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Wheat Belly Book Summary
In view of many new readers on the Wheat Belly Blog, many of whom have not yet had the opportunity to read the book but are eager to start, here is the updated summary of the Wheat Belly Book for those who want to change their eating habits through a balanced diet.
It summarizes the essential dietary strategies of the Wheat Belly Approach to 1) avoid all high-yield, semi-dwarf wheat products that wreak havoc on your health, and 2) create a diet that is healthy and suitable for all family members. If you don't want to read the summary, Click here and download the ebook.
This is the same diet I counsel patients in my office to follow that achieves dramatic weight reductions, provides relief from joint pain and acid reflux, lowers triglycerides, shoots HDL up, reduces small LDL particles (the #1 cause of heart disease in the US!), and unravels diabetic/pre-diabetic tendencies. The diet starts with the biggest step of all: the elimination of wheat and other closely related grains (rye, barley, corn, oats, rice, millet, amaranth, bulgur). But a healthy diet can’t end there, otherwise you and I wouldn’t be eating wheat, but filling our calories with soda and beans.
So the next step is to limit carbohydrates if your goal is to lose more weight and correct metabolic distortions such as high blood sugar and small LDL particles. Then, we choose our foods wisely to avoid the common pitfalls set for us by big food and agribusiness, not to mention the friendly dietitian at the hospital! Dieting in the 21st century is no longer just about carbohydrates, proteins and fats; it is also about being savvy about the changes introduced into our foods by food producers.
Wheat Belly Book – Delete:
All wheat-based products (all breads, all breakfast cereals, noodles, pasta, bagels, muffins, pancakes, waffles, donuts, pretzels, crackers), oat products (oat flour, oat bran), sauces or gravies thickened with cornstarch, prepared or processed foods containing cornstarch, cornmeal products (such as chips, tacos, tortillas), sugar-sweetened soft drinks, candy.
Avoid processed foods that contain wheat, such as soy sauce, Twizzlers, Campbell's tomato soup, salad dressings, taco seasoning—examine all labels and avoid any foods that mention wheat. (It's not a bad idea to avoid foods with labels! Cucumbers and spinach, for example, usually don't come with labels.)
All other grain-containing products – especially those with corn, rye, barley, and rice. Corn, like wheat, is contained in many processed foods.
Wheat Belly Book – Unlimited Enjoyment:
Legumes – except potatoes; Fresh or frozen, never canned Raw nuts and seeds – almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts; Dry roasted peanuts (not roasted in oil); Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and chia seeds
healthy oils (preferably unheated whenever possible) - olive, flaxseed, coconut, avocado, walnut
Red meats, pork, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs. (Consider free-range, grass-fed and/or organic sources.) Eat the fat!
Ground flaxseed, chia seeds
Tea, coffee, water, unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk or coconut water
Cheeses – real cultured cheeses only (no Velveeta or single slice processed cheese)
Avocado or guacamole; Hummus; Unsweetened condiments, e.g. mayonnaise, mustard, Oil-based salad dressings; Ketchup without high-fructose corn syrup; Pesto, tapenades; Olives
Wheat Belly Book – Limited:
Fruit – No more than 2 servings per day (a serving is a level handful), preferably in this order (best first): berries of all varieties, citrus, apples, nectarines, peaches, and melons. Minimize bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and grapes and only in the smallest amounts (since they are like candy in sugars)
Fruit juices-only real juices and in minimal quantities (no more than 2-4 oz)
Dairy products-No more than 1 serving per day of milk, cottage cheese or yogurt, unsweetened (fat content does not matter.)
Legumes/beans; peas; sweet potatoes and yams
Dark chocolates-70-85% cocoa solids or higher; No more than 40 grams (approximately 2 square inches) per day
Sugar-free foods – preferably containing stevia, rather than aspartame;
Wheat Belly Book – Never:
“gluten-free” foods made with rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, or potato starch
Fried foods
Fast foods
hydrogenated “trans” fats
cured meats - hot dogs, sausages, bacon, mortadella, pepperoni "fixed" with sodium nitrite
High Fructose Corn Syrup Containing Foods; Honey; Agave Syrup; Sucrose
Processed rice, rice flour or potato products – rice crackers, rice cereal, pretzels, white breads, breakfast cereals, potato chips
Fat-free or low-fat salads
Click here and download a PDF version of the book completely free of charge
Wheat Belly Book – Quick Tips:
For healthy breakfast options, consider unlimited eggs, any style; cooked foods from wheat belly recipes, such as pancakes, grainless “granola”; (e.g., with coconut milk, organic milk or unsweetened almond milk; blueberries, strawberries, etc.). Also consider raw nuts; cheese; Consider “dinner for breakfast,” which means transferring salads, cheese, chicken, and other “dinner” foods to breakfast.
Add 1 tablespoon or more of a healthy, flavor-matching oil to each meal. For example, stir in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil into your hot ground flaxseed cereal. Or add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your eggs after scrambling. Adding oils will curb your appetite. Don’t trim the fat off meat and buy fattier cuts. Cook with butter (organic), coconut oil, lard, tallow (non-hydrogenated if purchased).
Reach for raw nuts and 85% dark cocoa chocolate first as convenient snacks.
Use the recipes on the Wheat Belly blog, books, and cookbooks whenever cravings hit: the cookies, muffins, brownies, coffee cake, cheesecake recipes can quell the appetite with no downside.
