Wheatbelly...? Wheat, the UNHEALTHY wholegrain?!

hellraisedfire

I'm not sure where everyone here is from, but from what I can tell, in America, Celiac disease is VERY uncommon. But in Europe, particularly Italy and Scandinavian roots, it is an extremely common disease. Since most Americans are from general European roots, I would say it's likely more than 1 out of 133 people have this disease. Where I'm from, I think the ratio is 1 out of 10 people. Gluten can cause migraines, general tummy troubles, joint pains, and pretty much anything else as Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease and your autoimmune system functions throughout your body. That's why each of us gets affected differently. Whole grains definitely DO help the human body out, but sometimes they cause problems too, just like any other food can. Wheat, rye, and barely all have gluten in them, but they are not unhealthy. The same way some people cannot have oranges due to the acidity, or some cannot have milk. They are not unhealthy, but some people just can't accomodate them.

nanodot

When I started Paleo, I discovered that I was gluten intolerant, because I felt so, so much better! I don't eat wheat anymore. I eat other grains on rare occasions. I feel ten years younger.

There's really no need to argue about it (or base opinions on NOT having read the book, that's just odd). Just try it for 30 days, and see how you feel. If you feel better, keep doing it. If it makes no difference to you, go back to eating wheat. No big deal.

sweetcaroline04

I haven't seen it, but the documentary of the same name is on Netflix Instant right now.

mermx

My Dad was a diagnosed coeliac 8 years ago and my son 4 years ago...I don`t have the problem.

Gluten causes really bad prblems for them and has hospitalised my Dad when he has been out for dinner and the chef has said the sauce is gluten free and it turns out it isn`t.

But IMO if you feel going gluten free helps you then why not go with it?

hpsnickers1

The wheat we eat today is a GMO grain. So is corn. Both need man's intervention to grow. They cannot grow on their own therefore they are no longer a natural food. And whole wheat bread is just brown flour. There is no difference between that and white.

Plus, the amounts we are told to get them aren't so good either. Since when did grains become more important than fruits and veggies? My research helped me realize that grains are an optional food for most of us and completely bad for some of us, too.

I removed grains when I went Primal. It was an experiment. Every digestive issue I've had to deal with in my life (from one end to the other) disappeared withing weeks of going Primal (also backed off all that "healthy" fiber and can now go to the bathroom on a daily basis). I got a flat belly for the first time in my life - I didn't get this from the 1st 10lbs I loss, or P90X, or restricting calories. I hit a weight I haven't seen since before puberty (109lbs. I was 136lb when I was 14 and never saw below 120 as an adult until Primal Blueprint). And there is nothing "heart-healthy" about them. They don't help your heart any. They are also incomplete protein. They also contain "anti-nutrients" which are mineral binders. They inhibit your body's absorption of nutrients. Since removing grains (and beans) from my diet I no longer get cavities (I have 5 crowns, I've had 2 root canals and just about every dental appointment I have ever had I've had to deal with decay and cavities...until I went Primal). My dental hygeine hasn't changed.

And just because you add some whole grain to a high sugar cereal doesn't mean it is now "heart-healthy".

And then there's all the people now dealing with gluten-intolerance and celiac disease. Funny how those issues have increased as the gluten in grains have increased - from the genetic alterations done to it by man. More than 90% of the grocery store sells products that contain wheat.

I'll take bacon and eggs over oatmeal and toast anyday. And my body is now healthier because of this.

And I agree, try it for yourself (google "carb flu" though. Going cold turkey and removing the majority of carbs from your diet will give you "withdrawl" symptoms like stopping a drug. And make sure to get eat plenty of healthy fats (not industrial PUFAs; try saturated) so your body can use that for energy. Eventually your body will completely transition over to burning fat constantly (and not just when you sleep) and you might be surprised at how you start to feel).

hpsnickers1

Ezekiel 4:9 “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. "

If it's good enough for the Lord, it's good enough for me.

LOVE IT!

from what I understand God rejected Cain's offering of bread and accepted Abel's offering of a fat lamb.

hpsnickers1

Everything in moderation...including moderation.

The key isn't moderation, it's balance. That is what the human body's sole goal is...homeostasis. Harmonic balance of all the systems in the body.

the one thing I don't "moderate" is my fat intake. And I can't gain weight now.

jody664

Ezekiel 4:9 “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. "

If it's good enough for the Lord, it's good enough for me.

Careful! If you read that passage in it's entirety, it says the bread is to baked over human dung. Still, the Ezekial 4:9 bread from the store is pretty tasty.

I know for myself that I don't metabolize wheat very well at all. So for now I'm staying away from it and feel great. I don't think carbs are bad for most people, but for me I seriously pack on the weight when I eat carbs.

mistyladidah

"SO, what do you think on all of this? Personally, I don't necessarily believe the negativity he links to wheat...I mean, it does have fiber, and has other benefits. "

I just heard about this book yesterday. Wheat is totally not like it used to be, and never before has there been such a dependancy on this instead of other more nutritious grains and legumes. Yes, it has fiber, but that doesn't make it the best choice for fiber.

HAVE YOU deducted wheat from your diet? And do you see/feel any difference? Again, personally, I consider this to be a last stop decision down the line for me, just to see the negatives, and positives to this lifestyle alteration/change."

I dropped wheat, corn, rice, and potato plus refined sugars from my diet while pregnant for the last few months to maintain healthy blood sugars. I then dropped 10 pounds of EXTRA water weight I didn't need for the baby in the first 2 weeks. I then began to gain the weight I had been unable to gain for the first 7 months due to nausea. It was absolutely awesome. I was totally healthy and my midwife couldn't have been happier. I continued to eat like that for several more months and in nine months was fifteen pounds under pre-pregnancy weight. I'm trying to bring myself to do it again, perhaps more modified this time though.

I'm surprised that you are so certain without even trying it for a little while. The first two weeks suck. Then all of a sudden unhealthy cravings are gone and replaced with the desire for the good stuff. An added bonus I found was that without all the starch calories, I could eat a steak covered in butter and veggies in cream sauce and be guilt free, and feel amazing!

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Ezekiel 4:9 “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. "

If it's good enough for the Lord, it's good enough for me.

Ezekiel bread is made from sprouted grains, which is different than the processed loaves of bread you find in the store that are made from GMO grains, then added salt and sugar in way higher amounts than is necessary for a good bread.

fteale

Like the OP, I think it's a load of rubbish. Saying that, I personally feel better when I keep wheat to a minimum, as when I eat a lot of it I get very bloated, my stomach swells up and I am gassy. That's not to say it makes me fat, but it makes me look bigger than I am. A couple of days wheat free and I am thinner (but not lighter).

fteale

Ezekiel 4:9 “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. "

If it's good enough for the Lord, it's good enough for me.

LOVE IT!

from what I understand God rejected Cain's offering of bread and accepted Abel's offering of a fat lamb.

No wonder Cain was narked. How rude.

spngebobmyhero

Ezekiel 4:9 “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. "

If it's good enough for the Lord, it's good enough for me.

Ezekiel bread is made from sprouted grains, which is different than the processed loaves of bread you find in the store that are made from GMO grains, then added salt and sugar in way higher amounts than is necessary for a good bread.

The grain of our ancestors was also very different genetically. Einkorn, the grain first eaten by humans, had 1/3 the genes of today's wheat. And, as the above person said, was probably prepared traditionally, by soaking and/or sprouting the grains before eating.

tawnabanana

We eat grain free and we feel so much better. My eczema is gone along with a rash that I always had on the back of my arms. Joint pain that I thought I would just have to live with is no longer. I still eat as many calories as anyone else but the weight peels off and I don't have to work as hard to get the same weight and toning results. There is what is called carb flu that we had trouble with the first couple of weeks and then we had never felt better. Tonight we decided to eat out chinese and we are definitely paying for it. I didn't overeat, but became bloated and heavy before I could even finish my food. It was not worth it. It may not be for everyone and I was a skeptic too, but it has been nothing but fantastic for me and my family.

Siannah

I dropped wheat, corn, rice, and potato plus refined sugars from my diet while pregnant for the last few months to maintain healthy blood sugars. I then dropped 10 pounds of EXTRA water weight I didn't need for the baby in the first 2 weeks. I then began to gain the weight I had been unable to gain for the first 7 months due to nausea. It was absolutely awesome. I was totally healthy and my midwife couldn't have been happier. I continued to eat like that for several more months and in nine months was fifteen pounds under pre-pregnancy weight. I'm trying to bring myself to do it again, perhaps more modified this time though.

I'm surprised that you are so certain without even trying it for a little while. The first two weeks suck. Then all of a sudden unhealthy cravings are gone and replaced with the desire for the good stuff. An added bonus I found was that without all the starch calories, I could eat a steak covered in butter and veggies in cream sauce and be guilt free, and feel amazing!

Sounds good but I can't help but wonder, what DO you actually eat then? What about the food pyramid, is that redundant now? And do you have a family to feed as well? I just cannot imagine my children not eating bread/potato/rice/pasta any more, sure they need that as a good basis, for their energy levels?

Lyra89

I have done a lot of research on this! And even though I've discovered about the inflammatory nature of wheat, and that the GLUTEN-FREE (gluten, a protein found in weight which many people are intolerant to) grains are better:

Quinoa, Buckwheat (NOT from wheat), corn, rice, oats (which have not been processed in a factory that processes wheat as a lot of oats are contaminated) sorghum and amaranth ARE BETTER than wheat, barley and rye.

I still eat bread though as I've not yet found a gluten free variety available in Ireland which is good enough.

I WISH they sould sprouted ezekial bread here! :noway:

Lyra89

^ also, I'm vegetarian with vegan tendencies, so I rely a lot on grains for calories!

AriesOx

I eliminated wheat from my diet just over 2 years ago when a naturopath recommended eliminating it, along with sugar and milk (not all dairy, just milk), for a short time to see if it helped. I've had excema on my face, arms and legs for most of my life and have had to use steroid creams to control it, but nothing ever healed it. After 3 months of avoiding the 3 things, my skin had improved and the naturopath suggested I introduce them each slowly to see if I could tolerate them again. When I re-introduced wheat, my rash flared up and I itched like crazy. Same with milk (I'm fine with cheese and other dairy though). So I now avoid both of those. If I eat sugar in excess, I find my rash flares as well. Nothing else has ever helped my skin so much as avoiding these. Vanity has kept me to this way of eating, as the rash on my face is the first to appear Having finally gotten rid of it after having a persistent rash for over 20 years, giving up something like wheat is a small price to pay for me. I've also noticed a big improvement in digestion, which was also a lifelong problem for me. Strangely I can eat sprouted wheat products, but nothing that contains wheat flour.

I haven't read the book, but eliminating wheat has helped me immensely. My doc describes my condition as a wheat "intolerance". I eat a lot of gluten free products as a result of my intolerance, but I don't completely avoid gluten (I seem to do fine with rye and oats, and don't eat much barley anyway). It wouldn't surprise me to find out that a lot of people benefit from going off of wheat, but it is not the easiest thing to do (you'd be surprised how many foods include wheat). If you have issues, eliminating wheat for a trial period might help, but it is not an easy thing to do. And I don't believe that simply replacing processed food that contains wheat with gluten free processed foods will be of any benefit. Processed foods by nature are just not that great for you - whether they contain gluten or not. I do buy them, don't get me wrong, but I know that they are not as healthy as home prepared foods (they are quite convenient though Sometimes you just want a cookie, but just because it is gluten free, does not make it "healthy" :bigsmile:

lady_in_weighting

whenever i eat bread, pasta or rice i feel bloated after and weighed down. when i was trying to loose weight i almost completely cut carbs out my diet and i lost alot of weight, purely cause i was exercising too. i wouldnt recommend this though as i was barely eating 1200 kcals a day and i became 'skinny fat'. i looked awful!

i had a blood test done at my doctors to see if i had a gluten intolerance but it came back negative. ive been told that these blood test are not accurate enough to decent an allergy. i'd have to go for skin testing.

im tempted to try a gluten free diet to see if this makes any difference to my health issues currently...i've got a sluggish digestive system, dry skin, feel lethargic quite alot and have dry skin and dermatitis.

Lolli1986

I eat wheat, and have been fit and healthy my whole life (until injury).

Unless you're gluten intolerant it should not cause a problem. Everyone gets bloated by this, that or the other...some say veggies, some say grains, some say pulses, and i'm sure others say meat. A little bit of bloating is part of digestion. Feeling full and heavy is part of digestion.

The scientific consensus and millenia of history suggest that wheat is good for you, so eat up if you don't display the symptoms of celiac.

MysticMaiden22

I read the book and believe that it is very true.

Kell_Smurthwaite

I've cut down on wheaty products like bread and pasta, but only because they tend to be the items I go overboard on and I feel bloated. I still eat a little bread (wholegrain over white) and pasta (again, wholemeal over white), but not as much as before. I've also started swapping things out a little, like having sweet potato gnocchi instead of pasta. I still have some, but in moderation, and I feel better for it. Oh, and I do still have some cereals too, but there you go.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

Nicolefortin

What is the book's name and the author?

EricV440

I wouldn't trust the blood test as the conditions have to be correct for it to be accurate. I took the DNA test which came back negative, so,under the advise of my doctor, added gluten back in.
After three weeks, I had bloating, gas, all of the other symptoms that go with gluten intolerance, and gained 20 pounds!

Now that I am back to being gluten-free, I am losing weight and most importantly, feel much better, more than likely due to the fact that I am sleeping better. Another little known side effect of gluten issues, sleep apneia.

For those that can tolerate the wheat, there is no problem with it except for portion control. If you eat eight sandwiches a day, well, you are probably going to have some sort if problem!

One other thing, one of the other posters from a foreign country stated that Celiac was found in 1 in 10 individuals. Here, in the USA, the numbers are supposedly 1 in 133. I suspect that the real numbers are probably 1 in 50 as most are misdiagnosed with IBS, the catch-all for any digestive ailment, when the doctor doesn't know what to look for.
Here is a link to how I found out about my gluten issue: http://ericvandeven.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/the-gloom-of-gluten/

lilojoke

I think that everything can kill you and that everything is good and bad at the same time. We get so stressed about our food choices that when we go and eat it makes us sick.

I agree that if you have problem with eat don't eat it but not everyone is made the same. If you think about it everything now a days is man made even organic produce which I think is pointless to buy anyways.

Eat what you love and enjoy what you love to eat!

shakybabe

I cut wheat after hearing people with under active thyroids sometimes have difficulty processing it.. I lost 7lbs in first week, 18lbs in first month, most of it was probably water but also lost a whopping 13" off my tummy over those next few months.

I cut all carbs (except fruit and veg) to start with then slowly started re-introducing other carbs (oats, potato, rice) a few times a week and I didn't gain, so I knew they weren't responsible went back off those and tried wheat (regular bread) for a few days and gained 10lbs after 2 days of wheat based breakfast cereal and bread.

Soon as went back to no additional carbs for a week it all dropped straight off and then brought the others back into diet and now eating gluten free bread, rice, non-wheat based cereals and still losing. .. so for me the results speak for themselves so I'll be staying wheat free.

Kymmu

When I started Paleo, I discovered that I was gluten intolerant, because I felt so, so much better! I don't eat wheat anymore. I eat other grains on rare occasions. I feel ten years younger.

There's really no need to argue about it (or base opinions on NOT having read the book, that's just odd). Just try it for 30 days, and see how you feel. If you feel better, keep doing it. If it makes no difference to you, go back to eating wheat. No big deal.

Couldn't have put it better, agree totally!

lilojoke

When I started Paleo, I discovered that I was gluten intolerant, because I felt so, so much better! I don't eat wheat anymore. I eat other grains on rare occasions. I feel ten years younger.

There's really no need to argue about it (or base opinions on NOT having read the book, that's just odd). Just try it for 30 days, and see how you feel. If you feel better, keep doing it. If it makes no difference to you, go back to eating wheat. No big deal.

Couldn't have put it better, agree totally!

^^^ This!!!

weathergirl320

Just my two cents. I eliminated all wheat and most other grains. Changed my life. Feel great. Lost 35 lbs.

randilynn113

I just started seeing a nutritionist.I've already lost 58 pounds before talking to her. She wants me to try eating gluten free. I have read alot about how grains are NOT that healthy for us so I will let you know how it goes.

If you aren't a diagnosed celiac then gluten free will just be an unproductive pain in the *kitten*. Get a new nutritionist that will help you with your diet instead of feeding you the latest fad BS.

I agree! Jeez, I feel like the gluten free craze has replaced the Atkins hullabaloo from the late1990s, which replaced the fat free craze of the early 1990s...

You will feel better going gluten free if you have a gluten allergy or gluten intolerance. If you are like me and not bothered by gluten, eliminating it doesn't make a difference at all. I must say, I do love following the diet fads of what the current "evil ingredient" du jour is.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I got fat because I ate too much. Not because I ate a piece of whole grain toast every morning.

I agree with you on that