Wheat Belly Quotes

“Aside from some extra fiber, eating two slices of whole wheat bread is really little different, and often worse, than drinking a can of sugar-sweetened soda or eating a sugary candy bar.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Carbohydrates trigger insulin release from the pancreas, causing growth of visceral fat; visceral fat causes insulin resistance and inflammation. High blood sugars, triglycerides, and fatty acids damage the pancreas. After years of overwork, the pancreas succumbs to the thrashing it has taken from glucotoxicity, lipotoxicity, and inflammation, essentially “burning out,” leaving a deficiency of insulin and an increase in blood glucose—diabetes.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Therefore, wheat products elevate blood sugar levels more than virtually any other carbohydrate, from beans to candy bars.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Modern wheat, despite all the genetic alterations to modify hundreds, if not thousands, of its genetically determined characteristics, made its way to the worldwide human food supply with nary a question surrounding its suitability for human consumption.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“The original study showed that the GI of white bread was 69, while the GI of whole grain bread was 72 and Shredded Wheat cereal was 67, while that of sucrose (table sugar) was 59.5 Yes, the GI of whole grain bread is higher than that of sucrose. Incidentally, the GI of a Mars bar—nougat, chocolate, sugar, caramel, and all—is 68. That’s better than whole grain bread. The GI of a Snickers bar is 41—far better than whole grain bread.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“To this day, the notion of treating diabetes by increasing consumption of the foods that caused the disease in the first place, then managing the blood sugar mess with medications, persists.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Small changes in wheat protein structure can spell the difference between a devastating immune response to wheat protein versus no immune response at all.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“A wheat belly represents the accumulation of fat that results from years of consuming foods that trigger insulin, the hormone of fat storage.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“ASPARAGUS WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL Asparagus packs a lot of health benefits into a little package. The little bit of extra effort required to roast the garlic will be more than worth it to liven up a batch. Makes 2 servings 1 head garlic Extra-virgin olive oil ½ pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces 1 tablespoon ground pecans or almonds ½ teaspoon onion powder Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel off the papery layers from the garlic head, then slice off the top ¼ inch to expose the garlic cloves. Place in the center of a square of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Seal the garlic in the foil and place in a shallow pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the foil and let cool. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring, until bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the ground pecans or almonds and then the onion powder. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins into the pan. Continue to cook the asparagus, stirring, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, 1 to 2”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“In terms of mitigating wheat’s adverse effects, there is no need to restrict fats. But some fats and fatty foods really should not be part of anyone’s diet. These include hydrogenated (trans) fats in processed foods, fried oils that contain excessive by-products of oxidation and AGE formation, and cured meats such as sausages, bacon, hot dogs, salami, etc. (sodium nitrite and AGEs).”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“then you should consider reducing or eliminating the following foods in addition to eliminating wheat. • Cornstarch and cornmeal—cornmeal products such as tacos, tortillas, corn chips, and corn breads, breakfast cereals, and sauces and gravies thickened with cornstarch • Snack foods—potato chips, rice cakes, popcorn. These foods, like foods made of cornstarch, send blood sugar straight up to the stratosphere. • Desserts—Pies, cakes, cupcakes, ice cream, sherbet, and other sugary desserts all pack too much sugar. • Rice—white or brown; wild rice. Modest servings are relatively benign, but large servings (more than ½ cup) generate adverse blood sugar effects. • Potatoes—White, red, sweet potatoes, and yams cause effects similar to those generated by rice. • Legumes—black beans, butter beans, kidney beans, lima beans; chickpeas; lentils. Like potatoes and rice, there is potential for blood sugar effects, especially if serving size exceeds ½ cup. • Gluten-free foods—Because the cornstarch, rice starch, potato starch, and tapioca starch used in place of wheat gluten causes extravagant blood sugar rises, they should be avoided. • Fruit juices, soft drinks—Even if they are “natural,” fruit juices are not that good for you. While they contain healthy components such as flavonoids and vitamin C, the sugar”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“A True Story Let me tell you about Wendy. For more than ten years, Wendy struggled unsuccessfully with ulcerative colitis. A thirty-six-year-old grade school teacher and mother of three, she lived with constant cramping, diarrhea, and frequent bleeding, necessitating occasional blood transfusions. She endured several colonoscopies and required the use of three prescription medications to manage her disease, including the highly toxic methotrexate, a drug also used in cancer treatment and medical abortions. I met Wendy for an unrelated minor complaint of heart palpitations that proved to be benign, requiring no specific treatment. However, she told me that, because her ulcerative colitis was failing to respond to medications, her gastroenterologist advised colon removal with creation of an ileostomy. This is an artificial orifice for the small intestine (ileum) at the abdominal surface, the sort to which you affix a bag to catch the continually emptying stool. After hearing Wendy’s medical history, I urged her to try wheat elimination. “I really don’t know if it’s going to work,” I told her, “but since you’re facing colon removal and ileostomy, I think you should give it a try.” “But why?” she asked. “I’ve already been tested for celiac and my doctor said I don’t have it.” “Yes, I know. But you’ve got nothing to lose. Try it for four weeks. You’ll know if you’re responding.” Wendy was skeptical but agreed to try. She returned to my office three months later, no ileostomy bag in sight. “What happened?” I asked. “Well, first I lost thirty-eight pounds.” She ran her hand over her abdomen to show me. “And my ulcerative colitis is nearly gone. No more cramps or diarrhea. I’m off everything except my Asacol.” (Asacol is a derivative of aspirin often used to treat ulcerative colitis.) “I really feel great.” In the year since, Wendy has meticulously avoided wheat and gluten and has also eliminated the Asacol, with no return of symptoms. Cured. Yes, cured. No diarrhea, no bleeding, no cramps, no anemia, no more drugs, no ileostomy. So if Wendy’s colitis tested negative for celiac antibodies, but responded to—indeed, was cured by—wheat gluten elimination, what should we label it? Should we call it antibody-negative celiac disease? Antibody-negative wheat intolerance? There is great hazard in trying to pigeonhole conditions such as Wendy’s into something like celiac disease. It nearly caused her to lose her colon and suffer the lifelong health difficulties associated with colon removal, not to mention the embarrassment and inconvenience of wearing an ileostomy bag. There is not yet any neat name to fit conditions such as Wendy’s, despite its extraordinary response to the elimination of wheat gluten. Wendy’s experience highlights the many unknowns in this world of wheat sensitivities, many of which are as devastating as the cure is simple.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“The higher the blood glucose after consumption of food, the greater the insulin level, the more fat is deposited. This is why, say, eating a three-egg omelet that triggers no increase in glucose does not add to body fat, while two slices of whole wheat bread increases blood glucose to high levels, triggering insulin and growth of fat, particularly abdominal or deep visceral fat.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“disguised as a bran muffin or onion ciabatta, is not really wheat at all but the transformed product of genetic research conducted during the latter half of the twentieth century. Modern wheat is no more real wheat than a chimpanzee is an approximation of a human.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“the anti-transglutaminase-6 (TG6) antibody in addition to the anti-gliadin antibody.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Nutritional deficiencies—Iron-deficiency anemia is unusually common among celiac sufferers, affecting up to 69 percent. Deficiencies of vitamin B12, folic acid, zinc, and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are also common.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“People with celiac disease must meticulously avoid food containing gluten. This means the elimination of wheat, as well as gluten-containing grains such as barley, rye, spelt, triticale, kamut, and perhaps oats. People with celiac disease often seek out “gluten-free” foods that mimic wheat-containing products.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“But remember: Foods made with cornstarch, rice starch, potato starch, and tapioca starch are among the few foods that increase blood sugar even more than wheat products.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“(Non-grain foods such as vegetables, meats, and dairy tend to be at the perimeter.)”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Provided you can tolerate the withdrawal (while unpleasant, the withdrawal syndrome is generally harmless aside from the rancor you incur from your irritated spouse, friends, and co-workers), hunger and cravings diminish, caloric intake decreases, mood and well-being increase, weight goes down, wheat belly shrinks.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“So this is your brain on wheat: Digestion yields morphine-like compounds that bind to the brain’s opiate receptors. It induces a form of reward, a mild euphoria. When the effect is blocked or no exorphin-yielding foods are consumed, many people experience a distinctly unpleasant withdrawal.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“The brain is highly sensitive to the wide variety of substances that gain entry to the blood, some of which can provoke undesirable effects should they cross into your amygdala, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, or other brain structure. Once having gained entry into the brain, wheat polypeptides bind to the brain’s morphine receptors, the very same receptors to which opiate drugs like fentanyl and oxycodone bind.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“People who eliminate wheat from their diet typically report improved mood, fewer mood swings, improved ability to concentrate, and deeper sleep within just days to weeks of their last bite of bagel or baked lasagna. I have been impressed with how consistent these observations are, experienced by the majority of people once the initial withdrawal effects of mental fog and fatigue subside.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“You may begin to appreciate just how many ironies there are in conventional diet advice: Eating more “healthy whole grains” to ensure adequate nutrition actually achieves the opposite.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Wheat consumption is one of several causes of magnesium deficiency that is ubiquitous and results in bone thinning, higher blood pressure and blood sugar, muscle cramps, and heart rhythm disorders.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“The bigger your wheat belly, the poorer your response to insulin, since the deep visceral fat of the wheat belly is associated with poor responsiveness, or “resistance,” to insulin, demanding higher and higher insulin levels, a situation that cultivates diabetes.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“The bigger your wheat belly, the more inflammatory responses that are triggered: heart disease, cancer, and dementia.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Aside from some extra fiber, eating two slices of whole wheat bread is really little different, actually worse, than drinking a can of sugar-sweetened soda or eating a sugary candy bar.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Complex” means that the carbohydrates in wheat are composed of polymers (repeating chains) of the simple sugar, glucose, unlike simple carbohydrates such as sucrose that are one- or two-unit sugar structures. (Sucrose is a two-sugar molecule, glucose + fructose.)”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Modern wheat, despite all the genetic alterations to modify thousands of its genetically determined characteristics, made its way to the worldwide human food supply with nary a question surrounding its suitability for human consumption.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health