Party chatter in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»doesn't take long to zero in on real estate or people running marathons and half marathons. A topic almost on par as housing prices is food. Veganism and vegetarianism seem so quaint now compared to the hunter/gatherer and paleo diet discussions. Dominating the table talk, however, is the topic of wheat and how awful it apparently is thanks to a 2011 book called The Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat Lose the Weight by American "preventive cardiologist and seeker-of-truth in health" Dr. William Davis. You've undoubtedly heard of it.
According to Davis, wheat products should cease to exist as they are a primary cause of many of our ills.
I attended a barbecue a few weeks ago where a number of friends and their family members were forsaking wheat (and gluten) and feeling better than ever. At least six people, all of whom said they'd lost weight, insisted I read Davis's book to fully understand the alleged correlation with products made with "modern dwarf wheat," something called amylopectin A and my spare tire. I didn't notice any weight loss among my friends, except for one person, but then again, I never thought they looked fat in the first place. They, like me, were perhaps good at camouflaging their extra pounds.
Their enthusiasm spurred me on to tackle my annoying 15 pounds of post-baby weight (five years on.)
Except for a few beers, I have been wheat free for three weeks. How am I feeling? More on this further down.
Before deciding whether to purchase Davis's wildly popular book about the "destructive effects of wheat on human health," I researched it on the Net and read success story after success story. Not only did people lose weight, their asthma cleared up and their arthritis and joint pain diminished or disappeared. As I gobbled up Davis's anti-wheat theories based on citations of research studies, however, I quickly spiraled into a depression, freaked out that I'm poisoning my children by serving them a Cheerios breakfast and almond butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread for lunch. Talk about mommy guilt. How can that be so bad when my kids are healthy, energetic and at an ideal weight for their size and age? In fact, contrary to recent statistics that 31.5 per cent of Canadian youth are obese, I have yet to see any overweight kids at their school based on my very unscientific observations.
Like so many books and studies about food, Davis has intensified my food phobia and I'm angry about that. We should all be happy that people are benefitting from living a wheat-free, gluten-free lifestyle, but I hear the same from people who give up cheese and other dairy products. So I have no clue if the research studies he cites are contextually correct, given how many studies come out saying one food item is good for you only to read the next week that it is horrendously bad for you. Depending on who you talk to or what you read, EVERYTHING is bad for you.
Davis has legions of supporters (many of whom have probably bought his T-shirt), but he also has his critics, though they are fewer in number. But I surmise the reason for that is the bulk of his supporters aren't scientists who can understand the chemistry behind his assertion that so-called modern dwarf wheat is as addictive and unhealthy as crack cocaine. Nutrition myth busters at the University of Toronto write that Davis's "myth about the evils of wheat is built upon misinformation and correlations that lack supporting evidence. Davis presents a significant amount of misleading science_and that he is providing his information out of context."
The University of California also examined Davis's claims in an article titled "Will avoiding wheat really improve your health?"
Our own Food Talk columnist Linda Watts, a registered dietitian, wrote about the topic in a column in March of this year.
But I am an average person and more confused every day, so when Davis writes on his blog, "People who consume wheat increase calorie consumption by around 440 calories per day, every day" I can't help but ask if it's a simple issue of caloric intake as Watts noted in her column.
In the end, if going wheat-free is a kickstart to a healthier lifestyle that includes exercise, who am I to argue with the concept?
So how am I doing? I felt great the first week-maybe even lost a pound or two. I didn't go through withdrawal symptoms one would normally associate with a life-long "addiction." But I was on holidays then and active throughout the day. Since returning to my sedentary job, I feel as bloated and cranky by the end of the day as I did when I ate wheat. My muffin top has barely shrunk.
Clearly, wheat isn't the problem. It's sitting at a desk for seven and a half hours a day. That, more than toast for breakfast, is what will shorten my life span. I'm more inclined to follow Michael Pollan's approach of "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants." I hate the idea of having to completely eliminate a food staple that I've never had an issue with. Cut down on it, yes, but not give it up entirely. Pass me that baguette, already.
As for those 15 pounds? It's a work in progress and 10 of those are vanity pounds. Anyway, a bit of a belly is a mother's badge of honour, right?
Twitter: @HughesFiona
