[Villages PL]

William Davis, MD, author of "Wheat Belly, is against wheat/grain consumption for 3 basic reasons:

Reason #1: "An interesting fact: whole wheat bread (glycemic index 72) increases blood sugar as much as or more than table sugar....(glycemic index 59)."

The index of 72 for whole wheat bread and 59 for table sugar is the result of consuming one or the other by itself. And it's important to note that whole wheat bread is made from finely ground flour. The average glycemic index for unground whole kernels of wheat is only about 41. So the glycemic index problem is not the wheat itself but the fact that it's ground into flour to make bread. He never points out that important fact.

Also, the usual way of eating whole wheat bread is to eat it in combination with something else, like cheese, for example. When you combine the glycemic index of whole wheat bread (72) with the glycemic index of cheese (zero), you will get an overall GI index somewhere in between, like 36. He didn't point out that important fact either.

The above, "high glycemic index of wheat", was one of his main objections to consuming wheat and you can see that he didn't tell the whole story. His statement above (in bold print) is true, it's just not the whole truth.

Reason #2: Wheat has been genetically modified.

Genetically modified wheat might be a problem for some people but organic (unmodified) wheat is available, along with most other grains.

Reason # 3: Grains have only been available for consumption since the beginning of agriculture and therefore our digestive systems have not had time to adapt. (i.e., to gluten etc..)

This is an interesting point, and may have some validity, but he doesn't apply it consistently. In addition to grain, dairy has only been around since the beginning of agriculture, yet he recommends it. Then there are so many other items like oils, and factory farmed meats and eggs. Grain fed beef, for example, bears little resemblance, nutritionally, to the wild game that was eaten before agriculture. The result being that the consumption of saturated fat was much lower then than it is now.

Even when we "cut back" on saturated fat in the 80s our consumption was higher than it was before agriculture. The 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond saw tremendous growth in fast food (fatty hamburger and pizza) restaurants. We saw increased consumption of both processed grains and fatty meats together. But Doctor Davis only noticed the increase in grain consumption.

[starflyte1]

Thank you, Queen Bee.