As promised I received the notes from the speaker at the last lunch and learn and I'm going to post them here. I'll get the information about the Amish store that Marybeth mentioned during the discussion about wheat belly and post that when I receive it.
Also- I've received information found by co-workers as well as readers of this blog that I will be posting on here in the near future as well. With that being said- If you have any information that would be helpful to any diabetics that you would like to see on this blog feel free to send it to me and I'll get it on here. You can email me at tafwinlcky@gmail.com (with the subject line "For the blog") or you can find me on facebook and send it to me on there! This blog is here to help the readers gain an understanding about type 2 diabetes so that we can reach the goal of diabetes prevention and the way to do that is to take care of yourself & the information posted on here will hopefully help us all reach that goal.
Here are the notes from the Wheat Belly lunch and learn. These notes are taken from the speaker herself. They are divided into the slides that she was showing in her presentation and while those arent shown here I left it that way. Also *Disclaimer* The speaker, Karen Squires, is not a paid speaker for the doctor who wrote Wheat Belly, she is not a doctor but has spent time researching this book. She is a success story of this and has lost 15 pounds by practicing a no-wheat/gluten free diet. This presentation was a gathering of information from the source of wheat belly, internet research, and her own personal story and opinion gathered from all of this. Read on:
Slide 1:
The true culprit of health issues/weight gain: Triticum aestivum, or modern wheat.
For two generations, science has manipulated our food and agricultural products. They created plants that could absorb synthetic fertilizers and some that tolerate toxic chemicals. Among the many seeds that have been genetically modified in this manner are; corn, soy, cotton seed, canola, golden rice and sugar. There are many, many more. Even some artificial foods have been genetically modified. For example, Aspartame is a GM food, they use GM modified bacteria to create it.
Slide 2: If you have a weight problem, suffer from celiac disease, have diabetes, or have heart disease this book is a must read. Until I read Dr. Davis’s book Wheat Belly, I didn’t really think much about wheat other than its being a major source of carbohydrate in the American diet and noticing that it sometimes gave me indigestion. It never really occurred to me that the wheat we eat today is not the same wheat that our great-grandmothers cooked with, nor probably even our grandmothers. Even though my father, who loved to bake, had casually made the comment years ago (late 80’s) that something was different about the flour and he went on a search of trying various brands to little avail, finally settling on Hudson Cream as being most like the wheat he was familiar with growing up and as a younger man.
SOMETHING YOU’RE EATING may be killing you, and you probably don’t even know it! Eating a nice dark, crunchy slice of whole wheat bread–how could that be bad for you? Well, bread contains gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and other grains. It is hidden in pizza, pasta, bread, wraps, rolls, biscuits and most processed foods. Gluten is what gives bread its elastic quality. Clearly, gluten is a staple of the American diet. What most people don’t know is that gluten can cause serious health complications for many folks. You may be at risk even if you don’t have full blown celiac disease. This book will reveal the truth about gluten, explain the dangers, and provide you with a simple system that will help you determine whether or not gluten is a problem for you.
Slide 3: The demand for gluten-free foods is exploding. The number of complaints that are now suspected of being tied to gluten consumption is daunting. Has this always been so? Are we just noticing that the most common of foodstuffs is toxic?
In Wheat Belly, Davis exposes the harmful effects of what is actually a product of genetic tinkering and agribusiness being sold to the American public as “wheat”—and he provides readers with a user-friendly, step-by-step plan to navigate a new, wheat-free lifestyle.
If you are descended from the Irish, you are more likely to have a wheat intolerance, because wheat is a starch that came late to the people of Ireland (around 1800) prior to that their main starch was the potato and other root vegetables.
Slide 4: So, you ask, how has wheat changed? Most obviously in size. Modern wheat is the altered offspring of thousands of genetic manipulations, crude and sometimes bizarre techniques that pre-date the age of genetic modification. The result: a high-yield, 2-foot tall "semi-dwarf" plant that no more resembles the wheat consumed by our ancestors than a chimpanzee (which shares 99% of the same genes that we do) resembles a human. I trust that you can tell the difference that 1% makes. Today’s wheat is the product of breeding to generate greater yield and characteristics of drought, disease, and heat resistance.
The gluten proteins in modern wheat, for instance, differ from the gluten proteins found in wheat as recently as 1960. This likely explains why the incidence of celiac disease, the devastating intestinal condition caused by gluten, has quadrupled in the past 40 years. Furthermore, a whole range of inflammatory diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to inflammatory bowel disease (IBS – irritable bowel syndrome), are also on the rise. Humans haven't changed -- but the wheat we consume has changed considerably.
Slide 5: Thanks to agribusiness scientists, wheat production has changed dramatically. The amber waves of grain, growing on stalks topping four feet high, represent only 1% of the world's wheat production. The wheat we see in the bread and cereal aisles grows a mere 18 inches, allowing not only for a second crop each year, but contains insecticides and fungicides right in the seed heads. Genetic engineering allowed for inclusion of these things without so much as a single test for nutrition, safety or consistency. Once milled into flour, up to 45% of the nutrients in wheat are oxidized in the first day alone, in 3 days 90% are lost. Today, the majority of wheat breeds on the market contain 40 to 60% more gluten than wheat contained 50 years ago. Wheat protein, i.e. gluten, is the protein in most vegan “meats”, such as veggie burgers. It is often a main protein source in nutrition bars or protein shakes.
A wheat kernel is divided into three major parts—bran, endosperm and germ. All purpose flour is made from only ground endosperm. Whole wheat flour is made by grinding the entire wheat kernel, therefore having more fiber.
Each of us in the United States consumes about four bushels of wheat per year. Each bushel of wheat makes about 90 one-pound loaves of whole wheat bread. So, we all eat the equivalent of 360 loaves of bread per year, or approximately one loaf per person per day. That’s a lot of wheat, in fact, it’s almost approaching ancient Egyptian levels and those folks has serious health issues. The per capita consumption of wheat in the United States exceeds that of any other single food staple.
Slide 6: For most of us, every single meal and snack contains foods made with wheat flour. Among the changes introduced into this plant is a re-engineered form of the gliadin protein unique to wheat. Gliadin has been increased in quantity and changed in structure, such that it serves as a powerful appetite stimulant. When you eat wheat, you want more wheat and in fact want more of everything else -- to the tune of 400 more calories per day. Dr. Davis lays out excellent evidence for wheat being physically addictive and mind-altering, triggering the same sensors in the brain as opiates. This addictiveness is apparently part of the endless hunger caused by a high carbohydrate diet. I had thought it all due to blood sugar fluctuations, but it turns out that we've all been a bunch of gluten junkies as well as sugar junkies, with the opiate-like properties of gluten driving our craving for another fix.
In most grocery stores, an entire aisle is devoted to nothing but bread in all its forms. Then there is typically another large aisle full of cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pies, tarts, sweet rolls, bagels, croissants, brownies, and other sweet baked goods. The vast majority of the cereal aisle displays products containing primarily wheat. Another aisle is devoted to pasta. And if you look at processed foods of all kinds, you’ll find wheat in there, including just about any kind of sauce, even mayonnaise, you’ll find it’s thickened with wheat flour. It’s likely that the only aisle without a wheat product is the detergent aisle.
Slide 7: Wheat is the most abundant refined carbohydrate, and refined carbohydrates are almost certainly the biggest contributor to human health problems on the planet. Is it any wonder that eliminating the major one—not to mention the ingredient that is most often paired with sugar—would make people feel better?
Dr. Davis writes that modern wheat is approximately 70 percent carbohydrate by weight. The carbohydrate is in the form of a starch called amylopectin A.
The most digestible form of amylopectin, amylopectin A, is the form found in wheat. Because it is the most digestible, it is the form that most enthusiastically increases blood sugar. This explains why, gram for gram, wheat increases blood sugar to a greater degree than, say, kidney beans or potato chips. The amylopectin A of wheat products, “complex” or not, might be regarded as a super-carbohydrate, a form of highly digestible carbohydrate that is more efficiently converted to blood sugar than nearly all the other carbohydrate foods, simple or complex.
Slide 8: Dr Davis shows that the effect of wheat, even as whole wheat, on blood sugar is worse than eating plain white sugar. Glycemic index is a measurement of the impact of a food on blood sugar levels. The higher the glycemic index (GI), the higher that particular food raises blood sugar levels. A University of Toronto study of glycemic index showed the GI of white bread to be 69 and whole wheat bread to be 72, with sucrose (white table sugar) having a GI of only 59. This evidence shows the remarkable blood-sugar raising effects of wheat on the body, with whole wheat having the capacity to raise blood sugar levels higher than plain sugar.
The only serious issue I have with the book is that Davis places too much emphasis on the glycemic effect of wheat vs. sugar. Which could be taken the wrong way by a not so careful reader. It’s true that sugar does not cause as great a rise in blood sugar, but metabolism of its fructose component creates more issues. Considering that many wheat products contain sugar, eliminating wheat also eliminates much sugar.
Slide 9: Reducing sugar intake is a good idea, but for the most bang for your buck, eliminating wheat is the easiest and most effective step you can take to safeguard your health and trim your waist line. Dr. William Davis says that two pieces of whole wheat bread raise our glycemic levels more than a Snickers bar (GI = 41). Although, he is definitely not suggesting you give up your morning bagel for a candy bar.
And aside from the blood sugar and, consequently, insulin problems caused by the consumption of too much wheat, there are other problems. As with almost any food, the newer the food, the greater the likelihood that it will be problematic to some humans who consume it. Acid reflux, allergies, severe bloating, alternating constipation and diarrhea, overweight, mental fog, moodiness, migraines are some of the symptoms that will improve with the elimination of wheat from your diet.
Slide 10: Severely limit or eliminate grains and sugar in your diet, especially fructose, which is far more detrimental than any other type of sugar. While nearly all type 2 diabetics need to swap out their grains for other foods, some people will benefit from using protein for the substitution, while others will benefit from using more vegetable-only carbohydrates. The standard American diet (known by the ironic acronym SAD) is so full of poor quality animal products, processed foods, genetically modified grains and chemicals that eating actually kills two out of three people (via diseases, disorders, and pathogens).
Dr. Davis states that ‘wheat consumption causes heart disease’. ‘It’s not cholesterol, and it’s not saturated fat that’s behind the number one killer of Americans; it’s wheat.
That's a pretty big statement coming from a cardiologist that should be an eye opener for some people.
Slide 11: "Wheat Belly" has made a huge impact on me really seeing what we're doing to our bodies not just outside but inside. We poison them with refined sugars, HFCS, processed foods, "diet foods" - things our bodies were not meant to process - things MY body cannot process.
Visceral fat produced by blood sugar imbalance significantly increases your risk for heart disease, cancer, dementia and rheumatoid arthritis. This type of fat that surrounds your abdominal organs produces cytokines 24 hours per day which are signaling molecules that trigger inflammation within the body.
Dietary changes can reverse Type 2 Diabetes and related conditions (abdominal obesity, visceral fat, inflammation, glycation, accelerated aging). By removing high glycemic GMO wheat products from the diet, blood sugar levels decrease, appetite slows, insulin levels lower, and less glucose is converted to abdominal and visceral fat. When visceral fat is shed, inflammation subsides and the risk for heart disease, cancer and other inflammatory conditions is drastically reduced.
Slide 12: Sure, sugary soft drinks and sedentary lifestyles add to the problem. But for the great majority of health conscious people who don't indulge in these obvious poor choices, the primary trigger for weight gain is wheat.
And wheat consumption is about more than just weight. There are also components of modern wheat that lead to diabetes, heart disease, neurologic impairment -- including dementia and incontinence -- and myriad skin conditions that range from acne to gangrene -- all buried in that innocent-looking bagel you had for breakfast.
It is therefore my contention that eliminating all wheat from the diet is a good idea not just for people with gluten sensitivity; it's a smart decision for everybody. However, if that is not practical for you, or if you don’t need to lose weight, gluten-free substitutes are recommended.
Slide 13: Eliminate or significantly reduce:
All wheat-based products (all breads, all breakfast cereals, noodles, pasta, bagels, muffins, pancakes, waffles, donuts, pretzels, crackers). You won’t starve; you will replace wheat with more healthy fruits and veggies.
The new rule: Don’t buy anything advertised in commercials
“Anybody with that kind of marketing budget is selling packaged foods.” Except for maybe prunes, and you already knew that those were good for you.
I Always say, “If God didn’t make it, don’t eat it,” and that still holds true, because the wheat we eat today, God didn’t make.
You owe it to yourself to skip the bridge foods, and go gluten-free. Do not, however, start eating a bunch of processed, purchased gluten-free breads, crackers, cookies, pasta, and other stuff. Why not? Because it’s still loaded with carbs, that’s why not. Generally this stuff is made with rice flour, potato starch, corn starch, and other refined carbs. It’s gluten-free, but it will still cause big, nasty blood sugar swings, and the health problems and obesity that come with them.
Slide 14: Weight loss of 30, 50, even 70 pounds or more within the first six months; reversal of diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions; relief from edema, sinus congestion, and asthma; disappearance of acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome symptoms; increased energy, happier mood, better sleep. People feel better, look better, eat fewer calories, feel less hungry, may be able to discontinue use of many medications -- just by eliminating one food from their diet -- ironically a food that they've been told to eat more of and that is pervasive in it’s being added to other foods.
I enjoy eating apples (fuji, gala or honey crisp) for breakfast, with a little peanut butter dip sometimes instead of pancakes, oats or French toast. I have found a recipe for a flax seed cracker that is pretty good when I want a cracker with my soup or cheese. I still eat baked potatoes and homemade potato chips made in the microwave. Sandwiches are the most difficult: at McDonalds I order the McDouble and just remove the bun, if you ask for one w/o the mustard and ketchup it is easier to handle without a fork. At home I just roll up the meat and cheese in a lettuce leaf sometimes. At Subway, order the salad, remember no croutons. I have no problem with gravy, because I don’t like it. I do like potatoes, and have not given them up. Pizza is a challenge, you can just scrape off the top or try one of the gluten-free breads as a treat only.
The book concludes with guidance on eliminating wheat from your diet, potential withdrawal symptoms, simple nutritional guidelines for replacing wheat, hidden sources of wheat, a sample 7-day diet plan and a few recipes.
Slide 15: I first read “Wheat Belly” in early October and I was immediately enthralled. The concept spoke to me. I had been tested for celiac disease and told that I presented negative antibodies for the disease. So I thought I was mistaken about wheat and something else must be the problem. But this book connected the dots for me. Wheat was my problem (I have non-celiac gluten intolerance) and it no doubt might be your problem, too. I decided that this is something I could live with one day at a time. I started off doing really well for about six days, during which I felt great, then I would treat myself to something made of wheat and feel bad for the next couple of days. By mid-November I was totally sold on the no-wheat concept.
I will have to admit that I fell off the wagon during the Christmas holidays, but I have lost 15 pounds in the three months since I took ‘ The Wheat Belly Challenge’ and I have also found that my acid reflux has left, my arthritis has lessened, I have more energy, and less intestinal upset, not to mention that I do not feel bloated unless I eat wheat. I do live in reality. I know there will be times we stray, with a slice of pizza here or a brownie there. Here a beer, there a beer. However, I'm committed to embracing a simpler, back-to-basics way of eating more natural foods and eliminating chemically produced and genetically modified foods. That being said, it has been fun finding new recipes to "mimic" things that I'm trying to cut back on. Like say, pizza crust, normally filled with bleached white flour. I have used some of the gluten free bridge foods and find that I feel well after eating them, but I do not lose any weight.
Slide 16: If the health benefits of a wheat-free diet sound hard to believe, why not conduct your own little experiment and see for yourself: I challenge you to simply eliminate all things made of wheat for four weeks -- no bread, bagels, pizza, pretzels, rolls, donuts, breakfast cereals, pancakes, waffles, pasta, noodles, or processed foods containing wheat (and do be careful to read labels, as food manufacturers love to slip a little wheat gliadin into your food every chance they get to stimulate your appetite).
That's a lot to cut out, true, but there's still plenty of real, nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, cheese and dairy products, meat, fish, beans, oils like olive oil, avocados, even dark chocolate that you can eat in their place. But the beauty of being wheat free is that you won’t feel hungry all the time. If after that 4-week period you discover new mental clarity, better sleep, more energy, relief from joint pain and acid reflux, less bloating, happier intestines, and a looser waistband, you will be convinced.
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I know thats a LOT of information but it's very important information- We need to know what is actually causing us problems and how we can actually fix it! Recipes from this Lunch and Learn will also be posted soon on this page and we're working to get our actual recipe page back up and running.
One more thing: Rememeber to check the Lewis County herald for articles from diabetics or family members of diabetics. Hope you go a lot from this entry more information to come to you soon!
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