Wheat Belly

I tried to read it. It was one of the most boring things I've picked up in a very long long time, and I only made it through certain parts. Then I was diagnosed with Celiacs and it doesn't matter what the book says anyway lol.

But IMHO, if you have no reaction to gluten, there is nothing wrong with eating bread.

I love your username, OP!

Wheat Belly is a propaganda piece, designed to sell books and create a new dietary bad-guy. We've had saturated fats, sugar, HFCS, corn in general, white carbs, high GI foods, and now .... wheat is the new evil (or a Big Bad, since you seem to be a Buffy fan!) Wheat is not poison, it's not hazardous to our health, nor is it the cause of obesity.

Unless you are gluten intolerant or are diagnosed with coeliac disease, there is nothing wrong with traditionally-made bread. It's a great food.

Some people here are radical proponents of a low-grain or low-carbohydrate diet. What works for you is the right way to go. I eat plenty of grains.

I love your username, OP!

Wheat Belly is a propaganda piece, designed to sell books and create a new dietary bad-guy. We've had saturated fats, sugar, HFCS, corn in general, white carbs, high GI foods, and now .... wheat is the new evil (or a Big Bad, since you seem to be a Buffy fan!) Wheat is not poison, it's not hazardous to our health, nor is it the cause of obesity.

Unless you are gluten intolerant or are diagnosed with coeliac disease, there is nothing wrong with traditionally-made bread. It's a great food.

Some people here are radical proponents of a low-grain or low-carbohydrate diet. What works for you is the right way to go. I eat plenty of grains.

^^ this. for the win.

I am doing my best to be wheat and grain free (primal.) I did read the book, and it did make sense to me. I didn't lose a lot of weight, but then I am only teetering on being overweight. I did loose the "Bible Bump" (a cyst with water) on my wrist, and my hip that hurt every few weeks for 7 years has stopped hurting. I also lost the afternoon cravings that I had triscuits that would leave me shaky. In fact, if I didn't eat on time before (when eating wheat) I would get low blood sugar shakes. I don't have those any more. I do feel like I have more energy and am less tied to when we eat. I still snack out of habit, so I still need to work on things not related to the wheat.

I have also noticed a big improvement in concentration in my ADHD son when he does not eat wheat. We homeschool, and he is not on meds. We have several young friends with Asperger's and they have found that they do MUCH better when they cut wheat out of their diets. In one case it was the boy, when he was 11, who noticed that when he was at grandma's house (who eats lots of junk) that he felt much angrier than he did when he was home and she came to visit without all the crap. His mother has some thyroid issues and noticed that things were much better for her when they didn't do bread. (They are on very limited income - they don't get crappy food because they can't afford it.)

For me, it is not helping with the weight - I initially lost 5 lbs I had gained this year, but then things stalled out. I did slack off during Christmas with the kids making cookies and gifts of food. And three birthdays (with gluten free cake mix because we made it for friends with Celiac's last year and my kids said it tastes better than regular. It is full of sugar though, so still bad for a diet!) For me the cooking is not a big deal. I have always cooked from scratch, so mostly because of being primal, I try to not do grains at all. I do a lot of soups, curries, roasts, stir fries and just leave out the noodles and rice. I haven't been buying or making bread, and other than my youngest, we don't really miss it.

OP, read the book (get it from the library so you don't waste money) and see what you think. Try it if you want, if you don't want to, you have gained knowledge into why other people have decided to go without and you can talk intelligently to them about it.

We posted at the same time!

I have also noticed a big improvement in concentration in my ADHD son when he does not eat wheat. We homeschool, and he is not on meds. We have several young friends with Asperger's and they have found that they do MUCH better when they cut wheat out of their diets. In one case it was the boy, when he was 11, who noticed that when he was at grandma's house (who eats lots of junk) that he felt much angrier than he did when he was home and she came to visit without all the crap. His mother has some thyroid issues and noticed that things were much better for her when they didn't do bread. (They are on very limited income - they don't get crappy food because they can't afford it.)
.

I have to eat gluten free. While many people ARE toting gluten free as some great weight loss kick, I think that weakens the harm it has on a lot of people. I believe somewhere around 30% of people have an intolerance to gluten in the US, and most don't know it. It isn't always serious, but the symptoms often go unnoticed until it's cut out of ones diet. So while most people do not need to cut it out, there are almost 1 in 3 who would probably feel better without it.

As it was mentioned though, going gluten free isn't easy. There is gluten in so much processed food that it is a very difficult way to eat. It also isn't some magic fad diet, it's an entire lifestyle change that requires a lot of commitment. However, for a lot of people it's worth it, as it has been for me.

I have had much better luck with GRAIN free as opposed to simply gluten free. I could tell a difference immediately - and I can feel the repercussions when I cheat just as quickly...

Exactly myself also. I had a sub on Saturday...I am still feeling the bloat and not nice effects of that tonight. Along with some grain coating on the fishi had this weekend.

Read the book and was very informative regarding how "our wheat today" is not the "wheat of our ancestors" and how it has been altered over the years. There are people who are very alergic to wheat and this book goes into detail as to the syptoms, etc..As for me, I do not consume a lot of bread but I do enjoy my Arnolds Wheat Nut from time to time. I would not recommend this book to others.

Watch his lecture on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBURnqYVzw

If wheat works for you then by all means continue to eat it in your diet. If you suspect that it may not be working for you then give it up and see how you feel.

Since giving up wheat six weeks ago the joint pain in my hands is gone. Before I could not fully close my hands without wincing in pain. Now there is no pain at all. Also my knees used to cause me so much pain that after a shift at work all I could do is go home and put my legs up and cry. Now I just feel some minor aching.. but I attribute that to my 310 pounds pounding on them all day 95% of my joint pain in my knees is gone.

BTW. I haven't read wheat belly yet and I didn't discover this lecture until AFTER I stopped the wheat and noticed that my joint pain went away and started gooleing around to see if there was a correlation.

I love wheat so, so much.

oh I love it to, my body does not!! I hate that fact, but it could be worse!

I'm sort of surprised by those who are saying they think the book isn't worth a read, but that they, as it turns out, did find the concept of giving up or avoiding wheat helpful to them.
I'm reading the book right now. I take everything I read with a grain of salt and intend to certainly fact-check and do some follow-up. I'm sufficiently intrigued, though. The book is dense if you try to read it carefully, so it's taking me some time to get through it (I'm lucky to find a half an hour a week for recreational reading), but during the time that I've been reading it, I've been de facto avoiding wheat and there is no question I feel better and have lost some weight with no other changes. I have some successful history with avoiding carbs for dieting, so I guess I'm sympathetic from the start, but my interest in the book has been far more focused on aging, disease, and general well-being than weight loss.

This right here? He claims it and its not true. There are no GMO wheats on the market. All the wheat being grown was developed using conventional breeding techniques. They cross different types looking for new strains with better yield, disease resistance, or whatever trait they are breeding for, There are no gene insertions etc. every single domesticated plant you eat has been created the same damn way.

Thank you. As a farmer I'd love there to be a GMO wheat that we could spray weed killers on but there isn't. I've tried to explain that before but it seems those who are on the Wheat Belly bandwagon can't take that in. I actually read the damn book just to see what he really said and he really doesn't say there is GMO wheat but he certainly tap dances all around it hoping that's the conclusion that you'll draw.

This right here? He claims it and its not true. There are no GMO wheats on the market. All the wheat being grown was developed using conventional breeding techniques. They cross different types looking for new strains with better yield, disease resistance, or whatever trait they are breeding for, There are no gene insertions etc. every single domesticated plant you eat has been created the same damn way.

Thank you. As a farmer I'd love there to be a GMO wheat that we could spray weed killers on but there isn't. I've tried to explain that before but it seems those who are on the Wheat Belly bandwagon can't take that in. I actually read the damn book just to see what he really said and he really doesn't say there is GMO wheat but he certainly tap dances all around it hoping that's the conclusion that you'll draw.

I watched a lecture he gave on the topic and he was very clear to explain how modern wheat came to be and specifically states that it's NOT GMO.

I agree with most of the viewpoints here, for those who have a medical need to be GF and/or DF then skipping the glutinous grains is essential, myself and two of my three daughters skip the gluten for medical reasons, so you can say the anti wheat thing is propaganda and it is BUT if a few more folks try it and find they feel better then all the better, gluten intolerance is often the "mystery" disease as doctors hesitate to do the test, well until recently when you can get fair results with a blood test as long as you are still eating wheat. Quicker and cheaper, go off of gluten for a few weeks, do you feel better, then great, doesn't make a difference, then of course go back to enjoying your donuts and bread
However, don't diss those who must avoid it, for those who shouldn't be eating it they slowly destroy the villi in their colon until it no longer functions correctly if they continue to consume it, so for them, it is truly a life or death decision.
BTW, the Franz bread company has recently come out with a gluten free bread that puts all the others to shame, there are only a few stores in my area that carry it but if you can find it, you will enjoy a regular sandwich again that even the wheat eaters at my house don't complain about.

I love your username, OP!

Wheat Belly is a propaganda piece, designed to sell books and create a new dietary bad-guy. We've had saturated fats, sugar, HFCS, corn in general, white carbs, high GI foods, and now .... wheat is the new evil (or a Big Bad, since you seem to be a Buffy fan!) Wheat is not poison, it's not hazardous to our health, nor is it the cause of obesity.

Unless you are gluten intolerant or are diagnosed with coeliac disease, there is nothing wrong with traditionally-made bread. It's a great food.

Some people here are radical proponents of a low-grain or low-carbohydrate diet. What works for you is the right way to go. I eat plenty of grains.

Which of those evils have been proven to be at all good for you? Its called progress, not propaganda.