In the world of Insta-celebrities and overnight food gurus, it can be hard to keep a track of who has qualifications and authority when it comes to trends in food, health and wellness.
But one man certainly has an interesting take on how we can achieve optimal health, and the credentials to back it up – Dr. William Davis.
Background
His original experiment that began the revolution started when he encouraged some of his patients to remove wheat products from their diet in an attempt to control their blood sugar levels. He monitored their health for the following few months, hoping to see better blood glucose control. However, the outcome was far more spectacular than Dr. Davis anticipated.
Investigating the reasons for these incredible improvements in health was the next step, as Dr. Davis approached agricultural experts for their insight and advice on the matter.
The research he conducted led him to believe that as seeds of grasses, grains should not be a core ingredient of the human diet, and are in fact incompatible with the human digestive tract.
Dr. Davis found that humans don’t have the same digestive organs and processes as ruminants such as sheep and cows that can easily digest and process grasses.
He also discovered that humans as a species produce far less saliva than ruminant animals, with teeth that do not continue to grow to allow for wearing down. Humans also don’t produce enzymes designed to break down fiber in plants, have multiple stomachs that allow for a slow digestive process, and do not have gut bacteria that aid in breaking down grasses.
The combination of this information led him to believe that we are a non-grass consuming species, including the seeds of grasses, or grains.
Dr. Davis knew that this information, and the results that come along with a diet free of grains and gluten, had to be shared with the public, so he published a book to share the knowledge.
Key Beliefs
Dr. Davis advocates a grain-free diet, particularly free of wheat and gluten containing products.
His key belief is that modern wheat has been significantly modified over the previous few decades, and it now contains proteins that the human body does not recognize or understand how to cope with.
He believes that modern wheat, or ‘Frankenwheat’ is a ‘perfect chronic poison’ that causes us to overeat foods, particularly junk foods. He also believes it to be as toxic and as addictive as many illicit drugs, impacting on the nervous system like an opioid-based drug.
Although he believes the main issues is with modern wheat, there is a lot of cross-contamination between grain crops, so other crops such as corn, millet, rice, rye and barley can also cause issues.
The Wheat Belly Diet
The making of Dr. Davis was his experiment with grain-free eating, and the book he wrote about his findings, known as The Wheat Belly Diet.
When following a wheat-free diet, some of the improvements that Dr. Davis noted in his patients included:
- A significant reduction in weight – around 25-30lbs over several months
- Reversal of pre-diabetes
- Significant reduction in blood sugar levels
- Significant improvement or total relief from arthritis
- Significant improvement in asthma symptoms
- Significant relief in acid reflux and irritable bowl syndrome symptoms
- Reduction in leg swelling and numbness
- Increased mental clarity and focus
- Deeper, better quality sleep
- Greater stability of moods and emotions
These improvements, and the discovery that humans are not designed as a grass-consuming species, were shared in Dr. Davis’ book. Titled ‘Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health’, it became a best-selling book within a month of its release, and inspired followers all over the world to try a grain-free diet so they could reap some of the benefits.
However, Dr. Davis also wanted Wheat Belly to really bestow health on people, so he created the diet plan based on natural nutrient-dense whole-foods, and recommended removing junk foods and processed foods, even if they were grain-free.
His diet plan also suggests limiting carbohydrate intake for the purpose of weight loss, aiming for between 30-100g of net carbohydrate per day, depending on your weight loss goals and current health issues.
Other Published Works
Alongside The Wheat Belly Diet, Dr. Davis has published a number of other books.
His first book, Track Your Plaque, was published in 2004, focusing on his speciality of cardiology. This was followed by What Does My Heart Scan Show?, published in 2007. Wheat Belly was published in 2011, and was quickly followed by the Wheat Belly Cookbook in 2012 when its popularity sky-rocketed and demand for the program grew.
Most recently, he collaborated with a number of others, including Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple, to publish a book called Rich Food Poor Food in 2013.
Dr Davis continues as a writer, speaker and preventative cardiologist, as well as directing both the Wheat Belly Institute and the Cureality programs. His passion remains in prevention and reversal of disease and obesity by addressing the issues caused by grains and gluten in the every-day diet.
References
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/
http://www.doctoroz.com/article/wheat-belly-author-william-davis-md-answers-faq
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