notice Erica’s wonderful facial transformation? The usual reversal of cheek/facial edema and sharpening of facial contours. (We can’t make out Art’s as well due to the placement of his phone taking his selfie, but I’ll bet they’re equally impressive, given the loss of viscera abdominal fat.) And they did it together, both now understanding just how powerful this simple, contrary-to-popular-advice lifestyle can be, now empowered for a healthy and slender lifetime together.

The post Erica and Art’s Wheat Belly journey to health and 85 collective pounds lost appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

Brenda’s Wheat Belly deflation

 

Brenda first contacted me because she had been following all the strategies of Wheat Belly and Wheat Belly Total Health, yet was not experiencing the weight loss like other people. She detailed her diet to me and it was nearly flawless. Likewise, she had added the Wheat Belly Total Health strategies such as vitamin D, iodine, and fish oil. I therefore advised her to drop her doctor and find one who would help her identify what was wrong with her health that could be stalling weight loss.

I share Brenda’s story because her experience provides three valuable lessons:

Even when weight loss is modest or does not occur, there can be a marked reduction in abdominal fat and fat in other areas, such as the buttocks and thighs, as well as loss of inflammatory edema. Read on and you will see that Brenda provides an extreme example of this phenomenon, so marked I’m calling it Brenda’s “deflation.”
Wheat and grain consumption is so destructive to health that eliminating them does not always fully reverse the destructive health damage they caused. In particular, hypothyroidism, other autoimmune diseases, and dysbiosis can require additional, specific efforts to correct before there can be full return to health and desired weight. (This is the reason why I wrote Wheat Belly Total Health: full health and weight only begin with wheat and grain elimination.)
Most conventional physicians will deny that there is something wrong with your health and tell you nonsense like “Your thyroid is fine” even when you have flagrant hypothyroidism; “”There’s nothing wrong with your gastrointestinal tract because we can’t see any ulcers or cancer on your endoscopy”; and “There’s no such thing as ‘adrenal fatigue.” This is why it is important to lose the “drug and procedure”-only doctor and find one who empowers you in health, such as a functional medicine practitioner or naturopath.

Brenda began the Wheat Belly lifestyle late in 2014. While she experienced an initial modest weight loss and health benefits, she then stalled:

“I have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism except constipation which I attribute to a diet of mostly vegetables and fruit. I sleep better, hurt less, and do not have to take a water pill to keep the swelling down in my feet and legs, but I feel like a complete failure when I read others’ comments on the amount of weight they are losing.”

I advised Brenda to identify a healthcare practitioner who would explore her health issues, especially thyroid status, that were impairing her weight loss success. But, before she began making additional changes recommended by her new naturopathic doctor, she provided an update:

“I began Wheat Belly last October but haven’t lost the weight I should have. I emailed you and you said to find a new doctor. I did and discovered that I have non-alcholic fatty liver disease, adrenal fatigue, leaky gut, autoimmune disorders, thyroid not working, etc.

I have only lost between 5-10 lbs. It fluctuates back and forth, but was amazed to discover I had lost 45.5 inches! I hadn’t taken my measurements since December, 2013 because my weight kept going up and I was only getting bigger. I knew I had lost a few pounds with Wheat Belly, but was completely blew away when I took my full body measurements! This was before I began the supplements from my naturopathic doctor, so Wheat Belly gets all the credit!”

It’s an odd and peculiar phenomenon: Even if weight loss fails or is modest, there can be dramatic deflation of body measures. 45 inches is an astonishing reduction that likely reflects both loss of visceral, inflammatory fat, as well as loss of inflammatory edema (water retention). Now that she has had her health impairments diagnosed and is on her way to correcting them–by identifying a doctor who cares about health and not only about prescription drugs, procedures, and revenues for his hospital system–she will soon be much more slender and healthier.

Here are the before and afters for Brenda’s children:

The post Brenda’s Wheat Belly deflation appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

Wheat Belly people LOOK different

Sarah provides another example of how people look different following the Wheat Belly wheat/grain-free lifestyle. Here are her “before” and “after” photos following two months of her lifestyle change.

“I wanted to say thank you for a change in life. The picture on the leftt is me when I got started and the one on the right is me 25 pounds lighter and skin is cleared up! (No exercise when I first started.)”

We typically see less edema around the eyes and cheeks and a sharpening of facial contours, along with reduced redness, seborrhea, and acne. Accepting the photographic imperfections of “selfies,” I believe we can also see a change in skin texture, skin coloring, and loss of the dark circles under the eyes. But I believe that there is something more going on here. Sarah looks different in ways I can’t put my finger on.

Any suggestions on just what else makes people look so different on the Wheat Belly lifestyle?

The post Wheat Belly people LOOK different appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

Andrea lost only 3 lbs . . . but look at her face!

Andrea shared her 6-week wheat-free facial change that developed despite a very modest weight loss.

“This is 6 weeks in to a new wheat-free lifestyle. I have only lost 3 pounds but see a noticeable difference in my face.”

You can see that Andrea has experienced the changes we expect when we remove the inflammatory effects of wheat: reduced swelling of the cheeks and around the eyes, larger eyes, sharpened jaw contours. It is a reflection of receding body-wide inflammation that can be accompanied by relief from joint pain, leg edema, stiffness, gastrointestinal inflammation and inflammation of other organs.

Andrea has more work to do, such as eliminating all grains, not just wheat, supplementing iodine, addressing vitamin D status, and cultivating healthy bowel flora so that she can lose the 30 additional pounds she hopes to lose, as well as enjoy a return to total health. Despite this, you can appreciate how profound a change she has already undergone just with the removal of wheat.

The post Andrea lost only 3 lbs . . . but look at her face! appeared first on Dr. William Davis.