Wheat Belly: Is It Just Atkins?

onwarddownward

I read the book, Wheat Belly. It starts out saying that wheat is bad then, as the book goes on, all carbs are bad and will cause obesity and diabetes. Starches are then called bad, along with bananas and most fruits are limited as too sugary.

I'm frustrated. Honestly, I had never even heard of the book until a neighbor mentioned it.

But, i bought the book. I also bought the cookbook and tried baking the non-wheat bread. I can only describe it as a total waste of calories. Totally tasteless. The second loaf was better - edible, but lacking in any real flavor.

Foods listed as good are nuts, veggies, meats (except processed), their non-wheat non-starch organic recipe foods, cheese and minimal fruits.

Years ago I read Harvey and Marilyn Diamond's Fit for Life, at the behest of my SIL. that one started off saying it was a simple plan with few restrictions, but ended up being mostly vegetarianism with some food combining thrown in and info about "hygiene" which was essentially about pooping. My gut tells me that Wheat Belly is an Atkins clone.

Can anyone tell me if wheat elimination has helped them and what extent do you choose to go to? GF? Total elimination of starch, wheat and the whole smash?

What does gluten free mean to you?

Pearsquared

I only eat organic kale rinsed in mountain spring reverse osmosis water, but only the kind that came in biodegradable water bottles.

graysmom2005

All I know is what I have experienced. I am a group fitness instructor, so I am crazy active. Teach 9+ classes a week and I have two little boys. No matter WHAT I did, I could not look the way I wanted. Losing weight was next to impossible. Couldn't understand why. Now I'm about 80/20 and I don't pay much attention to gluten specifically....mostly just starchy carbs...but it was what changed the game. The weight dropped. My body fat went down. Finally I could see the hard work paying off. I'm sure people vary in how sensitive they are to starches/carbs/gluten....but it made all the difference in the world. It wasn't how much I was eating. It was also WHAT.

_Zardoz_

you might find thus interesting


http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/02/gluten_free_diet_distinguishing_celiac_disease_wheat_allergy_and_gluten.html

onwarddownward

I only eat organic kale rinsed in mountain spring reverse osmosis water, but only the kind that came in biodegradable water bottles.

He mentioned kale! I like it deep fried in bacon grease and topped with cream cheese and coconut oil! Organic, of course!

Shaolin_Life

I only eat organic kale rinsed in mountain spring reverse osmosis water, but only the kind that came in biodegradable water bottles.

I can't believe how careless you are with your health....:bigsmile:

LAW_714

I read the book and found it generally interesting. There were things about the development of our recent strains of wheat that I did not know. But, personally, I haven't experienced any noticeable problems with wheat. I don't think I'm particularly reactive to it. For myself, I don't find it to be quite as big of an issue as he makes out (though I also am not noticeably gluten sensitive nor do I have celiac disease, either of which would change my answer).

That said, I do think highly refined wheat is digested and metabolized relatively fast and thus probably does spike your blood sugar more easily than some other options. I don't think we can wholly ignore the glycemic index and the way that we metabolize food.

Still, I don't buy the severity of everything he says. I think it's a bit much and perhaps overstates a problem (The problem being the availability of wheat products -- and sugar products -- these days has led to our eating a heck of a lot more wheat (and heck of a lot more HIGHLY REFINED wheat) than people did 100 or 200 or 300 hundred years ago. And the more highly refined, the less nutritious it is {except when artificially augmented/"enriched") and the more quick it is to raise our blood sugar levels (so eating it more and more often means we're spiking our blood sugar more often as well).

And...maybe we eat too much of it as a result.

I've taken to eating less wheat -- less pasta, less bread. But I haven't eliminated it entirely. (Same with sugar).

If you look at statistics, people eat way, way more wheat and sugar today than was available in the past, and we are also (in first world countries) generally fatter than we ever have been. So maybe... we should eat less. Period.

Maybe, we should eat more nutritionally dense foods more often (unless wheat is 'enriched' by having vitamens added back TO it, there are foods more rich in nutrition. Maybe we should eat more foods that have better vitamens and minerals naturally occuring in them without their having to be 'enriched' in a factory?

A lot of times bread and pasta are on the plate as filler. (Nummy filler, but filler nontheless). So maybe we need less filler.

Or maybe we should have more healthy filler in the form of vegetables?

At any rate, I moderate instead of eliminate, getting most of my carbs from vegetables instead. I still eat wheat occasionally, though. I just eat a lot less of it.

SnicciFit

I haven't read Wheat Belly, but have browsed the blog/website a bit. Honestly, I'm a little surprised about that. I would have thought the book would just focus on wheat/gluten. Anyway.... gluten free to me, means no intentional gluten consumption. I don't have celiac (that I know of), but going gluten-free has seemed to be the only thing that solved some major digestive issues I was having. So, I steer clear of bread, pasta & baked goods (unless I make them myself without flour). I still eat sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, fruit and even occasionally rice. I don't consider my diet to be low-carb (like atkins), just very little grains and very little processed food.

4_Lisa

Really, unless you have medical reasons for cutting out food, I feel a well balanced diet is best. I don't eat half fat, low fat, low cal crap. I prefer REAL food though. Naturally grown, less processed foods. I try to get meats straight from butchers and veggies and fruits from farmers markets. Fruits you do have to watch, if that is all you are eating for the fruit and veggie category you will go over in sugars, however natural is better than processed. Up the amount of activity you do and eat natural foods. That has been my success so far.

cwolfman13

It can be beneficial for sedentary folks to cut back on the carbs...sucks if you kill it at the gym though, so you won't see me doing it these days. In RE to wheat belly or whatever...really, this is more about whether you have an insulin resistance or gluten intollerance. Carbs aren't the devil and if you bust your *kitten*, they're actually pretty important.

homesweeths

I read Wheat Belly too and started to reconsider my diet. I never noticed any problems with wheat (though my dh and two of our children are celiac), so I just cut down but still had it on special occasions. However, in the last year I've had significant problems with joint pain. I was ready to try anything. I didn't really start to see results (in terms of relief from joint pain in my case) until I read and started to apply Robb Wolf's Paleo Solution and Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint. At the moment I'm doing the Whole30 just to try to knock out some stubborn lingering pain issues, though the pain levels have gone down significantly in just a month of eating Paleo style (with an autoimmune focus -- if you google "paleo" and "autoimmune" you can find more info).

So to sum it up, I never knew I had a problem with wheat. Weight was heavy, but I was relatively healthy. I did have problems losing weight and keeping it off, though, due to carb cravings and blood sugar issues (would get woozy if I didn't eat protein every couple hours). Since going paleo I'm never hungry, and my blood sugar never crashes. (Some of that may also be due to cutting out coffee and caffeinated tea.) Sometimes I have to remind myself to eat.

Don't know what your goals are, whether health issues or overweight, but I can tell you that I feel better than I have in months, and I'm also losing weight at a steady rate.

erinsueburns

It is an overly aggressive stance, fear mongering essentially to something that for some people can be a real problem. If you feel like maybe you fit some of the issues, it wouldn't hurt you to try to eliminate or moderate your wheat consumption and see how you feel about it. I wouldn't avoid other carbs in the form of fruits and vegetables unless you have other allergies though.

ETA: But if you are going to try to eliminate/moderate wheat consumption, don't replace them with fake baked goods, replace that consumption with real foods.

BeachIron

It can be beneficial for sedentary folks to cut back on the carbs...sucks if you kill it at the gym though, so you won't see me doing it these days. In RE to wheat belly or whatever...really, this is more about whether you have an insulin resistance or gluten intollerance. Carbs aren't the devil and if you bust your *kitten*, they're actually pretty important.

^ This. And honestly, our bodies don't do well being sedentary. Move more and eat less.

bluefish49

I only eat organic kale rinsed in mountain spring reverse osmosis water, but only the kind that came in biodegradable water bottles.

Do you dip it in Paul Newman's salad dressing?

Lupercalia

Limiting carbs and cutting out gluten wasn't really an option for me--I had/have health issues that demand it. (PCOS/insulin resistance). I don't replace foods with low carb, gluten free versions. I just skip them entirely and eat more veggies/protein/fat...and a bit more in the way of fruit these days, as my insulin sensitivity has improved a fair bit.

onwarddownward

I don't know why I gravitate to this junk. I mean, I was doing well. I am losing weight at about a pound and a half or so a week. My swim times are getting better and better, about two miles a day. I am able to bike a little now and I walk more.

My cals were pretty much in line (1400-1800). Everything seemed to be manageable. I was clicking along.

Then a random person mentions something that she felt was much better than what I was doing and I went out, bought the books ($50) bought tons of foods to make the wheat belly recipes ($200) and I hate it. And, this person who mentioned it? She's even more obese than I am and feels that certain people just are destined to be heavy.

Well, I am going to stick with a wise MFP friend's mantra, which is: "If you can't do it for a week, what makes you think you can do it for a lifetime."


Good bye, Wheat Belly. I am going back to my own plan. Move a lot, eat less. After I have a freaking piece of cheesecake.

Liz_Mfp

That said, I do think highly refined wheat is digested and metabolized relatively fast and thus probably does spike your blood sugar more easily than

Does it matter what else you eat at the same meal?

Bread and meat versus Bread and Jelly?

As far as glycemic load, spike, etc.

GormanGhaste

I was doing well. I am losing weight at about a pound and a half or so a week. My swim times are getting better and better, about two miles a day. I am able to bike a little now and I walk more.

My cals were pretty much in line (1400-1800). Everything seemed to be manageable. I was clicking along.

Well, I am going to stick with a wise MFP friend's mantra, which is: "If you can't do it for a week, what makes you think you can do it for a lifetime."

I am going back to my own plan. Move a lot, eat less.

Good! I think we all are guilty of trying to over-complicate things at one time or another.

onwarddownward

After getting on the scale today and being down 2.4 pounds and yesterday losing another one pound, I am going to give Wheat Belly some more time. The recipes really stink, but I am going to just do what I had been doing and try to keep wheat out of my diet. I am going to leave the starch and natural sugar (I try to stay low with those anyway) and just concentrated on the wheat.

I woke up with TONS of energy this morning.

SnicciFit

After getting on the scale today and being down 2.4 pounds and yesterday losing another one pound, I am going to give Wheat Belly some more time. The recipes really stink, but I am going to just do what I had been doing and try to keep wheat out of my diet. I am going to leave the starch and natural sugar (I try to stay low with those anyway) and just concentrated on the wheat.

I woke up with TONS of energy this morning.

I don't know what recipes you are referring to that "really stink", but it's easy to make wheat-free meals. There are tons of foods that are naturally wheat-free: meat, veggies, fruit, nuts...etc. Keep it simple and make meat & veggies for most meals. A few days a week, you can get "fancy" and try new recipes. I make big batches of simple things like chicken salad, HB eggs, tuna salad..etc. every week to make sure there's food available to grab & go. Here's a bunch of great recipe sites that I use:

http://www.wholelifeeating.com/

http://www.eatingforidiots.com/

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/

http://paleoparents.com/

http://www.paleoeffect.com/

http://beta.primal-palate.com/

http://www.fivestarpaleo.com/

http://paleotable.com/

http://bestpaleorecipes.com/

http://www.paleoplan.com/

http://nomnompaleo.com/

http://www.thefoodee.com/

http://www.foodrenegade.com/

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/

http://paleomg.com/

http://robbwolf.com/

http://www.againstallgrain.com/

http://idreamofprotein.wordpress.com/

http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/

http://whatthisfoodieeats.com/

http://caughtsomewhereinthyme.blogspot.com/

http://sleeploveeat.com/

http://thenerdyfarmwife.com/

http://paleorecipes.com/

http://mycrossfitpaleojourney.wordpress.com/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/

http://grokettesprimalmusings.blogspot.com/

http://guiltykitchen.com/

http://www.paleocupboard.com/

LAW_714

For your amusement:

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/426875/june-05-2013/monsanto-s-modified-wheat


+++++++++++++++++++

I don't know what recipes you are referring to that "really stink", but it's easy to make wheat-free meals. There are tons of foods that are naturally wheat-free: meat, veggies, fruit, nuts...etc. Keep it simple and make meat & veggies for most meals. A few days a week, you can get "fancy" and try new recipes. I make big batches of simple things like chicken salad, HB eggs, tuna salad..etc. every week to make sure there's food available to grab & go.

Same here. (Plus leftovers for lunch).

I don't do anything particularly out of the norm. For example, dinner last night was baked chicken with roasted squash+zuchini+onions with blackberries and greek yogurt for 'dessert'. Nothing 'exotic' so as to avoid wheat. I just avoided wheat. There's are plenty of vegetables to fill my plate. I simply eat bread and pasta more rarely than I used to.

Wetcoaster

Pretty interesting article on carbs ............the conclusion

"
Conclusion

I hope you can see by now that the carbohydrate hypothesis of obesity is not only incorrect on a number of levels, but it may even be backward. The reason why obesity and metabolism researchers don't typically subscribe to this idea is that it is contradicted by a large body of evidence from multiple fields. I understand that people like ideas that "challenge conventional wisdom", but the fact is that obesity is a complex state and it will not be shoehorned into simplistic hypotheses.

Carbohydrate consumption per se is not behind the obesity epidemic. However, once overweight or obesity is established, carbohydrate restriction can aid fat loss in some people. The mechanism by which this occurs is not totally clear, but there is no evidence that insulin plays a causal role in this process. Carbohydrate restriction spontaneously reduces calorie intake (as does fat restriction to a lesser extent), suggesting the possibility that it alters body fat homeostasis, but there is no compelling evidence that that happens due to a hormonal influence on fat tissue itself. The brain is the primary homeostatic regulator of fat mass, just as it homeostatically regulates blood pressure, breathing rate, and body temperature. This has been suspected since the early brain lesion studies of the 1940s (47) and even before, and the discovery of leptin in 1994 cemented leptin's role as the main player in body fat homeostasis. In some cases, the setpoint around which the body defends these variables can be changed (e.g., hypertension, fever, and obesity). Research is ongoing to understand how this process work"

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.ca/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html

momzeeee

I read the book, Wheat Belly. It starts out saying that wheat is bad then, as the book goes on, all carbs are bad and will cause obesity and diabetes. Starches are then called bad, along with bananas and most fruits are limited as too sugary.

I'm frustrated. Honestly, I had never even heard of the book until a neighbor mentioned it.

But, i bought the book. I also bought the cookbook and tried baking the non-wheat bread. I can only describe it as a total waste of calories. Totally tasteless. The second loaf was better - edible, but lacking in any real flavor.

Foods listed as good are nuts, veggies, meats (except processed), their non-wheat non-starch organic recipe foods, cheese and minimal fruits.

Years ago I read Harvey and Marilyn Diamond's Fit for Life, at the behest of my SIL. that one started off saying it was a simple plan with few restrictions, but ended up being mostly vegetarianism with some food combining thrown in and info about "hygiene" which was essentially about pooping. My gut tells me that Wheat Belly is an Atkins clone.

Can anyone tell me if wheat elimination has helped them and what extent do you choose to go to? GF? Total elimination of starch, wheat and the whole smash?

What does gluten free mean to you?

While I've never been into the Atkins/low carb thing, I did read Wheat Belly and liked it. I decided to cut back on wheat and wow, it definitely did make a difference for me personally. All of my bloat disappeared and my red, acne prone skin has cleared up. I still eat it occasionally, but it's not a daily thing anymore. I eat a primal leaning diet now, with a focus on meat, eggs, veggies and then smaller amounts of dairy, fruit, nuts etc. Works for me

Also, I don't try to make/find substitutes for wheat products-I cut them out and just eat different things. I don't miss bread, pasta etc at all and have no desire to eat them. I love how I eat now

DesdemonaRose

Well, I am going to stick with a wise MFP friend's mantra, which is: "If you can't do it for a week, what makes you think you can do it for a lifetime."


Good bye, Wheat Belly. I am going back to my own plan. Move a lot, eat less. After I have a freaking piece of cheesecake.

That is a good way to go, IMO! I dug up some Weston A. Price Foundation stuff years ago and it started me on a "omg, food is killing me," journey. I was never as intense about it as some of the members, and it only took me a few months to drop WAPF specifically, but it did make me more concious of what I was eating. After 3 or so years of reading blogs, science papers, etc I've come to the conclusion that there is no perfect diet. There are some good basic guidelines (less processed foods) but stressing out about rather or not everything you eat is perfect is probably a waste. You are pretty much assuming that your favorite blog/book/podcast/etc knows what it's talking about.

If I ever find time for a microbiology degree with a human anatomy concentration, then maybe I'll be able to say that diet A is better than diet B.

DesdemonaRose

Carbohydrate restriction spontaneously reduces calorie intake (as does fat restriction to a lesser extent), suggesting the possibility that it alters body fat homeostasis, but there is no compelling evidence that that happens due to a hormonal influence on fat tissue itself.

The less carbs = less calories, MFP shows me that! I tend to eat lower carb, but with a family of diabetics it seems like a good move for me (specifcally simple carbs, but I do eat some startches, complex grains, etc). Whenever I do get something, like a crossant, I'm always surprised by the calorie count. There are some low-carb foods I like that have high calories, but it does seem a bit crazy that a airy flower based snack has more carbs than half a cup of nut based trail mix. Eatting the one that makes me feel full means I eat less. That aspect of "lower" carb is easier to find logical. Just the simple calorie counting aspect.

shannashannabobana

tried baking the non-wheat bread

See, I don't generally like the 'make fake versions of stuff you're trying not to' have principle personally. I have been doing a pseudo primal approach and mostly trying to cut significantly down on wheat and sugar. Primal at least doesn't have to be low carb to the extent that atkins is low carb as you can eat fruits, veggies (including starchy tubers) and I would generally prefer potatoes to bread anyway. I think I feel somewhat better on this approach but I haven't really been doing it perfectly so I'm not sure what the difference would be if I eliminated wheat completely. I will say cutting wheat and sugar and focusing on animal products/protein/whole fruits and veggies makes the most intuitive sense to me of any diet I've seen.

As for Wheat Belly, I haven't read the wheat belly book so I can't say whether it is just atkins revisited, but I understand there are a good number of people with undiagnosed gluten intolerance and some find that cutting out wheat helps. If reducing carbs keeps reappearing it might be because it works. I found GCBC fairly convincing on that front, but I also enjoy Dr. Lustig's presentation and he put the blame entirely on sugar, rather than carbs in general.

RoseTears143

I am GF and DF because eating either makes me inflate like a hot air balloon..but it doesn't mean by default I eat low carb or no bread type products at all. I do eat the GF counterparts. Udi's is an amazing brand for GF stuff IMO

frugalafterfifty

bumping to check out the websites later

Gearjammer71

I had a problem, that I won't be too specific about, (Very Gross) but I had to cut the wheat out. I went cold turkey, and suffered for more than a week. Problem is gone now, pounds are dropping, and I feel great.

justtodayjen333

I only eat organic kale rinsed in mountain spring reverse osmosis water, but only the kind that came in biodegradable water bottles.

He mentioned kale! I like it deep fried in bacon grease and topped with cream cheese and coconut oil! Organic, of course!

Cracking up over all this kale talk! LOL!:)

onwarddownward

I got on the scale today. I was down again (5 lbs total).

HOWEVER, my scale measures fat vs. lean. I have been tracking it for months and up until this week, my fat has been going down while the lean was going up.

Since I started with the wheat free, low carb thing, I have noticed little changes and today it was apparent. Over the last five days I have lost 5 lbs in LEAN MASS and my fat has stayed the same.

Done. I am DONE with this. I am going back to eating the way I was before this Wheat Belly crap.

Quackery.