Wheat Belly: Davis

Dr. William Davis, MD, is a cardiologist that has been advising his patients for several years to try a gluten elimination diet for 30 days to see if that might have a beneficial effect on their symptoms. In the introduction to his book, he remarks that if we look through old photo albums of our grandparents, we rarely see instances of obesity. Women "in the old days," didn't exercise -- it wasn't considered "lady-like!" So how did they stay so thin when that is the exception today.

As we know, obesity has become an epidemic. Although there are many approaches to addressing this issue, most of them are short-lived and prone to long-term failure. Like Dr. David Perlmutter in Grain Brain, Dr. Davis believes it is largely due to our over-reliance on wheat in our modern Western diets, and that today's wheat is not the same wheat as that of our grandparents.

Wheat Belly provides an abundance of medical evidence for his premise. Rather than repeat that here since it is very consistent with that presented by Dr. Perlmutter in Grain Brain, I will instead refer you to a review of Grain Brain. Grain Brain provides valuable insights into how Dr. Perlmutter arrived at his conclusion on the negative impact that all grains have on our brain.

Medical Information
There are a many sources of medical information. Western medicine is highly successful at treating acute injuries and acute illnesses because it's fairly straight-forward to detect the results of a theory: the patient either improves in a relatively short period of time or they do not.

Chronic illnesses and the modern conditions that are the major cause of death in Western countries are much more difficult to treat because the damage done by chronic conditions often builds slowly over many years until the problem becomes irreversible. Auto-immune conditions associated with chronic inflammation are currently believed to be the major cause of most chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease, stroke, and neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers -- today's leading causes of death. Our success at treating acute illness and injury has greatly extended our life expectancy; emerging knowledge of the cause of chronic illnesses is likely to play an even more significant role in extending our productive lives even further.

When you are exposed to medical advice, whenever possible, you should consider the source of the advice -- especially when it is for chronic conditions. How does the presenter "know" that the advice is sound. Four popular methods for establishing medical advice are:

• Theories. Theories are the least mature of the methods. Theories from a knowledgeable medical authority often eventually result in new knowledge, but theories are just that: unproven hypotheses. As we have seen in dietary advice over the past fifty years, they are often completely incorrect and actually damaging to our health. 
• Population Studies. Populations studies seek to understand the differences between populations that have escaped particular maladies and populations that have not, generally relying on statistical evidence to support their conclusions. Unfortunately, population studies cannot establish anything other than a loose connection; i.e. can not establish a cause and effect, nor do they uncover the metabolic mechanisms that might be the underlying cause of the issue. A number of notable population studies, such as the China Study, have come under scrutiny, years after having established nutritional dogma, due to misinterpretation of aspects of the original results. Ancel Keys' Seven Countries study cherry-picked the countries he used to prove his misguided association between cholesterol and coronary artery disease that has had a profound impact on dietary guidelines for over fifty years. 
• Clinical Trials. Clinical trials are beginning to get into the area of "true science." Using a number of proven scientific techniques (such as double-blind studies), clinicians attempt to establish some aspect of a medical condition through studies on animals or humans. Some of the difficulties in reaching definitive conclusions with clinical trials include the complexity of our metabolism -- which varies considerably between individuals -- and the number of uncontrollable variables in the subjects' underlying DNA, environment, personal habits, etc. Animal studies -- especially the infamous "rat studies" -- meant to provide insights into human metabolism are often inappropriately related to results in humans and in the past have often used dosages well beyond reasonable ingest rates -- often orders-of-magnitude beyond!
• Practitioners. As a layman, I've actively studied the health landscape for several decades and personally believe that the most effective source of good medical advice comes from dedicated medical practitioners and the knowledge they gain from "practicing" their theories on their patients. That information is effectively communicated by the publication of their case studies.

Dr. Davis' Case Studies
Dr. Davis' case studies, spread throughout the book, are a source of inspiration. The theory underlying Wheat Belly is important, but the real proof lies in the amazing benefits realized by everyday people like you and me. Most of the case studies are one or two pages, so I'm just summarizing here. I'm sure you'll find the additional details from the book to be valuable.

• Dr. Davis performed a clinical trial of one on himself! Knowing he has a wheat sensitivity, he wanted to find out if there were a significant difference between ancient wheat and modern wheat. With some effort, he was able to obtain two pounds of einkorn wheat from which he ground the grain into flour. He prepared and ingested four ounces of einkorn one day followed by four ounces of modern organic wheat the next. The results were extremely interesting. From einkorn: no perceptual effects. From modern wheat: nausea (almost losing his lunch) and queasiness for thirty-six hours, accompanied by stomach cramps, fitful sleep, brain fog, and difficulty focusing on the research papers he was reviewing. Blood sugar readings before each test: 84 mg/dl. Blood sugar after einkorn: 110 mg/dl vs. 167 mg/dl for modern wheat. Results: significant difference!
• At sixty-one Celeste's weight had ballooned from 120-135 in her twenties and thirties to 182. Dr. Davis recommended a wheat elimination test to see if that were the cause. After three months, she had lost twenty-one pounds. After fourteen months, she had returned to her "twenties" weight of 127, having lost fifty-five pounds including twelve inches off her waist and fitting into size 6 dresses again.
• At 5 feet 10 and 322 pounds, Geno was diabetic with poor blood readings and at serious risk for heart disease. After six months eliminating "healthy" whole grains, he had lost sixty-four pounds and fourteen inches off his waist. Previously lethargic, he felt he now had the renewed energy of his youth. After another six months, he lost another forty more pounds, a total of 104 in a year.
• Wendy suffered from ulcerative colitis for over ten years, severe enough at times to require blood transfusions. She was on three prescription medications when she met Dr. Davis in preparation for colon removal surgery, replacing it with a permanent ileostomy bag worn around her waste for solid waste removal. Although he offered no assurances, Dr. Davis suggested she try gluten elimination for four weeks as a last ditch effort to save her colon. Three months later: no ileostomy bag, thirty-eight pounds of weight loss, and an almost complete elimination of symptoms. After a year off gluten -- totally cured. Although Wendy had tested negative for celiac antibodies over the years, it would appear that she was gluten sensitive, as many of Dr. Davis' patients have repeatedly demonstrated.
• Jason is a twenty-six year old that came to Dr. Davis in preparation for a possible heart-replacement surgery. "Everything hurts. All my joints. I can barely walk. At time I can barely get out of bed." Jason had been treated by three rheumatologists to no avail. Dr. Davis suggested wheat elimination for four weeks. Jason reported that after five days the pain was completely eliminated. He tested by eating a sandwich and within five minutes, 80% of the pain returned. After three months, Jason showed no signs of heart failure. He was now able to jog short distances and play light games of basketball -- activities not possible for several years.

This is just a brief summary of case studies to whet your appetite! You will be rewarded by many that I have omitted in order to get your attention. Dr. Davis' unique approach to supplying the scientific evidence is also worthy of mention and provides some of the important new healthy-diet information that has recently started to be uncovered. If you're now intrigued by the science behind Wheat Belly, read the review on Grain Brain, in which I've focused more on the science in the book rather than the case studies.