Much discussion has occurred over Dr. William Davis’ “Wheat Belly” book. In his book, Dr. Davis discusses why wheat can be sabotaging your health. However, you may be wondering, “What exactly is a wheat belly?”
A wheat belly is the term used to describe an overweight belly that occurs because a person eats too much wheat. This is because many experts, including Dr. Davis, believe that wheat is not the “healthy, whole grain” it is claimed to be. We were always taught to believe that wheat was a whole grain that we should eat as part of a regular diet. If we ate enough of this wheat, we would be healthy and strong.
More evidence is coming to be known, however, that wheat has an inflammatory effect on the body. This is because the modern wheat that is in existence today has a protein in it called gliadin. This protein has an addictive effect, which causes people to go ahead and crave more wheat, thus leading to them eating more of it.
Due to its inflammatory effect, wheat causes the digestive system to have to work harder to absorb this whole grain. As a result, the body must expend more energy, causing the person to feel listless and rundown. This is why a person will be less likely to work out and move about afterwards. When a person becomes less active, the person will tend to gain more weight as a result, even leading to obesity in some cases.
In addition, the inflammatory effect causes the blood sugar levels to rise, which is why eating more wheat can cause a person to be more susceptible to such conditions as diabetes, celiac disease, heart disease, and strokes.
This is because, as blood sugar levels rise, there is a tendency for the body to store fat in the abdomen, thus leading to the accumulation of fat in the stomach. Wheat causes this because of amylopectin A, a starch in modern wheat that converts to blood sugar faster than any other carbohydrate, including sugar itself. As a result, eating a great deal of wheat in one’s diet can lead to one having what is called a “wheat belly.”
Recent studies have shown that the more fat a person carries around his/her midsection, the more likely he/she is to develop such life-threatening conditions as heart disease and strokes. This is another reason why many experts, including Dr. Davis, believe that all wheat and products with wheat and whole grains in them, should be removed from a person’s diet.
As a result, you should seriously consider removing wheat and products that contain wheat and other whole grains (barley, rye, etc.) from your diet. The effects whole grains have on your body can be damaging to your system because of the inflammatory effects on your digestive system, causing it to work harder and expend more energy. Plus, the body has a tendency to add fat to the abdominal area because of the rise in blood sugar levels from eating wheat. Additionally, the gliadin in wheat can cause you to want to eat more wheat, thus creating a cumulative effect where more weight is especially added to your stomach, causing a wheat belly. By removing wheat and other whole grains from your diet, you can reduce the chances of having a wheat belly, along with reducing your chances of dealing with heart disease, strokes, and obesity.