Long gone are the days where you were warned about guarding your wellbeing against fat, sugar or salt; there’s a new dietary devil in town, and his name is wheat. This is according to Dr William Davis, author of best-selling Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health, who says that this grain is responsible for wellness damage such as illness and fat.
According to Davis, wheat is the ‘world’s most destructive dietary ingredient,’ as it has led to rising obesity rates and a myriad of diseases, including celiac disease, diabetes, heart disease, and even schizophrenia. His solution is, funnily enough, his Wheat Belly Diet, which promises to expel digestive upset, rashes, joint pain, and foggy thinking, to list just a few, from your life for good.
However, this is one of many books that argue a multifaceted problem, obesity, is down to one ingredient. Further, Davis’s book puts forth only the theories of one doctor, rather than notions that are strongly backed by scientific evidence. For example, Davis says that the gluten protein in wheat has changed in structure, which is potentially harmful to human health. However, he used data from an experiment conducted in the laboratory to support this notion, rather than evidence based on conventional plant breeding.
Dr Brett Carver, wheat genetics chair in agriculture at Oklahoma State University, explained that the process used in the cited lab experiment is not used to produce any of the wheat grown in North America. Moreover, according to experts in diet and nutrition, there has not been a dramatic change in the gluten composition of wheat over the past 100 years. But is Davis on to something with wheat and obesity?
There is certainly a correlation between the proliferation of wheat products and the rise in obesity, there is no proven cause-and-effect relationship. Interestingly, certain European and Asian countries consume far more wheat than Americans, and yet have lower obesity rates. However, it does suggest that wheat is one of many culprits responsible for your weight gain, and as refined grains can lead to increased levels of insulin, which can drive appetite and fat storage, perhaps it is something to think about reducing from your diet, or replacing with other or more complex forms of carbohydrate.
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