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gluten
Dr. William Davis writes, "Modern grains are silently destroying your brain." That's right, a credible doctor told the public that wheat is killing us. Stephen Yafa argues that Davis' Wheat Belly misinformed the public about wheat: it is not the grain itself that is bad for us, but rather how the grain is processed.
You're not alone. I remember the first time the doctor called me to tell me my son had celiac disease. I was horrified! It's alright to cry, get angry, lose your cool. It's alright to mourn the loss of gluten from your life. Breathe, accept the diagnosis and trust that you will get there. After a few months, life gets easier and the celiac patient starts to feel better.
A gluten-free diet is critical for people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and wheat allergies but when manufacturers ditch the gluten, they need to replace it with something else. What are they using instead of gluten? Could these substances be harmful?
If your doctor turned to you one day and diagnosed you with a dietary condition that research suggests doesn't exist, for which there was no objective laboratory test, and for which treatment would cost your household thousands of dollars per year, while raising your fat and calorie intake with no measurable health benefits, would you say yes? I wouldn't.
The G word is almost as bad as the F word these days. In recent years, gluten has been getting a bad rap due to the mass media, celebrities who are so-called gluten experts and books such as Wheat Belly and Grain Brain. For those who don't know, gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye.
Emerging science shows that gluten may be much more damaging than once thought. What was once believed to only affect those with a diagnosis Celiac disease (a debilitating illness resulting from an extreme gluten response) is now being correlated as an inflammatory trigger in almost one in four people today.
We were jazzed to have Dr. William Davis, multi-yearNew York Times best-selling author of Wheat Belly come by the kitchen on his recent media blitz in support of his upcoming North American tour. In this exclusive interview, I ask the ever-friendly, eloquent and passionate doctor some tough questions.
The good news with all of this gluten business is, if you eliminate it from your diet and you're sensitive, symptoms will get better. I have seen this many times clinically, spoken to many people who have experienced this, and the research corroborates these findings.
Why has gluten become the new food villain? Haven't we eaten gluten for thousands of years without any problems? To answer this question we must pick on a particular grain: Wheat.