Wheat Belly

Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

By: William David MD

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

A provocative look at how eliminating wheat from our diets can help us lose weight, shrink unsightly bulges, and reverse a broad spectrum of health problems—from acne to diabetes to serious digestive disorders.

Since the introduction of dietary guidelines calling for reduced fat intake in the 1970s, a strange phenomenon has occurred: Americans have steadily, inexorably become heavier, less healthy, and more prone to diabetes than ever before. After putting more than 2,000 of his at-risk patients on a wheat-free regimen and seeing extraordinary results, cardiologist William Davis has come to the disturbing conclusion that it is not fat, not sugar, not our sedentary lifestyle that is causing America’s obesity epidemic—it is wheat. How this once-benign grain—now genetically modified almost beyond recognition and found in virtually every course of every meal—has come to have such a profound and deleterious effect on our collective well-being is one of the great untold health stories of our generation.

In Wheat Belly, Dr. Davis exposes the truth about modern-day wheat, deconstructing its historical role in the human diet and the agricultural evolutions that have created a hybrid grain that has a greater impact on blood sugar levels than pure cane sugar and many of the addictive characteristics of a narcotic. He sheds light on wheat’s connection to weight gain as well as to a host of other adverse effects from diabetes to heart disease to immunologic and neurologic disorders like celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and dementia. Finally, to help listeners dependent on wheat products make the move to a wheat-free diet, he presents a clear-cut action plan packed with food and lifestyle tips, meal plans, and recipes.

Informed by decades of clinical research and backed by case studies of men and women who have experienced life-changing transformations in their health after waving good-bye to wheat, Wheat Belly is an illuminating look at a familiar food as well as an affirmative life plan for regaining health and losing unwanted pounds.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2011 William Davis, MD (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Suprisingly Great Subject Matter

If you could sum up Wheat Belly in three words, what would they be?

Informative, life-changing, helpful

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Yes, I was annoyed by the tone of his voice, but I got used to it. Mispronouncing words like Quinoa (Keen-wa is correct), and Shiitake (sh-tah--kee is correct) and other examples of mispronouncing things drove me up a wall and was distracting.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Dr. Who?

What I disliked was Mr. Davis's comments about Africa-Americans. He should comment on the freedom with which (or use as examples) the white community can use drugs with impunity, and have abortions known by another name. As a doctor, he is more than qualified to call out, or use as examples, the sexual abuses/habits and "recreational" drug use in his own community.

Very comprehensive book.

Any additional comments?

This book does a very good job of highlighting medical research and the author's own experience with excessive wheat in peoples' diets. This book expands on what I thought I already knew about excessive carbohydrates in our diets by delving into the genetics of modern wheat and providing the details as to why wheat bread has a higher glycemic index than table sugar. The revelation of ancient wheat available to us today does provide some hope that a smidgen of whole grains in the diet might still be possible for me. Most of all, this confirms my resolve to drastically reduce refined carbohydrates from my diet, and most particularly gives me a new-found respect for the ills visited on us by wheat. Well put together and interesting.

Who knew Wheat was poison to everyone

This book is long but extremely informative. It is definitely worth listening too. Very eye opening.

Wow! Wheat?

An amazing presentation of how something considered “necessary for life” may possibly be at the core of many common, accepted conditions I would rather do without!

Wheat no more.

The information in this book falls into the realm of "things you don't know, that you don't know."

I had no clue that the wheat we eat today had been modified and transformed without any significant testing—unlike the myriad of other products that must undergo USDA, or other agency testing and approval before going to market and human consumption.

I've been working to be wheat-free for a couple weeks now.
I don't have celiac disease or any other gastrointestinal issues, but I've begun to shed the pounds like magic.

This book was an eye and ear opener.
A must listen!

Delicious

Very informative. I will definitely be rereading this book and studying it closer. Also, I will be suggesting this to member of my family to read.

The program works, but the listen is technical

Overall, the concepts in this book really hit home for me. I've been struggling for awhile with what could possibly be so bad about Wheat. It's been consumed for far longer than 10,000 years, and many cultures existed for centuries with no "Western Diseases" consuming it. This books answers that question with spades, but be warned. The author dives headfirst into a lot of technical jargen, and the book could have gotton to the point in about 1/2 the amount of words. The bottom line however is that I tried it, and it worked fabulously well. The belly did go down, doing nothing more than just stopping bread. Not oats, or rice, or grits. Just Wheat. It just went away. Took about 3 weeks, and it was slow, but it worked. Mild joint pain also cleared up.

This book changed my life.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I am making sure that I give this book to everyone who will listen.

What did you like best about this story?

I appreciated the scientific information, and also the dry sense of humor that accompanied the science.

Have you listened to any of Tom Weiner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any of Tom Weiner's performances.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The candid beginning that blatantly called fat by it's monikers -- wheat belly, bagel butt, and biscuit face -- was spot on.

Any additional comments?

This book has brought me back to what I always knew and used to practice: having a relationship with my body, and nurturing that relationship.

I am always learning new things, and this was full

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend this to friends, expecially if they are struggling to eat healthier. I am gluten intolerant, and after three years of this lifestyle, this book gave me some good scientific information I lacked.

What other book might you compare Wheat Belly to and why?

I don't know, as this is not the kind of thing I read as a rule.

What does Tom Weiner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is a very good narrator. I've read other things by him, and he can read both fiction and fact very well.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Wy'd You Lie to Me, or: I Thought I Was Doing Things the Healthy Way!

Any additional comments?

Many people have told me that I am gluten free because it is a fad or that I want attention. Oh, how I wish I could just gnaw on a sourdough roll! I tried eating all the whole wheat products, and lots of veggies and lean protein, and sticking to a low cal diet. But, I gained weight, and got sicker and sicker! My doctor was frustrated and threw up her hands. She never once considered any testing for wheat. I came to the knowledge on my own, and without telling him of my conclusions, sought the advice of a very reputable naturpathic physician. He pinpointed wheat. I tried a full serving in the form of my former fave cereal after six weeks. The reaction left me with no doubts! I don't say that everyone should ditch all wheat, but perhaps most people need fare less of this stuff. I didn't choose this lifestyle because of celebrities, as we have no TV, and don't care what movie or TV stars do or say.