Get the complete Guide to the Track Your Plaque Program. Click Here
Plaque is the stuff of coronary heart disease. It is CONTROLLABLE, it is STOPPABLE, it is REVERSIBLE.
But you must be equipped with the right information on diet, nutritional supplements, and hopefully the avoidance of medication.
This is the blog that accompanies the Track Your Plaque program. Nothing here should be construed as medical advice,
but only topics for further discussion with your doctor. I practice cardiology in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The New York Times just released its bestseller list due for release September 18th, 2011 . . . .
Wheat Belly is #5!! (That darned Jane Fonda woman elbowed me out for the #4 spot!
Wheat Belly hits #5 on New York Times Bestseller List--in 1st week!
Congrats Dr. D!!
I just heard about your book over on Dana Carpendar’s “hold the toast” blog last week and promptly zipped over to Amazon and bought it for my Kindle. I cannot stop reading! Fascinating information, thank you so much for writing this.
I haven’t read through all the comments nor have I read any other of your posts yet so please forgive me if this is old news to you but I wanted to know if you had read either of Gary Taubes’s books. “Good Calories, Bad Calories” or “Why we get fat and what to do about it?” Your book compliments the info in those very well.
Now if I could just get hubby to read them!
Hi, Darleen-
Thank you!
Yes, I’ve read both of Gary Taubes’ very excellent books. He has done a great service by bringing the light of day to many subjects that we previously just accepted as “conventional wisdom.”
Saw it in a Barnes and Noble while on a trip, so I… ordered a Kindle version and read that on my phone (didn’t want to lug books around). I’m so glad it’s doing well. I’ve been eating low-carb for a year now and it’s helped my type 1 diabetes a lot, but I’ve lost little weight. I hadn’t stopped eating wheat entirely but now I have, and we’ll see if that’s any help. Seems a lot of type 1 diabetics have trouble losing weight once they’ve piled it on from trying to keep blood sugar levels reasonable while eating carbohydrates…
Yes, Mark, a tough balancing act.
But I have indeed seen marked improvements in blood sugar with wheat elimination in type 1 diabetes. Also, note that type 1 diabetes is, to an incredible and underappreciated degree, a disease of wheat exposure. You may recall from the book that type 1 diabetics are 20-fold more likely to develop celiac disease and vice versa. They are, in many ways, one and the same. It means that the benefits of wheat elimination may be especially dramatic in many with type 1 diabetes.
Very Good Dr Davis, I have purchased 8 copies of ‘Wheat Belly’ so far. I put my low-carb, no-wheat money where my mouth is. Like I did with purchasing copies of Gary Taubes’ ‘Good Calories, Bad Calories’ and handing it out like no-sugar candy, I’m doing with ‘Wheat Belly’. 4 of the 8 copies have been given to physicians- one to my internist, one to my doctor-sister and two to two doctor friends( one an internist and one an ob-gyn). I am trying to reach as many doctors as I can and I have lots of pre-med students in my orbit and whose attention I command for several hours each week. Each one teach one……or two or ten PLEASE.
Wow! Thank you, Laurie.
We could all use more friends like you!
Just heard about your book, downloaded it to my Nook and I wondered …Have you ever heard of this ailment? I am a 62 year old woman with something that seems to have mystified the three doctors I have seen, including two gastroenterologists (one from NW Hospital in Chicago). I suddenly began having “attacks” after eating. Within a few bites of food, I became “sick” with four hours worth of excruciating pain in the upper abdomen, terrible abdominal distension and often vomiting (no diarrhea). At first I thought I had food poisoning. This had happened beginning two years prior maybe once every three or four months. I thought my stomach had become sensitized to tainted food. (I made this up….but this is what I began to think.) Until last April when it happened over and over and over and didn’t quit. At least four times per week I was in severe pain hanging over the commode. I discovered by visiting the drug store that I could take Ultra Strength Gas-X at the first symptom of an oncoming attack and reduce the pain and bloating down to one or two hours rather than four. I tried Beano, but that didn’t seem to work. Thinking I perhaps couldn’t digest something I was eating, I began to take over-the-counter health food store enzyme tablets when I had a big meal. I still was sick. I tried first being fat free, then I tried being lactose free, and then I tried being gluten free. NOTHING. The two doctors I had seen at this point did not know what was wrong. I had LOTS of blood work done, a colonoscopy, an endoscopy, an MRI (which compared previous CT scans) to check for blocked ducts, stones, tumors, etc. NOTHING. I even went to the hospital in the middle of a severe attack to have blood drawn to check for pancreatitis. NOTHING. So while I was waiting several weeks to see a third doctor at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, I began to chart my food. Much to my surprise it seemed that carbohydrates were the culprit. So I began a regimen of no pasta, no bread, no cereal, no rice, no potatoes. I soon discovered that I could not eat beets, carrots or spinach either. So now I began to suspect complex carbohydrates to be the culprit.
When I told this to the doctor at Northwestern he looked at me like I was crazy. He said he never heard of this, talked about a surgery where they cut some sphincter muscle, and said he did not think my condition warranted it, but it was possibility. He sent me for Celiac/gluten/sprue testing and NOTHING showed up. When I told him I stayed away from these complex carbs for three weeks and was not sick….he simply said “keep on doing what you are doing.” Let me know if you get sick again. I did NOT go back.
I do get sick occasionally when I try to add “old” favorites back into my diet. I have a small list of complex carbs from the internet and try to stay away from these things. I am worried because I ate a lot of whole grains and now I have NONE. I am worried about my nutrition. I eat yogurt or oatmeal (I don’t understand why oatmeal does not make me sick) for breakfast. I eat salad, simple soup, or yogurt for lunch….sometimes eggs. For dinner I eat chicken or fish and mostly green beans. My husband and I have not eaten red meat for a long time because he had bladder cancer two years ago (he’s OK now). However, I cannot seem to get filled up. I am always hungry. Now I have added some red meat back into my diet because I need more than just chicken and fish to fill me up. I used to make meatless meals with pastas and rice, but no more. I discovered I could eat an Atkins Bar once a day, or perhaps take an Atkins drink for nutrition. And of all things I can eat as a treat….I eat soft serve yogurt or fudgsicles. These do not seem to bother me.
I have lost 40 pounds (not a bad thing for me) since May 1st.
I do not think I am crazy. I retired from my job last December and have a wonderful husband who is also retired and we truly enjoy one another’s company. I have several very fun, and fulfilling hobbies. And I belong to several women’s groups that fill my days.
Have you ever heard of an ailment like this? Can you offer any solutions, ideas, cures? I would appreciate anything you could tell me or suggestions you could make.
Hi, Avery–
I’m afraid you’re asking a cardiologist with an interest in wheat and its effects on overall health about a complex gastroenterological issue. So I’m afraid I’m unlikely to shed much light on your difficult struggle.
One thought: Did anybody assess you for bacterial/yeast overgrowth? Various foods, especially wheat, can modify the bacteria of the intestinal tract, such that they are different, more harmful species, and can also ascend higher towards the stomach where they don’t belong.
Thank you Dr. Davis. I find your book fascinating. Learning so much about wheat in general puts things in perspective for me. You seem so knowledgeable about the wheat and other illnesses, I thought you might have heard of my problem. I have seen two gastroenterologist specialists and an endocrinologist and had lots of tests, but not the bacteria thing. I will inquire about this. I appreciate your taking the time to mention this. I have been taking probiotics, but no cure yet. I simply stay away from complex carbs. I did have a lot of heart testing done a couple of years ago and that is super good. Thanks again.
Let us know what becomes of your situation, Avery.
Congratulations on the success of your new book!
How do you feel about products like Garden of Life, Perfect Food, re: wheat grass? Is this something to avoid?
Thanks, Penny
opps, it’s Garden of Eden. I am interested in adding green products like this to my smoothies. Do you think these will cause any wheat issues? And just from your knowledge do you feel these products are a good source of nutrients for people?
Thanks, Penny
Hi, Penny–
The many green products out there, thankfully, are free of wheat contamination. Just be sure to examine the label.
They are, in general, a wonderful source of nutrients. Modern agricultural techniques have caused nutrients to be depleted and block absorption into the plant. Such supplements may therefore make up for such food-sourced deficiencies.