Wheat's the big deal?

Happy Fall!

I always get invigorated by fall – the crispness, the freshness, the earthiness in the air and the crunch of leaves under foot. To me, even more than a new calendar year, a new school year is the perfect time to reassess, reflect and make adjustments whether that be mentally, physically, or spiritually. Not sure where the last year went, or how we are wrapping up 2026. Lots of life, lessons and reflection have occurred since my last blog post, but I haven’t stopped reading, researching, or thinking. Now I’m back to sharing it with you, my dear readers. It is always my hope that you’ll walk away with a nugget or two to better your own life.

What actually inspired me to stop postponing my writing was two-fold; my recent trip to my primary care provider at the VA for my annual examination, and the conversation that ensued between my new healthcare provider and I, and a recent continuing education (CE) class I took for renewal of my pharmacist license.

Perimenopause has hit me hard metabolically. Everything changes when your hormones start changing. How far back my metabolic dysfunction occurred I am not really sure, but labs don’t lie, and a trend appeared over the past few years showing my cholesterol creeping up to a level I wasn’t happy with, along with my weight and waistline. Thankfully, my prior provider wasn’t all that worried and encouraged me to continue figuring it out through diet. “Eat more plants” was her advice at my visit in March.

Fast forward to mid-August – post-surgery and faced with a six-week recovery period, I was reflecting on the value of good health and patience in healing when I stumbled upon Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis. It is a fascinating read, and he has a great sense of humor. I highly encourage you to read it for yourself and probably more than once! It is filled with a plethora of information and has profoundly changed my thinking about the dietary recommendation to eat plenty of “healthy whole grains.” Dr. Davis begins by detailing the evolution of wheat and suffice it to say modern wheat is very far removed from the wheat our ancestors ate. What we call wheat is nothing like the first wild-then-cultivated wheat called einkorn and then later, emmer wheat. Over time our modern wheat has become so genetically modified, not to mention sprayed with plenty of pesticides, that the body no longer recognizes or tolerates it. So, it makes plenty of sense that the body would reject it and manifest its rejection in the form of widespread disease throughout the body. The extent of the manifestations are truly mind boggling and I found myself saying, “Well that explains that” for several ailments of my own. We’ve become “wheataholics”. Old, young, everyone eats wheat, and everyone is being impacted by the detrimental physiological changes. “Products made with wheat dominate our diet and push blood sugar higher than virtually all other foods… this cycle of glucose-insulin reaching high levels several times a day provokes growth of visceral fat.” Herein lies the problem, the rollercoaster ride of glucose and insulin. It’s a wild ride with deleterious effects and one we need to get off of as quickly as possible. According to Dr. Davis, we all need a “radical wheat-ectomy.”  

Interestingly enough, the USDA, the Whole Grains Council, the Whole Wheat Council, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association all tout a diet of “healthy whole grains.” Yet, Americans of all ages are suffering from heart disease, diabetes and myriad other disease. The statistic even more upsetting to me is that 1 out of every 3 children in the US is overweight or obese. That truly breaks my heart. And it should wake us up! Something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Could it be the wheat? Never one to recommend something I haven’t actually tried and always up for being an experiment of one, I have done my very best to avoid wheat since I read the book. I’ve come to find out that wheat is in almost everything, making its avoidance all the more difficult. Even in things you wouldn’t expect like seasonings and condiments, even ice cream (cookies and cream, anyone?)!

At my visit with my new healthcare provider last week, while reviewing my labs she noticed that my cholesterol had dropped significantly since last year’s annual examination and asked what I had been doing. Her question led to a nice conversation about Wheat Belly and nutrition, holistic living and lifestyle habits, all up my alley. She had worked for a provider that was a huge promoter and swore by the elimination of wheat. We both agreed that it isn’t a diet—diets seldom last long-term. Instead, it is a lifestyle change and much easier said (or read about) than done. It raised my awareness, and for the first time in a long time my labs are showing my hard work. Was it from avoidance of wheat? Perhaps. I definitely think it played a part in the drop in my lab values. I am excited to see what my labs look like in March 2027; I’ll keep you posted on that. For now, I am feeling better, more clear-headed, and I am losing my “wheat belly” (slowly!). By avoiding wheat, you are eliminating all the packaged junk and processed foods (basically the center and majority of any grocery store—yes, even the “all-natural” and “organic” junk too). Even more importantly, the knowledge makes you more aware of what you put in your mouth so you can consciously make better choices. I think avoiding wheat is a great start and is a valuable piece of the nutrition puzzle to achieving good health.

On to the second nudge I had to get me writing and sharing my thoughts again: a CE class on nutrition, specifically diet and diabetes. This is a topic that ordinarily excites and fascinates me. This presentation was tough for me to listen to, feeling very dated on the information given to an audience of mostly pharmacists to help patients with diabetes through diet and lifestyle changes. In fact, I was cringing on suggestions of “low fat” and using artificial sweeteners, but what really perked up my ears was the mention of “healthy whole grains,” especially after I had just read Wheat Belly, Grain Brain, Good Energy and several other very relevant books on the topic. I wanted to scream “No, no, no!” Practitioners mean well, but so often they are just following the current established guidelines, and in this case those dietary guidelines are heavily influenced by all the “Bigs:” Big Food, Big Ag, Big Pharma, etc. Even deep pockets don’t negate the science, and science happens faster than the guidelines are updated, if industry allows; however, it seems that with each iteration of the dietary guidelines, they just get even more confusing. By doing the research, and reading the studies, I hope I can help you wade through all that confusion so you can make concrete changes that actually are healing for your health.

The “Bigs,” especially Big Food, is a topic that deserves its own post. We’ll discuss the book I just finished reading, Hooked by Richard Moss, exploring the processed food industry, the horrors and the hope that there are ways to take back our health by out-scheming Big Food.  

I’ll leave you with an impactful statement from Wheat Belly, “…There is ample scientific research to implicate wheat as the root cause of these conditions and to indicate that removal of wheat can reduce or relieve symptoms entirely.” Dr. Davis humorously ends with, “What have you got to lose except your wheat belly, your man breasts, or your bagel butt?” If you do read the book, and/or try removing wheat from your diet (for at least a month, ok? Consistency is key!) I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time.

Love, Dr. Amanda