CBS: Modern wheat a "perfect, chronic poison," doctor says

[China]

Modern wheat a "perfect, chronic poison," doctor says

(CBS News) Modern wheat is a "perfect, chronic poison," according to Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist who has published a book all about the world's most popular grain.

Davis said that the wheat we eat these days isn't the wheat your grandma had: "It's an 18-inch tall plant created by genetic research in the '60s and '70s," he said on "CBS This Morning." "This thing has many new features nobody told you about, such as there's a new protein in this thing called gliadin. It's not gluten. I'm not addressing people with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease. I'm talking about everybody else because everybody else is susceptible to the gliadin protein that is an opiate. This thing binds into the opiate receptors in your brain and in most people stimulates appetite, such that we consume 440 more calories per day, 365 days per year."

Asked if the farming industry could change back to the grain it formerly produced, Davis said it could, but it would not be economically feasible because it yields less per acre. However, Davis said a movement has begun with people turning away from wheat - and dropping substantial weight.

"If three people lost eight pounds, big deal," he said. "But we're seeing hundreds of thousands of people losing 30, 80, 150 pounds. Diabetics become no longer diabetic; people with arthritis having dramatic relief. People losing leg swelling, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and on and on every day."

To avoid these wheat-oriented products, Davis suggests eating "real food," such as avocados, olives, olive oil, meats, and vegetables. "(It's) the stuff that is least likely to have been changed by agribusiness," he said. "Certainly not grains. When I say grains, of course, over 90 percent of all grains we eat will be wheat, it's not barley... or flax. It's going to be wheat.

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[The Evil Genius]

For those who doubt the growing wheat intolerance...I know first hand what it did to my body.

Wheat free I now live a gout-like pain free life with little to no stomach problems (ones that I had had all my adult life). That's something that I couldn't claim 14 months ago (when I finally eliminated all wheat from my diet).

[Destino]

I can't speak to the science behind his claims other than to say I'd bet that it's far from settled and most likely disagrees with him. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually found he's on the right path. As a former smoker and a person that successfully lost 50 pounds and kept it off I can say that carb cravings are very similar to cigarette cravings. I haven't smoked in ages but I am dead certain that if I were to have one I'd feel a massive urge to have another shortly there after. I know from experience of course.

When I was dieting and restricted and got carbs purely from fruits and veggies my appetite was entirely in control. I reached my goal weight and had some pasta to celebrate... I needed bread an hour later like a smoker needs a cigarette. Need is a better word than hunger in that instance, it was almost exactly like the smoking sensation. That strange empty feeling that you feel below your throat that isn't hunger.... that might be wrong, it's hard to describe if you haven't ever been a smoker. I don't know if other addictions are different. Appetite is definitely higher when eating a higher carb diet too.

[Botched]

Stories like this are why I always take health food advice with a grain of salt. (see what I did there?)

What's "healthy" and what isn't changes every day and is entirely dependent on who you ask. Wheat bread was supposed to be the healthy way to go, and now I'm hearing it's poison.

Yeah...I'll just go ahead and eat what I want.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Damn, whole grains are supposed to be good for you, I thought. I eat a lot of wheat products to get fiber.

How do you get fiber without eating whole grains?

[The Evil Genius]

Damn, whole grains are supposed to be good for you, I thought. I eat a lot of wheat products to get fiber.

How do you get fiber without eating whole grains?

There are hundreds of other grains that can be eaten. Brown rice, quinoa, millet, etc.

For those with celiacs and other wheat/gluten intolerances, the elimination of wheat/oats/barley isn't as bad as one thinks.

I get buy perfectly fine using alt flours such as rice flour or tapioca flout when I bake. I just have to be prudent because the current yields of wheat flour has been genetically modified to be "extra-gluteny". Sure, its a pain to not be able to grab a big mac or eat everything on the menu - but to me it's a bigger pain to be sick all the damn time.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

There are hundreds of other grains that can be eaten. Brown rice, quinoa, millet, etc.

For those with celiacs and other wheat intolerances, the elimination of wheat/oats/barley isn't as bad as one thinks.

I get buy perfectly fine using alt flours such as rice flour or tapioca flout when I bake. I just have to be prudent because the current yields of wheat flour has been genetically modified to be "extra-gluteny".

Ah, I eat brown rice and quinoa.

I guess I need to buy this book, because I think of brown rice as a whole grain. I guess, its not what he's talking about?

[The Evil Genius]

I suspect wheat. It's the major grain of the western world and the one that has been most modified and it's also the culprit to a lot of health problems worldwide.

[Botched]

There are hundreds of other grains that can be eaten. Brown rice, quinoa, millet, etc.

Until next week when a study concludes that brown rice, quinoa, and millet are poison just like everything else is.

[The Evil Genius]

Until next week when a study concludes that brown rice, quinoa, and millet are poison just like everything else is.

Yeah maybe. But take it from someone who knows what eliminating wheat (and not the other grains listed) has done for them.

BTW - it's not the grain - but the protein in it that's the problem with wheat. What's being modified in the gluten. Something (gluten) that doesn't exist in millet, quinoa, rice, etc...

[No_Pressure]

I know this is totally unscientific but I'd like to mention that my grandfather stopped eating wheat products and lost 30 pounds over two months. My dad switched to rye and lost the same amount in about 3 months. I don't need to lose weight, but I've flirted with cutting out most wheat products for a while because I believe there are some health benefits, especially considering how my wheat consumption includes things such as pizza and arnold's country white bread on a regular basis. It would be impossible to truly give up pizza, and uncomfortable to give up PBJ, or at least in the form that I like it. I'm thinking of doing it anyway just to experiment with it.

[PeterMP]

gliadins are old proteins that were almost certainly in your grandmothers wheat as they are found not only in wheat but closely related plants.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

gliadins are old proteins that were almost certainly in your grandmothers wheat as they are found not only in wheat but closely related plants.

So, you think this guy is sort of full of it?

[The Evil Genius]

gliadins are old proteins that were almost certainly in your grandmothers wheat as they are found not only in wheat but closely related plants.

From what I have read...there is a peptide in glutens that's not present in gliadins. Thus, the people who are intolerant of gluten aren't usually intolerant of other grains that don't have glutens but do have gliadins.

Since wheat is the only true grain that has gluten (some people like me also see problems with barley and oats), wheat is getting singled out here.

---------- Post added November-26th-2012 at 11:07 AM ----------

So, you think this guy is sort of full of it?

I don't. I live it.

[Sticksboi05]

Stories like this are why I always take health food advice with a grain of salt. (see what I did there?)

What's "healthy" and what isn't changes every day and is entirely dependent on who you ask. Wheat bread was supposed to be the healthy way to go, and now I'm hearing it's poison.

Yeah...I'll just go ahead and eat what I want.

I don't think that was ever said. Just that if you are going to eat bread it should be whole grain.