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

by William Davis

In this #1 New York Times bestseller, a renowned cardiologist explains how eliminating wheat from our diets can prevent fat storage, shrink unsightly bulges, and reverse myriad health problems.

Every day, over 200 million Americans consume food products made of wheat. As a result, over 100 million of them experience some form of adverse health effect, ranging from minor rashes and high blood sugar to the unattractive stomach bulges that preventive cardiologist William Davis calls "wheat bellies." According to Davis, that excess fat has nothing to do with gluttony, sloth, or too much butter: It's due to the whole grain wraps we eat for lunch.

After witnessing over 2,000 patients regain their health after giving up wheat, Davis reached the disturbing conclusion that wheat is the single largest contributor to the nationwide obesity epidemic—and its elimination is key to dramatic weight loss and optimal health. In Wheat Belly, Davis exposes the harmful effects of what is actually a product of genetic tinkering and agribusiness being sold to the American public as "wheat"—and provides readers with a user-friendly, step-by-step plan to navigate a new, wheat-free lifestyle.

Informed by cutting-edge science and nutrition, along with case studies from men and women who have experienced life-changing transformations in their health after waving goodbye to wheat, Wheat Belly is an illuminating look at what is truly making Americans sick and an action plan to clear our plates of this seemingly benign ingredient.

• ISBN10: 1609611543
• ISBN13: 9781609611545
• Publish Date: 30 August 2011 (first published 1 August 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Rodale Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781609611545

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

I am on record as not being an advocate of all-or-nothing diets and this one is in that line. I know fully how restrictive gluten-free is, I have to live that life due to a very strenuous gluten allergy and it can be terribly hard. He confirmed my belief that there is too much gluten in things and that the gluten today is stronger and meaner than the gluten many years ago. Personally I belive that with the prevalence of gluten, it has become a serious issue and people are actually hurting because of it.

If you doubt that there is gluten in too many things, take a look at your lunch. You're eating crisps? May contain gluten. Chocolate? May contain gluten. That sandwich? duh. The chicken on it, check it again, can contain gluten. The mayonaise? possibly gluten. They even bulk up some coffee with barley or wheat, which contain gluten.

Do I think it's a practical diet? No.
Do I think it's for everyone? No.
Do I think some people might benefit from it? Yes
Do I think it's the panacea for all ills? No

To be honest I'm more in favour of 80/20 diets and think that people could stick to them. Completely excluding wheat/gluten/refined carbohydrate from your diet is a uphill task and while some of what he says makes sense and might be your thing, it might not.

I also have certain issues about the use of artifical sweeteners, I'm not sure about the safety.

[Beth C.]

It was an interesting book. Pages and pages of science (as well as anecdotal evidence) to back up what he was saying. The only problem I had was towards the end when all of a sudden, after painstakingly laying out evidence against wheat for 2/3 of the book, he says that other things to abstain from include rice, beans, and virtually everything else. He left: oils, meat, veggies, some fruit, a bit of cheese, condiments, avocado...

My take? To stop eating wheat may be well worth your while, even if it's for a period of time to see if it helps. But for most of us, the saving grace about not eating meat will be the corn, the rice, the beans...So while he has excellent points, he probably should have stuck with the wheat argument so as to not alienate those who might be "addicted" to wheat.

[Eve1972]

Really fascinating and informative!!