Diabetes Community

On a second note, I had finished reading Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis, M.D. several months ago. Although Dr. Davis made some pretty persuasive arguments against modern wheat, I didn't suffer from any wheat-related problems and definitely was not wheat-sensitive in terms of celiac-like sensitivities so I essentially continued my normal eating pattern. Besides, I wanted to experiment with whole grains in a very literal sense by germinating the whole grains myself and using the resulting sprouted products in various ways (pulverized, blended, cooked, or in soups and salads). That experiment ended with very disappointing results a couple of weeks ago and I have now eliminated all grains from my diet (in yet another self-experiment). I had originally intended to review Dr. Davis's book and share my thoughts with forum members. However, instead of posting my own review, I found an existing one on the Fathead site that mirrors my views so why reinvent the wheel: Fathead's Wheat Belly Book Review

Please read the user comments that follow the Fathead book review; especially the one by Cyndi, located approximately 3/4ths of the way down the page (excerpted here):
I am a 56 year old diabetic. I am not and never have been overweight. I have a severe history of hypothyroidism, and elevated cholesterol, since early childhood. I have spent years being a "good" patient - doing everything the doctors (Endocrinologist and internist) and the dietitian advised. Every time I followed their advice or the eating plan of the ADA I would have raging glucose and have to increase my insulin ... I found, through trial and error, over many years that grain products: bread, cake, cookies, muffins, rolls, biscuits, crackers of ANY kind (including the ones I found at "health food" stores) would spike my blood sugar and worsen all the above mentioned symptoms. I chose to modify my diet - My doctors and diet advisors take the credit for my slender frame and my well controlled glucose ... but, I do NOT do what they say ... I do what I MUST to be healthy. The doctors just need to catch up!

Good-golly-gosh, all this time I thought that I was the only one that didn't rigidly comply with "doctor's orders" but, like Cyndi, have enjoyed well-above-average results that have impressed my endo. If you haven't read Wheat Belly, please consider doing so. The health that you improve may be your own. It is available in four different formats: Adobe PDF, ePub (for the Nook, iPad, etc.), .amz/mobi (for Amazon's Kindle), and in audio format for those who prefer to listen instead of read. If you have already read the book, what are your thoughts on it?

I agree with you 100% and I always read your posts. I do use one 5 grams carb slice of Healthy Life bread with 2 oz. of salmon, a little mayo and 1'2 cup of fresh berries plus 1 cup of coffee - no sugar- for my first meal in the morning, followed another very small meal of protein and fresh something about 10 a.m. Then small meals or snacks every 2-3 hrs. throughout the day for a total of 80-100 grams of carbs total and about 70 gram of protein and some good fats. That maintains my weight and blood glucose in the non-diabetic range with my doctor's permission and blessing.

None of my diabetic friends eats this way and almost no one on this web site, but it works for me. My body does not do well with any added meds.

I usually have a bowl of Wheaties with skim milk/Splenda and a half of an English muffin with peanut butter for breakfast everyday.

My last A1C was 4.9%.

David

Is that wrong?

I'm sorry joy too much information I don't understand. When it's too much reading for me in the post. I can't follow because of my learning disability. I read backwards when there's too much information. Only I got out of this was Dr. and diets that's all I got. The post was complicated for me to understand I'm sorry. Maybe other people can get support on the subject.it's just too much information for me.

Dave, your numbers are great (including your blood work). But it is really not a question of right or wrong. In both instances (Dr. Wahls and Dr. Davis), they are only trying to alert us to the fact that glutens and gliaden in modern hybridized wheat can promote disease. It obviously doesn't happen to all of us but to those in which it is a factor, the results can be truly devastating, even life-threatening. Governments obviously will never embrace this as a potential threat because without the increased yields that hybridized grain (wheat in particular) provides, our planet could probably not support our population of 7 billion and mass starvation could result.

I have an acute sensitivity to glucotoxins myself and suffered a number of relatively advanced symptoms when my A1c barely tipped the scales at 6.1. I have also had great difficulty getting my fasting BG down below 100 due to inflammation issues. For example, it was not uncommon for me to go to bed at 11 pm with a BG reading of 80-84 but wake up in the AM with a reading of 107 (I do not take a basal insulin). By experimenting, I discovered that my blood sugar level was reasonably stable until about 3 am (I took readings for several weeks when I awoke at approximately that hour to clear my bladder). For some reason, the dawn effect (if that's what it was) really surged my BG between 3 am and 6 am.

The endo thinks it may be due to some sort of inflammation in my system but cannot explain why I am reasonably stable between the hour of sleep and 3 am. It's much too early to draw any conclusions but since I eliminated ALL grains from my diet two weeks ago, I am now obtaining fasting BG readings in the 81-85 range for the past week (hasn't been that low for over three years). Will continue to monitor the situation and perhaps comment on this in a month or so (I could have gluten sensitivity markers that I was unaware of or it could be due to something else).

Take a look at these two videos and let me know what you think:
Unhealthy Whole Grains 1
Unhealthy Whole Grains 2
Both are by Dr. William Davis and sheds more light on his arguments about the potential danger that wheat poses to many of our fellow humans (but not necessarily everyone). Again, consuming grains has nothing to do with right or wrong. However, if one does have ongoing health issues, wheat could be a factor; perhaps a deciding one.

NutriJoy, could you make your responses shorter? They are so long it's intimidating for many of us...so we don't bother to read them! Short and (not too) sweet, keeping the KISS principle in mind.

Thanks...Nancy

I agree that these responses are too long and too technical. I am able to make informed decisions about my health. I am on a transplant list and have to process a lot of info provided by the doctors.

But I do not find this level of detailed propaganda helpful and doubt that many of us actually read it.

I must agree with Nancy and cookiedog.

NutriJoy, I respect and acknowledge that you are extremely well informed about Diabetes but I also believe you posted somewhere that your are a medical professional. It almost seems like you are trying to promote your own agenda in your posts. The average member of a public message board is not going to understand or want to read all this information. KISS is something we all should remember when posting, along with compassion and understanding.

That being said, this is a public message board and you can post whatever you wish as long as it does not violate the Terms Of Service for the WebMD Communities. Any of us can simply choose to not read your posts.

No offense intended, just the opinion of someone what has a great deal of experience on internet message board.

I also agree. Short and to the point is better. Since I am visually impaired, I ignore tediously long and overly technical posts.

David

Detailed explanations are holdover from my college term/research paper days. The two video links in the reply to you are also long (formal lecture). Try these abbreviated shorts (more like ads but provides important points):
Wheat Belly Overview (discusses his own reversal of diabetes)
Effect of wheat on blood sugar and diseases
Modern Wheat (semi-dwarf variant) explained