You've been eating all the right foods, 5 servings of veggies, 3 of fruits, 6-8 of health grains but you still are putting on the belly, whats the deal? Turns out it might have to do with what you assume is healthy.
Whole grain wheats have come a long way since the early days of agriculture when wheat grew wild and we realized we could make some permanent settlements with the ability to reproduce this food staple. Unfortunately, in the last 100 years man has been tinkering with this food to the point that it can not even be considered the same in any way. Genetically it is different and visually it is different.
The result of eating this new wheat? Celiac disease is exploding and along with it intolerance to gluten (the protein in wheat). Many other health issues are becoming associated with wheat as well, too numerous to mention.
Dr William Davis is a cardiologist out of Milwaukee who has collected all the research concerning wheat and come to some startling conclusions. His title, "Wheat Belly: Lose the wheat, lose the weight" is appropriately named. Removing weight reduces cravings for more wheat and reduces the waistline. Any one who has adheared to a gluten free diet has lost some weight. The gluten group didn't go far enough though. The problem with the gluten free foods is they utilize starches that Dr Davis indicates have a higher GI (glycemic index) then wheat itself (72!) compared to table sugar (59), which is equated with fat gain in todays world. Sugar has a lower GI than wheat bread and gluten free substitutes. This is important because increased sugar causes the pancreas to release insulin, which drives sugar into the cells. Dr Davis shows that wheat and gluten free substitutes have higher glycemic indexes then candy bars, which lead to additional visceral (abdomen) fat!
The 3 major issues he addresses are:
The Gliadin (specific to wheat) in wheat protein - Gliadin is responsible for stimulating appetite and binding with opiate receptors in the brain making it an addictive substance, thats right, you are addicted to wheat. This is so true that a pharmaceutical company has filed for FDA approval of a drug called naltrexone, an opiate blocking drug that has shown an average of 22.4lbs lost in the first 6 months with no diet changes or exercise! Simpler and safter to cut the wheat? You bet.
Amylopectin A, a highly digestable carbohydrate unique to wheat - Amylopectin A increases the blood sugar beyond that of even table sugar, candies or cakes. This is what gives the "healthy" wheat bread the high GI. Its why after 2 hours on your glucose/insulin ride you are starving for more food, because your body is crashing from the glucose/insulin mix. So much for healthy grains.
Lectins - Lectins are undigestible wheat proteins that "unlock" normal intestinal barriers allowing any and all food particles direct access to the body. No food is supposed to enter the body in this fashion and this causes severe inflammation in the body hence autoimmune diseases such as fybromyalgia, crohn disease, IBS, etc.
What to do, what to do. It seems an impossible task and it can be tough for some because you can literally go through withdrawal symptoms from headaches to fatigue and irritability because gliadin specifically binds to opiate receptors. You have to be diligent, wheat is in everything. It can seem impossible at first but there are lots of healthy alternatives to wheat from coconut flour to almond flour and flax meal. The options that open to you also include the paleo diet. When you remove wheat you remove the hunger pangs and appetite stimulants literally freeing you. The average reduction in caloric intake is 400 calories a day. This means on average an overweight person will lose approximately a pound a week. Many have seen what they can only describe as body fat literally melting off in the first few weeks.
Point being? The health implications are huge from hormone issues like the effects of visceral fat on estrogen to the chronic inflammation of the body. Don't pass up this book because it is vital to optimal health. Don't be so worried about your organic lean meats and raw dairy or even your unprocessed sugars. Although you always need to eat sensibly this wheat understanding is a large portion of the puzzle that needed to be unlocked to explain why there are fat vegetarians. Answer: A large portion of their diet includes high glycemic grains and grain substitutes. Remove grain from your diet and watch the weight and health issues fall by the wayside.
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