William Davis's Blog: Dr. Davis Infinite Health Blog, page 139

Heather’s impressive Wheat Belly experience

Heather is catching on: the Wheat Belly wheat/grain-free lifestyle impressively reverses inflammation body-wide, evident in photographs of the face. While the coloring of Heather’s photos prevent us from seeing any reversal of facial redness, there has been an obvious reduction in facial puffiness/edema over and above that achieved with weight loss . . . though weight loss has also been quite impressive.

“Six weeks into Wheat Belly and 22lbs down! Inflammation is WAY down as you can see, energy is up, and the weight is melting away. Thank you!”

The conventional approach to “treating” inflammation is to prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), prednisone, interleukin blockers, tumor necrosis factor blockers, acid reflux drugs, topical or inhaled steroids, and oodles of other agents, all of which have some pretty awful side-effects from changing bowel flora, to gastrointestinal hemorrhage, to irreversible liver damage. Inflammation underlies a huge spectrum of human disease–much of it initiated and perpetuated by consuming wheat and grains.

A better solution: eat no wheat or grains.

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Gwen’s startling change in appearance

This is me [left] last summer when I first started Wheat Belly……and this is what my face looked like on Easter 2 weeks ago [right].

Gwen adds the photos of her several month facial transformation developing with the Wheat Belly lifestyle. The change is so dramatic that I’ll bet that friends no longer recognize her.

As with so many Wheat Belly facial transformations, note the reversal of edema/puffiness, a reflection of receding inflammation both in the face as well as in the rest of the body.

You will also notice that, the more of these “before” and “after” contrasts you see, you can begin to pick out the Wheat Faces among the people you encounter. Look for the edema, redness on the cheeks and along the nose, and puffiness around the eyes–none of which you see in Gwens’ wonderful “after” photo.

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Mary figured out how to reverse diabetes . . . on her own

Mary shared her story of how she learned–on her own, at first–that foods that raise blood sugar, such as grains, cause you to “need” diabetes drugs. Not eating foods that raise blood sugar causes you to not need diabetes drugs.

“I started going grain-free in December, 2014 as a last-ditch effort to get a handle on my diabetes.

“My extreme reaction to metformin–stomach problems from diarrhea to esophageal spasms–made me give it up for good early last year. My blood sugars were out of control, but my doctor did not want to start me on insulin. My blood sugar numbers were regularly around 200 mg/dl and once in a while to nearly 400. I was then put on a medicine that is proven to cause bladder cancer and I just couldn’t force myself to risk it, as my father died from bladder cancer. Then I tried an injection, Byetta, that made me so sick I actually lost weight from not feeling well enough to eat. The warnings of side effects of pancreatitis and death were enough to make me stop after the 2nd month.

“So I became a really good blood sugar checker, testing after everything I ate to see what would make it spike. I quickly discovered it was things like bread, oatmeal, corn on the cob, and rice. So I decided to just not eat them and noted a good dip in my blood sugar numbers. A week later, while channel surfing, I saw Dr. Davis on our local PBS TV station talking about ‘Wheat Belly.” So I got the book and read the blog and followed on Facebook. I learned so much and felt encouraged to keep up with going grain-free. That was in December, just about the time this first picture was taken and I haven’t looked back.

“My weight loss has not been dramatic. I weighed 165 lbs. last September. I am at 150 lbs. I am 70 years old and a caregiver for my husband who has Parkinson’s. We will be married 50 years next January. It is still amazing to me how much better I feel with my blood sugar numbers hanging out pretty much within normal limits. I am still taking a diabetes medicine, glipizide, but have been able to stop taking any medicine for acid reflux which I have used in one form or another for more than 40 years. I feel healthier and stronger than I have felt in years. The second picture is one that a friend took of me just a few days ago. I think you can see a difference.”

Connecting the dots is so easy in diabetes: If you eat a lot of foods that raise blood sugar to high levels, you will have high blood sugars. How much simpler can it get? Over time, high blood sugars generate resistance to insulin, visceral fat grows and inflammation develops, sending blood sugars even higher. After all, Mary, a 70-year old woman–not a doctor, not a healthcare professional–taking care of herself and her husband, figured it out. Her observations were confirmed through the Wheat Belly message, but she essentially figured out that foods that raise blood sugar oblige blood sugar-reducing medication; not eating foods that raise blood sugar do not oblige blood sugar-reducing medication. But her doctor bumbled and stumbled his way, resulting in awful side effects, while likely advising her to eat foods that raised blood sugar to high levels and obliging the “need” for such toxic agents.

Such is the terrible and inexcusable status quo in type 2 diabetes, the same message supported and promoted by the American Diabetes Association, with many generous donations received from Big Food and Big Pharma as a result. Diabetes is a prototype example of dietary and health mismanagement, a condition that displays all the awful warts and other ugly aspects of “healthcare”: cause a disease or cause it to be worse with flawed, even dangerous dietary advice–cut your fat and eat more healthy whole grains, sugar in moderation is safe, high-fructose corn syrup is okay in moderation, eat a balanced diet–then step in with drugs and procedures. This is not healthcare. It is an astounding mistake on a huge scale.

And did you notice Mary’s loss of facial edema? It reflects the retreat of inflammation from grain elimination.

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Just how much “healthcare” do you need minus grains?

Jamilyn shared her early experience with this lifestyle:

“I started Wheat Belly February 9th, 2015. I have lost 20 pounds in just over 2 months and 10 on my own in the 9 months prior to WB–30 pounds difference from the first picture to the 3rd picture.

“I have eliminated all of the many medications I was taking for migraines, IBS, gastroparesis, chronic sinusitis, and joint pain. I haven’t taken Allegra or Flonase (which I have taken everyday since I was in my 20’s) since the second day of Wheat Belly. I no longer need my Protonix, Reglan, Carafate, or Zofran for my gastroparesis either. No migraines since the day before I started Wheat Belly. I have battled migraines daily since the 4th grade. This is the best I have felt in my entire life.

“Thank you so much! Words could never express the joy and freedom you have given me. I have a long way to go but I can’t thank you enough for the progress I have made in the past 2 months!”

Migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, gastroparesis (in which food stays in the stomach for hours and can putrefy and change bowel flora), sinusitis, joint inflammation–that’s a pretty impressive list. It’s a list of conditions reversed with Jamilyn’s elimination of wheat and grains, conditions formerly treated with multiple, costly, and toxic medications.

This is why I often say that the “healthcare” is, to a large degree, nothing more than the system we’ve created to treat the consequences of wheat and grain consumption, the diseases we have come to call “the diseases of civilization” that are not shared by people and cultures who have not made the error of consuming the seeds of grasses.

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Wheat Belly and inflammation

Sophia shared this enlightening and wonderful story of relief from inflammation and half a dozen anti-inflammatory drugs by eliminating the cause, grains:

“Morning from Berkshire, UK. This is me now [on the right], 3 and a half months into Wheat Belly. No drugs, no sarcoidosis, no osteoarthritis, no gastric spams, no joint inflammation, no brain fog, no redness of skin. Still ongoing disc problems but decided to wean myself off of all drugs and manage the pain with exercise, yoga, cycling and then rest.

“By drugs: omeprozole, naproxen, gabapentin, tramadol, diazepam, prednisolone, gastric drugs.

“I have lost loads of weight and 4 inches off of my waist already!

This year since my early 20’s, no hayfever??!! I suffered terribly between Feb and June each year, so took antihistamines daily.

“Thanks go to the lovely Hatty Richmond for introducing me to the Wheat Belly way of life. Thank you Dr Davis for proving that you can gain back total health. I see all food with wheat, grains, and oats as poisons that I will never, ever consume again!”

You can see the reversal of inflammation on Sophia’s face, she can perceive it in relief from allergies, acid reflux, joint pain, etc. Yes, the Wheat Belly wheat/grain-free lifestyle can be viewed as a weight loss strategy, but it is first and foremost a means of powerfully reversing inflammation.

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Tim’s remarkable 3-month Wheat Belly experience

Tim shared his dramatic 3-month Wheat Belly experience:

“Dr. Davis, you have changed my life. In just 3 months I have lost 50 lbs!

“I was a staggering 325 lbs and today I am 275! No more IBS, no more acid reflux, no more joint pain. I look and feel amazing, but the battle has just begun. I am so encouraged by my success that I have set a long term goal to be 200 lbs by Jan 1, 2016. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Yes, Wheat Belly can be used to lose weight, often huge amounts, even though we do NOT count calories, do NOT limit fat, do NOT engage in vigorous physical efforts (unless you want to for your own reasons). But Tim’s relief from gastrointestinal struggles and joint pain is not due primarily to weight loss; it is due to removing the extravagant triggers for inflammation in wheat and grains.

If wheat and grains were only about the carbs, Tim would lose weight, but it would be unlikely that he achieves relief from the gastrointestinal complaints (though joint pain may improve due to loss of inflammatory visceral fat). The Wheat Belly lifestyle is about removing this collection of “foods” that should never have been eaten in the first place, worsened by the manipulations of agribusiness.

Did you notice Tim’s seborrheic facial rash, now gone or nearly gone?

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Jean finds relief from arthritis

Jean shared her experience with the Wheat Belly lifestyle. Not only did she lost an impressive amount of weight, she has enjoyed substantial relief from arthritis pain and inflammation.

“Left upper to right lower represents 11 months and 67 lbs. My starting weight was 221 and, in the last picture, I weighed 154.

“I have been wheat-free since July and totally grain-free since August.This weekend I had a breakthrough. I spent the whole weekend performing projects. Saturday, I cleaned and swept the garage, which included moving boxes of full canning jars. Then, on Sunday, my husband and I planted 108 plants in the garden. Neither morning did I wake up in pain. Considering that I have chronic osteoarthritis, this is a huge victory for me. There were days when I couldn’t get out of bed the next day after doing a project. I am absolutely stunned that I am not in pain.

“I wish everyone with inflammatory diseases would learn about how to live pain free in a natural way.”

Removing wheat and grains removes a major inflammatory source: the gliadin protein, wheat germ agglutinin, and other components. Compound this with the inflammation reducing effects of losing weight (since visceral fat is highly inflammatory), and relief from even common osteoarthritis (as compared to autoimmune arthritis, such as rheumatoid) can develop with this lifestyle. Jean appears fairly young and should not be plagued by the pain and disability of arthritis, a disease worsened in large part due to conventional dietary advice.

Following a wheat/grain-free lifestyle sure beats the alternative of taking endless anti-inflammatory drugs and, eventually, prosthetic joints, neither of which make you healthier nor look better.

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Linda: 20 pounds and 10+ years down!

Here are the photos that Linda shared, the left before she engaged the Wheat Belly lifestyle, the right several months later.

“I cannot believe the difference in my face alone! I’ve lost over 20 pounds and feel great.

“Each time I see the 2014 picture I just keep thinking… I will never go back to eating grains…. EVER.”

As you now likely have come to appreciate with our many Wheat Belly “before” and “afters,” Linda has lost something more than “just” weight, reflected by what I would describe as looking substantially younger. Linda did not specify her age, but it looks to me that she also lost at least 10, if not 20 years.

Doesn’t she look terrific?

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Dr Weston Price: Snapshots of Westernization

Here’s an excerpt from Wheat Belly Total Health, some reflections on the fascinating observations made by Dr. Weston Price and the relationship of diet and dental health.

Dr. Price’s priceless observations are consistent with what anthropologists have been telling us for years: prior to adding grains to the human dietary experience, tooth decay was uncommon–despite the lack of any modern notions of dental hygiene. Armed with little more than a twig to pick the remains of wild boar from between the teeth, primitive people enjoyed a lifetime of intact, decay-free teeth without the assistance of their neighborhood dentist, orthodontist, or any of the other modern trappings of dental care.

Dr Weston Price was a dentist practicing in Cleveland, Ohio, during the early 20th century. He was troubled by the amount of tooth decay he witnessed in his patients, particularly children, and intrigued by reports that ‘savages’ (people living in primitive settings) were virtually free of tooth problems. So Dr Price did something extraordinary: he left his home and, along with his wife, Florence, began a 10-year worldwide journey to chronicle the dietary habits of primitive cultures, documenting his findings with careful examinations of teeth, facial structure and more than 15,000 photographs. His efforts provide a remarkable visual record of what primitive cultures looked like and what happens to primitive humans when they begin to consume modern foods.

His travels took him to the Inuits of Alaska, the native Americans of the Pacific Northwest and central Canada, Melanesians and Polynesians, Aborigines of Australia, the Maori of New Zealand, descendants of the ancient Chimú culture in coastal Peru, and tribes of Africa, including Maasai, Kikuyu, Wakamba, Jalou, Muhima, Pygmies, Baitu and Dinkas. In each locale, he examined and photographed teeth, faces and other features he found interesting. In short, Dr Price produced a fascinating record of people living their traditional lifestyles at a moment in time when it was all about to end.

In every culture of the dozens he studied–-without exception–-he found tooth decay, tooth loss and dental abscesses or infections to be uncommon, typically affecting no more than 1 to 3 per cent (and sometimes none) of the teeth he examined. He also noted the absence of gingivitis and periodontitis, and few to no crooked or crowded teeth. While a keeper of meticulous records, he also observed that facial structure was different, with primitive people enjoying what he called ‘fully formed facial and dental arches’ and a lack of narrowed nasal passages.

Even more remarkably, Dr Price specifically sought out members of these cultures who had recently transitioned to consuming ‘white man’s food’-–people who were bartering for the breads, pastries and sweets of Westerners visiting or bordering their land. In every instance, he observed an astounding increase in tooth decay, affecting 25% to 50% of teeth examined, along with gingivitis, periodontitis, tooth loss, infectious abscesses, crooked and crowded teeth, and reductions in the size of the maxillary (mid-facial) bone and mandible (jawbone). Nearly toothless mouths in teenagers and young adults were not uncommon.

The traditional diets of these societies were typically fish, shellfish and kelp among coastal cultures, and animal flesh and organs, raw dairy products, edible plants, nuts, mushrooms and insects among inland cultures. With only two exceptions (the Lötschental Valley Swiss, isolated by the Alps, who consumed a coarse rye bread, and the Gaelic people of the islands of the Outer Hebrides, who consumed crude oats), grains, sugars and processed foods were notably absent. (The Swiss had an intermediate number of dental caries, more than other cultures studied, while the Gaelic population did not.)

What is even more startling about Dr Price’s observations of the rarity of tooth decay and deformity is that none of these cultures practiced any sort of dental hygiene: no toothbrushes, no toothpaste, no fluoridated water, no dental floss and no dentists or orthodontists. While Dr Price’s observations cannot be used to precisely pinpoint the nutritional distinctions between modern and traditional cultures, they nonetheless make a powerful point. Anyone wishing to read Dr Price’s account can find it reproduced in a recent reprint.

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No weight regain for Susan

You may remember Susan from a few months back. She has had a spectacular weight loss success with the Wheat Belly lifestyle, as the photos show. The upper photo set are the original “before” and “after” photos Susan shared back in December, 2014. The bottom set is an old “before” while the photo of Susan in jeans taking her “selfie” is a recent update, looking essentially no different compared to her “after” in December.

Have you noticed that, provided people stay on the right track without wheat, grains, or sugars, they do not regain the weight? Susan looks just as wonderful now as she did several months ago.

Several weight loss drugs have received FDA approval over the past couple of years; all are plagued by a miserable weight regain effect when the drug is stopped. (While this seems like bad news, it is often quietly viewed as good news by the drug manufacturer, as it tends to cause people to want to stay on the drug for a longer period, even well after the period approved by the FDA has passed. That’s how they increase profits.) The Wheat Belly lifestyle is not plagued by such an effect.

There are a number of reasons why this lifestyle causes lost weight to stay off, but one of the prime reasons is that, by ridding your diet of wheat and grains, you have removed the gliadin protein derived opiates that stimulate appetite. Those of you who have spent at least a few weeks on the Wheat Belly lifestyle can attest to this fact: you are not hungry very often and are satiated quickly (especially if you consume fats and oils properly).

Provided Susan continues to stay on course with the Wheat Belly lifestyle, we’ll likely hear from her again in 2, 3, or 5 years, still as beautiful and slender as she is now.

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