raising godzillas

Wheat Belly

I recently read the book Wheat Belly by William Davis. I'm pretty sure anyone one who lives a paleo or gluten free lifestyle has heard of, if not read, this book. It's entirely possible those of us most likely to read the book are already convinced.
I feel like the book is full of great info, though I have a couple of issues of it. The first is the cover. Look at this!  I haven't eaten gluten on purpose in a year, but this made me want to run out and eat a crisp, buttery bagel. It very much did not help convince my gluten loving family that wheat is bad.
Dr Davis also suggests using artificial sweeteners for desserts. I know that part of the reasoning behind that advice is to convince people that they can have their cake and eat it to, but I think it's terrible advice. I'm not a doctor or scientist, but I think any lab created food is an abomination and should be avoided. It's much better to avoid sweets on a daily basis and allow yourself the occasional  real sugar as a  indulgence.
I do try to keep in mind that this book and others like it are really targeted at people who are obese and diabetic or pre-diabetic. Having come to paleo/gluten free as someone at a healthy weight and metabolically sound, I do know that the extreme low carbing is something I don't have to worry about. I don't count nutrients, but I think that by eliminating wheat and not replacing it with GF bread products, I'm doing just fine.

Over all, I find Wheat Belly a great read. I don't buy every claim he makes wholesale, but I think if even half of what he claims about wheat is true, anyone would benefit from a 30 day gluten free trial.

posted by gojirama @ 1:54 PM