William Davis's Blog: Dr. Davis Infinite Health Blog, page 77

Vicki’s phenomenal Wheat Belly experience

Vicki has shared her story on a number of occasions on the Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox Private Facebook page. Because Vicki’s experience is such an incredible story of success despite some overwhelming health odds, coupled with a wonderful attitude of optimism, I am re-posting several of her comments/updates she has provided over the past 15 months, including her most recent update.

While Vicki’s structural issues, such as her retroflex odontoid bone, cannot be reversed with the Wheat Belly lifestyle, the dramatic reduction of inflammation that develops is often sufficient to reverse much, if not all, of the inflammation, swelling, and pain that is unmasked by consuming grains.

July 17th, 2016

“My name is Vicki, I am almost 53 and just celebrated my one year GRAIN-FREE Anniversary! And I am here to tell you that if you are living with chronic inflammation and pain, you NEED to get on board! I have Chiari Malformation [a congenital defect of the base of the skull involving the cerebellum], a retroflexed odontoid [a bone in the cervical spine], cervical spinal degeneration and an ugly autoimmune disease, and I AM NOW PAIN-FREE! I am sleeping again at night, walking 6-10 miles a day, and living life.

“A year ago, I was in bed, in tears and wondering who was going to care for my medically fragile child when I was no longer capable of caring for him. And my doctors were suggesting brain stem and spinal cord decompression surgery and lots of narcotics. Today I am medication-, grain- and pain-free! My doctors are in shock and I am OVERJOYED!

“Don’t believe that it works, friends? I didn’t either. Not until I tested out the Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox last July, and found I would NEVER turn back! 5’6″ 130# and LIVING!

“DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THE DETOX! Know that the process of detox is literally flushing all the garbage from your system and getting your body ready for the NEW AND CLEANER, HEALTHIER YOU!

“My hubby made the before and after [above] a couple weeks ago. Taken one year apart: 7/1/16 and 7/1/17.

“Despite all the odds, diagnoses and prognoses, this new awakening for me of what foods really are healthy, and what they can help me do FOR MYSELF WITHOUT DRUGS or MEDICAL INTERACTION, is simply miraculous and almost mind blowing to me! Weren’t we all raised on sandwiches and cereals and of course cakes and cookies for desserts? And were we not later all taught that sugar and fat were our problems and that we were simply not getting enough grains and fiber?

“At almost 53, I am now RE-EDUCATED and have learned so much through you, that I have been able to buy all those books and now share them with all of my doctors! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE what this has done for my life, and therefore my family. We are living, surviving, pain free and thriving!”

 

August 9th, 2016

“Many of you commented on my post from that you wanted a before and after side-by-side, and I repeatedly commented that I had shared one previously, and that Doctor Davis had also shared my story on the Wheat Belly page. But, after my 53rd birthday escapades today, at my favorite spot in Michigan (Sleeping Bear Dunes Life Saving station), Ned commented that he had taken a picture of me here last year in the very same spot.

“So, here are my side-by-sides exactly one year apart and, at that point, I was only 5 weeks into my new grain free living and had lost 10 pounds. Today, I am at my goal weight and have lost a total of 35 pounds. And there you have it, awesome cheerleaders!

“And if you are looking for a secret on how to make this work for you, here it is: JUST DO IT! Clean out your cupboards, hop in your car, and make your way to the grocery store. Buy yourself some clean and compliant meat, cheeses, xylitol, fruits and vegetables, coconut oil, almond and coconut flour. Stop making excuses about how you don’t have time to cook special meals or can’t find the correct food. Really ?! Read the books! Leave out the grains and other non-compliant junk, and save yourself from the sickness, disease, suffering and pain that I was experiencing before I woke up.

“There is truly no reason to live a life of misery and pain when you can control your own symptoms. Get rid of the grain and therefore the pain!”

September 2, 2016

“This girl, 52 years young, used to live by labels such as autoimmune syndrome, Chiari malformation, brainstem and spinal cord compression, osteoarthritis.

“Today, exactly two and one half months after doing the Wheat Belly Detox, I’m with my beautiful husband and our sweet, home schooled, nine year old son, on a two week camping (yes, sleeping on an air mattress) adventure. Four mile beach walk yesterday. Rock collecting on the beaches of Michigan and fishing, fishing and more fishing! All of this could not be possible with my previous pain level, but today pain medication-free and living life to its fullest!

“Eating the Wheat Belly way on vacation some say is difficult, but frankly most things in life that are too hard to do are simply that way because you don’t want them bad enough. And believe me, friends, I’m wanting to stay pain-free and flat tummied BAD ENOUGH! Because of Wheat Belly I have regained my life, my family and my gratitude for the very many blessings in life.

“And by the way, my new label is Pretty Mommy! Lol That’s what Hayes (my little fella) called me yesterday!”

July 15th, 2017:

“I am almost 53 and just celebrated my one year GRAIN FREE anniversary! And I am here to tell you that if you are living with chronic inflammation and pain, you NEED to get on board. I have Chiari Malformation, a retroflexed odontoid, cervical spinal degeneration and an ugly autoimmune disease, and I AM NOW PAIN FREE!

I am sleeping again at night, walking 6-10 miles a day, and living life.

“A year ago I was in bed, in tears and wondering who was going to care for my medically fragile child when I was no longer capable of caring for him. And my doctors were suggesting brainstem and spinal cord decompression surgery and lots of narcotics. Today I am medication-, grain- and pain-free. My doctors are in shock and I am OVERJOYED! Dr William Davis, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE SECRET OF LIFE WITH ALL OF US!!!”

September 3rd, 2017:

If you ever hear anyone say that eating grain-free is a fad diet and that it can’t really improve health conditions, show them this.  My name is Vicki. I’m 53, have Chiari Malformation, a retroflexed odontoid, degenerative cervical disc disease, and a nasty autoimmune disease. 14 months ago I was in massive pain. My insurance was refusing decompression surgery on both my brain and my neck. And all of my doctors, rheumatologist and neurosurgeons could offer me were narcotics for the massive pain and steroids for the inflammation. But, because I have a medically needy kiddo, I could not use the meds. I need to be fully alert at all times.

“Long story short, I read Dr Davis’ blog, then his books, thought the man had completely lost it, but because I was sick of laying in bed or on the sofa crying and wondering who was going to take care of Hayesy when I was no longer around, I gave in to his 10-Day Detox and decided that it would either help me or… or nothing! By the time I was just a few days into the Detox, I was hooked. I was out of bed. My joints, spine, head, neck and shoulders were no longer killing me. And my hands, arms and thumbs that were numb were back to feeling normal. By one month in, my swallowing issues had diminished greatly and I was feeling almost human again. Now, 14 months later, I am symptom-free, have lost 35 pounds, walk many many miles per day, every day, and am at a campground in Michigan, hosting activities for two months.

“I have a new lease on life and plan to share my story with anyone who has ears. Grain-free is not a fad. Grain-free is not a diet. Grain-free saved my life!”

 

And her most recent update in early October, 2017:

“Dr walked into the exam room today. Looked at me. And said, ‘I have absolutely no idea how you’ve done this, but you’ve defied all medical odds. You’re now a perfectly healthy weight, your labs are amazing. And to top it off, I believe you are the only patient worldwide with Chiari Malformation, degenerating cervical spine, and a screwed up immune system who is taking no medications. I honestly have nothing to tell you, other than to keep doing whatever you are doing!’ Then he looked at me and laughed and said, ‘I’ll plug my ears if you’re going to tell me you are using illegal drugs or something!!’ Bwaaa haaa haaa

“Illegal drugs, my butt. It’s called throwing out the grain and living again! Chiari Malformation, I win!“

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Food Fight

Given the void in dietary wisdom due to the ineffectiveness and blunders of “official” dietary advice, there is no shortage of books or diet programs trying to fill that void, many wildly at odds with each other—paleo, Atkins, vegan, vegetarian, high-carb, low-carb, ketogenic, etc.

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the USDA’s MyPlate and food pyramid, and organizations such as the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association, as well as many of the diet programs in the popular press, I believe, fail to acknowledge several fundamental principles that really need to be addressed in crafting any sort of dietary program. Failure to acknowledge these principles can lead you down some pretty awful dietary dead-ends, just like the low-fat, low-cholesterol diet did that yielded massive obesity, type 2 diabetes, an explosion in autoimmune disease, and other health conditions. Getting it right, on the other hand, can yield magnificent benefits.

So any effort to create a diet that prevents or reverses many (if not most) health conditions, yields weight loss, and allows you to function optimally must acknowledge several basic principles:

A truly healthy diet must be consistent with human adaptation to life on this planet, as dictated by our genetic code.

Imagine you witnessed a lion tearing open the abdomen of a gazelle, then eating its liver, spleen, intestinal tract, and limbs. You are horrified, so you arrange for the lion to only eat broccoli, kale, and blueberries—presumably healthy vegetables and fruit. What will happen to the lion? It would starve, then die in just a few weeks. Likewise, feed a fish like salmon or trout hay that nourishes horses, and the fish would die in short order, also. In other words, every species has a dietary script written into its genetic code, put there over millions of years of adaptation to the environment. Straying off that dietary script can yield some pretty bad consequences, including death.

Humans, too, have a dietary script written into our genetic code. The historical record is clear: While our pre-Homo ancestors (more than 2.5 million years before present) were largely herbivorous and only occasionally opportunistic scavenging carnivores, the Homo species learned how to make tools and weapons, learned how to hunt as a group to take down large animals, ate their organs and brains that led to dramatic enlargement of the human brain, developed a forebrain that allowed planning and a speech center to allow communication, and we developed the apparatus that allows speech (fine control over the vocal cords, tongue, lips for articulation). As our brains enlarged and required more energy, our colons shortened, as we consumed less fibrous plant matter. Our small intestines lengthened to accommodate the increased consumption of animal products. In other words, the story of human adaptation is unique in that we are the only species that evolved to become adept hunters with brains, speech, and gastrointestinal anatomy to accommodate this lifestyle.

Accordingly, there is no such thing as a vegan or vegetarian population in the wild. We are, at our genetic and adaptive core, programmed to be hunters as well as gatherers.

A healthy diet must be consistent with human physiology

In other words, foods should not exert inappropriate or harmful physiological effects. One example would be extreme and repetitive intake of sugar, as in soft drinks, that generates insulin resistance, small LDL particles that lead to heart disease, glycation of proteins that accelerates aging, and ascending dysbiosis or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Another would be the seeds of grasses–grains–that contain gastrointestinal toxins such as wheat germ agglutinin and gliadin; nutrient-binding phytates that make iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium unavailable for absorption; and amylopectin A that is rapidly degraded to sugar by the enzyme amylase in the mouth, leading to tooth decay.

Healthy foods should provide nutrition without extracting a major health price.

A healthy diet should not require nutritional supplements to compensate for deficiencies

Vegans and vegetarians, for example, are virtually all deficient in vitamin B12 because all B12 comes from animal products. They are also deficient in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA, not linolenic acid which cannot yield sufficient DHA to prevent, for instance, dementia), vitamin K2, zinc, and often iron. Raw vegans and people who severely restrict fat intake also typically become deficient in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E, explaining the tooth loss and bone thinning that can develop, as well as the incessant hunger from inadequate fat intake and inefficient absorption of nutrients from failure to cook some foods. People who consume grains commonly develop deficiencies of iron, zinc, and magnesium due to phytates.

(In the Wheat Belly and Undoctored lifestyles, we do add nutritional supplements, but not to compensate for deficiencies of the diet. We supplement to address deficiencies of modern life such as vitamin D due to leading indoor lives, wearing clothes, and migrating away from the equator, or magnesium because it is filtered out by modern water filtration, or omega-3 fatty acids because fish consumption is complicated by mercury content and most modern people are (unlike our ancestors) averse to consuming brains, iodine because we don’t want to consume the thyroid gland of animals we kill.)



A healthy diet must help maintain healthy bowel flora and supply fibers that yield intestinal butyrate

People who follow a ketogenic diet without addressing prebiotic fibers risk violating this principle. Failure to consume prebiotic fibers leads over time to constipation, dysbiosis and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and all the consequences of inadequate butyrate production (by microbes) including higher blood pressure, higher blood insulin and blood sugar, higher triglycerides, depression and anxiety, disrupted sleep and dreams, and increased risk for colon cancer and diverticular disease.

Before you dive into a diet, ask whether you are adhering to these above dietary principles. The lower fat, lower cholesterol diet advocated by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans that favors grains, as you can see, violates several of these principles. Find a diet that conforms to these basic truths of human life and nutrition and you are on your way to enjoying spectacular health and slenderness.

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Collective knowledge is the answer… what’s the question?

Three’s Company, Ten’s a Crowd

Under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them. —James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds

More Undoctored Wisdom:

Let’s take that further: “Groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them” . . . including doctors.

Mass panic, stampedes, shoppers trampled on Black Friday—crowds in a panic or seized by anger or greed can be frightening. But what about crowds quietly contemplating a question, each individual applying his or her unique insight and experience? Can we obtain answers by harnessing the collective wisdom of crowds?

It’s not an entirely new concept. A rudimentary form of crowd wisdom is already part of the legal system that assembles courtroom juries of a dozen peers. We also see crowd wisdom playing out in online sites that, for instance, allow crowds of people to rate hotels, restaurants, or movies.

Would you bother seeing a movie rated 7 percent by Rotten Tomatoes? Collect diverse insights and experiences of groups of people, all weighing in on the same question (putting aside polarizing social issues such as those in politics), and something wonderful happens: We obtain answers that, in many cases, exceed the accuracy of answers provided by individual experts—the wisdom of crowds, or collective intelligence. While the accuracy of answers improves with groups as small as three participants, groups of 10 dramatically improve accuracy, with additional improvements as crowds grow to the hundreds or thousands. The more the crowd allows each participant to express views, the greater the accuracy. And accuracy is also largely independent of the individual intelligence of the participants; smarter groups do not always provide smarter answers.

Mr. Surowiecki recounts the story of the West of England Fat Stock and Poultry Exhibition of 1906 in which a contest to guess the weight of an ox was conducted. This was observed with interest by famous British scientist Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin. Galton gathered the 800 written votes cast, expecting to demonstrate how terribly inaccurate the guesses were. While few participants individually guessed anywhere near the correct weight, when he averaged all the guesses, to his great surprise, he found that the group as a whole guessed that the ox weighed 1,197 pounds, a pound off from the real weight of 1,198 pounds. A mix of people, some uninformed and unsophisticated, collectively guessed darned close to the to the exact right answer, more accurate than guesses offered by ox experts.

Do we really always need experts to answer our questions for us? In the case of health care, what if the “experts” are often not really experts anyway but dispensers of outdated ideas, limited by individual abilities, reliant on flawed information sources, swayed by conflicting interests?

The online program PatientsLikeMe is a pioneer in health tracking and health empowerment. The first clinical effort to explore whether lithium carbonate was effective for treating Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS ), as limited preliminary evidence suggested, did not come from a deep-pocketed drug company. It came from 150 people with ALS who collaborated through the PatientsLikeMe online site, took the recommended dose of the drug, and then tracked their experiences using an ALS symptom rating scale. They demonstrated that the drug did not have any effect on the progression of ALS symptoms, a finding later corroborated by four conventional clinical trials—formal scientific methods proved the crowdsourced answer correct.

Imagine what we might achieve as we expand and apply such crowd-powered efforts to other questions in health, all facilitated in unprecedented ways by new information tools.

Can we discover answers to individual health questions through group interaction?

Can we derive answers that exceed the quality of answers provided by experts?

I believe the answer to these questions is yes, and it returns control over many aspects of health back into individual hands and frees us from the limited wisdom of the sole practitioner. I continue this discussion in Undoctored the book and Undoctored Inner Circle.

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Wheat Belly Basics: The Myth of Complex Carbohydrates

We’ve been told for years that complex carbohydrtates are better for health than simple sugars. But is that true?

No. From a blood sugar viewpoint, complex carbohydrates, such as those in grains, even whole grains, raise blood sugar higher than table sugar. This is due to the unique form of complex carbohydrate in grains, amylopectin A, that is highly susceptible to digestion by the salivary and stomach enzyme, amylase.

A diet that is therefore rich in “healthy whole grains” is a setup for high blood sugars, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain.

To avoid this effect, banish all grains from your life and witness the often dramatic and unexpected health and weight loss benefits.

The Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox book is the fastest route down this path.

Transcript:

I’d like to dispel a common and widely held myth: that complex carbohydrates are better for you than simple sugars.

Well, that’s not true. Complex carbohydrates are carbohydrates, or sugars, that have complex branching structures. Simple sugars tend to be typically one or two sugars combined, so very small molecules. Dieticians and people in the nutrition world told us for years, for decades, that complex carbohydrates were safer for you from a blood sugar standpoint, right, maybe even prevented diabetes? Well that’s ridiculous. That’s complete fiction.

For one thing, the complex carbohydrate of grains (which is called amylopectin A) has a unique branching structure. That branching structure makes the amylopectin A uniquely susceptible to the enzyme amylase. That’s a digestive enzyme in your saliva and in your stomach. If I eat something made of wheat or other grains, that contains the carbohydrate amylopectin A, it is very rapidly and efficiently converted to blood sugar. Blood sugar goes very high.

Blood sugar goes high also on eating table sugar (sucrose), but which food has a higher Glycemic Index (that is, the capacity to raise blood sugar over the first 90 minutes after you consume something)?

White bread or sugar?

White bread is much higher.

Which has a higher Glycemic Index; whole-wheat bread or sugar?

Whole wheat bread is much higher.

In fact, if you look at any table of Glycemic Indexes or Glycemic Load (that factors in portion size) — look at any table — look at the foods with the highest glycemic indexes and loads. They’re virtually all grains. They’re wheat-based, corn-based, or gluten-free foods. People who follow my Wheat Belly message know that Wheat Belly is not a gluten-free diet. We in fact bash gluten-free processed foods, because they’re awful. They’re horrible. They cause weight gain and all kinds of health problems.

The “complex carbohydrate is better for you than simple sugar” argument is complete fiction. I don’t know where it came from except misinterpretation. The truth is in every table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load. Grains raise blood sugar higher than nearly all other foods. Complex carbohydrates, at least from a viewpoint of blood sugar, are no better, and in fact can be worse than simple sugars.

Understand this. Eliminate grains. Eliminate simple sugars. You now have the means for magnificent weight loss, and reversal of many health conditions like Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes. Once again, conventional dietary advice not only was ineffective but got it colossally wrong.

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The Truth About Hypoglycemia

Many people who experience uncomfortable, even dangerous, episodes of low blood sugar–hypoglycemia–are told to drink juice or eat something sweet to bring blood sugar back up. This is VERY BAD ADVICE that takes you closer and closer to diabetes, especially since people who experience this effect are at high-risk for type 2 diabetes and are often already pre-diabetic.

Virtually all hypoglycemia is preceded by HYPERglycemia, i.e., high blood sugar. The solution is therefore to not chase low blood sugars, but to not allow high blood sugars to occur in the first place.

This is why the Wheat Belly grain-free, limited carb lifestyle so effectively eliminates hypoglycemic episodes.

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“Bread Is My Crack”

People have said this to me many times over the years.

Here’s another Wheat Belly Basics conversation for newcomers or a refresher for the seasoned Wheat Belly follower.

One of the reason that wheat and related grains are such effective causes of weight gain is that they contain a protein, gliadin, that, upon digestion, yields opioid peptides that bind to the opiate receptors of the human brain. These opioid peptides are responsible for generating addictive relationships with food, as well as behavioral and emotional effects.

Stop eating grains and an opiate withdrawal syndrome ensues: nausea, headache, fatigue, depression that lasts around a week. It is important to recognize this effect and not misinterpret it or allow it to frighten you, as it is a necessary process to get through in order to successfully free yourself from the appetite and health-impairing effects of grains.

Transcript:

This is another discussion in the series I call Wheat Belly Basics, meant to help bring newcomers to the lifestyle up to speed with some of the basic concepts, as well as a refresher for those of you who’ve been around for a while, and following the Wheat Belly lifestyle. I call this one Bread Is My Crack.

I call it that because many people have said that to me over the years — particularly when you propose to them that they remove all things made of wheat and grains from their life. Many people intuitively know that they’re going to experience a very unpleasant process, a withdrawal syndrome that generally starts within several hours of having their last bite (or hit) of something made of wheat or related grains.

They know they’ll start to get tremulous, shaky, foggy. They’ll start to develop overwhelming cravings for something made of grains or sugar. They also know that they’ll be fatigued and crabby. Many people know this intuitively. It drives home the point that, when you stop eating wheat and grains, many people experience a withdrawal process, a withdrawal and detoxification process. It is an opiate withdrawal syndrome.

Recall that there’s a protein in wheat, rye and barley called gliadin (and related proteins in other grains like zein in corn and avenin in oats), that, when you when you stop consuming that protein, it no longer provides a source of these opioid peptides — that is, partially digested small protein fragments — that are able to cross into the brain through the blood-brain barrier, and bind to opiate receptors, and have all sorts of peculiar effects.

Remember, people who have schizophrenia have more paranoid delusions and hear voices. People who are prone to bipolar illness can have their mania, their high, triggered. People prone to depression can experience more depression, suicidal thoughts. Children with ADHD or autism experience behavioral outbursts, and it erodes their attention span. People who are prone to bulimia, and binge eating disorder, can have 24-hour-a-day food obsessions created. In you and me it causes addictive behavior to food, increased appetite.

When you stop it, we go through an opiate withdrawal syndrome: nausea, headache, fatigue, depression, that typically lasts about a week or so. It is unpleasant, so for that reason, I detail some ways to soften the blow, we say, in the Wheat Belly books: the Wheat Belly original book, Wheat Belly Total Health, Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox, all detail simple methods you can use to soften the blow. Easy things like: don’t exercise, and hydrate, and salt your food — simple measures you can take to make it softer.

If you’re going to have withdrawal syndrome (I don’t know of a way to not have it), and by the way, I stress this to everybody, because some people who’ve not read the books, who think this is gluten-free or just think by stopping grains they’ve got the program down, will be confused, maybe frightened by these feelings — thinking perhaps, they’ll say to themselves “this must be my body telling me I need wheat and grain”, which of course a terrible thing to believe. That has nothing to do with need, just as an alcoholic who’s missing his fifth of bourbon starts to get shaky and foggy and hallucinate. It doesn’t mean that the alcohol’s good for him and needs it. It means he’s dependent on it. Same thing here. In order to get off grain successfully, many people have to go through this opiate withdrawal syndrome.

So refer the books, and you’ll see ways to soften the blow. This is a necessary process, to get the other side, reclaim health, and control over your weight and appetite

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Join our Undoctored Virtual Meetup this Saturday

I shall be LIVE again on the Undoctored Inner Circle Virtual Meetup on Saturday September 30th at 12 pm Eastern/11 am Central/10 am Mountain/9 am Pacific.

Let’s discuss the Undoctored program with a specific focus on bowel flora, as this is the most common tripping point on the program. The Virtual Meetup function allows us to meet as a group to discuss issues or questions via live video. In addition to our open discussion, I would like to discuss how the Inner Circle site is going to help fund and build our Undoctored movement, taking us closer to a world in which healthcare is (almost) free.

NOTE: A portion of the Meetup may be recorded for promotional uses. If you do NOT want to have your voice or video shared, please mouse over the left lower corner of your Meetup screen to turn off audio and video input (avatars for a microphone and video camera). I will announce when I am recording and when it is turned off.

(The Undoctored Inner Circle is a paid membership site that includes features such as the live Virtual Meetup, webinars, the Undoctored Health Network video collection, Health Tool Product Reviews, and a Discussion Forum.)

To join, go to the Undoctored Inner Circle and sign in.

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Undoctored interview on JJ Virgin’s Lifestyle Show

Here is my recent interview with author/nutritionist/TV personality JJ Virgin.

JJ and I had a free-wheeling conversation about the deep, systemic problems in modern healthcare and how and why it is SO easy to remedy on a personal level with a handful of basic strategies.

Based on the Undoctored book:

Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor

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Cheesy Italian Quick Muffin with MCTs

MCT oil powder makes a spectacular coffee creamer (that Wheat-Free Market will be combining as a coffee creamer with collagen hydrolysates for skin and joint health to add to the appetite-suppressing, weight loss-promoting, focus/concentration-enhancing effects of the MCTs). But I wanted to see how medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil powder performs in baking. So here was my first try.

I only added a rounded tablespoon of MCTs to provide around 10 grams, the minimum quantity required to obtain health benefits, such as suppressed appetite. I believe adding the MCT oil powder made a modestly lighter texture to the muffin but otherwise did not change the recipe or flavor. Here, I used it in a savory quick muffin with cheese and herbs.

I shall be using it in other ways in future to assess whether this could be a way to get your MCTs from various foods added to your day.

Makes 1 muffin

1/4 cup almond flour/meal

1 rounded tablespoon MCT oil powder

2 teaspoons ground golden flaxseed or ground psyllium seed

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional)

In large ceramic mug, combine almond flour/meal, MCT oil powder, flaxseed or psyllium seed, cheese, basil, oregano, salt and mix thoroughly. Stir in egg and water until well mixed.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until toothpick or knife withdraws dry from center. Top with shredded cheese, if using, while still hot.

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Wheat Belly: Quick and Dirty #3

In view of the many new readers on the Wheat Belly Blog, many of whom have not yet had an opportunity to read the book but are eager to get started, here is the most recently updated Wheat Belly Quick & Dirty summary. It summarizes the essential dietary strategies of the Wheat Belly approach to 1) avoid all products made from high-yield, semi-dwarf wheat that wreak health destruction along with all other grains, and 2) create a diet that is otherwise healthy and appropriate for all members of the family. In particular, I’ve tried to clarify some items that were unclear in previous versions.

This is the lifestyle I advise that achieves spectacular reductions in weight, provides relief from joint pain and acid reflux, reduces triglycerides, shoots HDL upward, reduces or eliminates small LDL particles (the #1 cause of heart disease in the U.S.), unravels diabetic/pre-diabetic tendencies, and begins the process of reversing inflammation and autoimmune conditions. The diet starts with the biggest step of all: elimination of wheat and other closely related grains (rye, barley, corn, oats, rice, millet, amaranth, bulgur, sorghum, triticale). But a healthy diet cannot end there, else you and I could eat no grains but fill our calories with soft drinks and jelly beans. So the next step is to limit carbohydrates if your goal is to lose more weight, correct metabolic distortions like high blood sugar and small LDL particles, and reduce potential for conditions like cancer and dementia. Then, we choose our foods wisely to avoid the common booby-traps set for us by Big Food and Agribusiness, not to mention the friendly dietitian at the hospital. Diet in the 21st century is no longer just about carbs, proteins, and fats–it is also about being savvy about the changes introduced into our foods by food producers.

Eliminate:

All wheat-based products (all breads, all breakfast cereals, noodles, pasta, bagels, muffins, pancakes, waffles, donuts, pretzels, crackers), oat products (oatmeal, oat bran), corn and cornstarch-based products (sauces or gravies thickened with cornstarch, prepared or processed foods containing cornstarch, cornmeal products like chips, tacos, tortillas), sugary soft drinks, candies.

Avoid processed foods containing wheat, such as soy sauce, Twizzlers, Campbell’s Tomato Soup, salad dressings, taco seasoning–examine ALL labels and avoid any food with mention of wheat. (It’s not a bad idea to avoid foods with labels! Cucumbers and spinach, for example, generally don’t come with labels.)

All other grain-containing products–especially those with corn, rye, barley, and rice. Corn, like wheat, is contained in many processed foods.

Never exceed 15 grams net carbs per meal. Net carbs = total carbs – fiber. For example, a medium-sized ripe banana contains 27 grams total carbs, 3 grams fiber:

27 – 3 = 24 grams net carbs–too high. (Eat only half or only choose green, unripe bananas with zero carbs to add to your shake or smoothie for its prebiotic fiber content, as discussed in the Wheat Belly Total Health and Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox books.)

Enjoy:

Vegetables-except potatoes; fresh or frozen, never canned

Raw nuts and seeds-raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamians; dry-roasted peanuts (not roasted in oil); pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, and chia seeds

Healthy oils (preferably unheated, whenever possible)-olive, flaxseed, coconut, avocado, walnut, organic butter, ghee

Meats–red meats, pork, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs. (Consider free-range, grass-fed and/or organic sources.) Never buy lean cuts, buy the fatties you can find and eat the fat! Uncured bacon, sausages, hot dogs, lunch meats, etc. (without grain ingredients)

Ground flaxseed, chia seeds

Teas, coffee, water, unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk or coconut water (though be mindful of emulsifiers such as carageenan)

Cheeses—-real cultured cheeses only (not Velveeta or single-slice processed cheese)

Avocado or guacamole; hummus; unsweetened condiments, e.g., mayonnaise, mustard, oil-based salad dressings; ketchup without high-fructose corn syrup; pesto, tapenades; olives

Limited:

Fruit–Select fruit in this order (best first): berries of all varieties, citrus, apples, nectarines, peaches, melons. Minimize bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and grapes and only in the smallest of quantities (since they are like candy in sugar content). Adhere to the net carb rule (above).

Fruit juices-only real juices and in minimal quantities (no more than 2-4 oz; follow the net carb rule above)

Dairy products-No more than 1 serving per day of milk, cottage cheese or yogurt, unsweetened (Fat content does not matter.)

Legumes/beans; peas; sweet potatoes and yams–Follow the net carb rule

Dark chocolates-85% cocoa or greater; no more than 40 grams (approximately 2 inches square) per serving

Safe sweeteners include stevia, monk fruit, erythritol, xylitol, and inulin

Never:

”Gluten-free” foods made with rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, or potato starch

Fried foods

Fast foods

Hydrogenated “trans” fats

Cured meats–hot dogs, sausages, bacon, bologna, pepperoni “fixed” with sodium nitrite. (Choose uncured without sodium nitrite.)

High-fructose corn syrup containing foods; honey; agave syrup; sucrose

Processed rice, rice flour or potato products-rice crackers, rice cereals, pretzels, breakfast cereals, potato chips

Fat-free or low-fat salad dressings

Quick tips:

For healthy breakfast choices, consider unlimited eggs, any style; foods baked from Wheat Belly recipes, such as pancakes, grainless “granola”; ground flaxseed as a hot cereal (e.g., with coconut milk, organic milk, or unsweetened almond milk; blueberries, strawberries, etc.). Also consider raw nuts; cheese; consider having “dinner for breakfast,” meaning transferring salads, cheese, chicken, and other “dinner” foods to breakfast.
Add 1 tablespoon or more of taste-compatible healthy oil to every meal. For example, mix in 1 tbsp coconut oil to ground flaxseed hot cereal. Or add 2 tbsp olive oil to eggs after scrambling. Adding oils will blunt appetite. Never trim the fat off meat and purchase fattier cuts. Cook with (organic) butter, coconut oil, lard, tallow (non-hydrogenated, if purchased), saved bacon grease.
Reach for raw nuts and 85% cocoa dark chocolate first as convenient snacks.
Use the recipes in the Wheat Belly Blog, books, and cookbooks whenever cravings hit: cookies, muffins, brownies, coffee cake, cheesecake from the recipes can quell appetite with no downside.

 

In Wheat Belly Total Health and Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox, we add new strategies to increase effectiveness and obtain even better results by adding strategies to cultivate healthy bowel flora; vitamin D; omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil ONLY; magnesium; iodine and thyroid normalization.

Explore and understand why the Wheat Belly program works so well and how you can take your results even further with the Wheat Belly books:

Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health

The original book that explores how and why wheat was transformed into the modern high-yield, semi-dwarf strain that amplified its adverse health effects and why it is now an ingredient in nearly all processed foods.

Wheat Belly Total Health: The Ultimate Grain-Free Health and Weight-Loss Life Plan

Even bigger and better health and weight loss results can be obtained by expanding the strategies of the original Wheat Belly lifestyle.

Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox: Reprogram Your Body for Rapid Weight Loss and Amazing Health

This is the book for anyone who either just wants the nitty-gritty of the program without the science and rationale, or for those who have read the other Wheat Belly books and just want a roadmap for following the program. There is also a private Facebook page to support the Wheat Belly Detox.

Wheat Belly Slim Guide: The Fast and Easy Reference for Living and Succeeding on the Wheat Belly Lifestyle

The Slim Guide is a pocketbook-sized portable reference with shopping lists, safe food lists, recipes, and other handy references to make navigating the Wheat Belly lifestyle easier.

Wheat Belly Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Help You Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

This is the first cookbook that expanded the menu for creating grain-free dishes that are healthy and stay within the guidelines of the Wheat Belly program.

Wheat Belly 30-Minute (Or Less!) Cookbook: 200 Quick and Simple Recipes to Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

The Wheat Belly menu is expanded even further to include condiments, sauces, seasoning mixes, and plenty of easy, quick recipes compatible with the Wheat Belly lifestyle.

If you are interested in taking personal health to an even higher level, along with adding more advanced strategies for improved skin and joint health, dementia prevention, reversal/prevention of an expanded list of health conditions, graduate to the Undoctored conversation:

Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor

The Undoctored Inner Circle membership website:

Undoctored Inner Circle

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