William Davis > Quotes

“Aside from some extra fiber, eating two slices of whole wheat bread is really little different, and often worse, than drinking a can of sugar-sweetened soda or eating a sugary candy bar.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Carbohydrates trigger insulin release from the pancreas, causing growth of visceral fat; visceral fat causes insulin resistance and inflammation. High blood sugars, triglycerides, and fatty acids damage the pancreas. After years of overwork, the pancreas succumbs to the thrashing it has taken from glucotoxicity, lipotoxicity, and inflammation, essentially “burning out,” leaving a deficiency of insulin and an increase in blood glucose—diabetes.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Conversely, smart choices in food empower health and avert hundreds of health conditions. Food is more powerful than any nutritional supplement, any form of exercise, any prescription drug—nothing matches the power of the choices you make in food.”
― William Davis, Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor

“Therefore, wheat products elevate blood sugar levels more than virtually any other carbohydrate, from beans to candy bars.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Modern wheat, despite all the genetic alterations to modify hundreds, if not thousands, of its genetically determined characteristics, made its way to the worldwide human food supply with nary a question surrounding its suitability for human consumption.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“To this day, the notion of treating diabetes by increasing consumption of the foods that caused the disease in the first place, then managing the blood sugar mess with medications, persists.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Eat carbohydrates and blood sugar rises. Every first-year medical student knows this, every nurse or diabetes educator knows this, every person with diabetes who performs finger-stick blood sugars before and after meals knows this. Eat any food with more than just a few grams of carbohydrates and blood sugar will rise; the more carbohydrates you eat, the higher blood sugar will rise. Everyone also knows that foods like butter do not raise blood sugar, nor will a fatty cut of meat, olives, green bell peppers, broccoli, or chicken liver. And since the 1980s, when the sharp upward climb in type 2 diabetes (and obesity) began, the only component of diet that has increased is carbohydrates, not fat or proteins.4”
― William Davis, Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor

“Small changes in wheat protein structure can spell the difference between a devastating immune response to wheat protein versus no immune response at all.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“White flour products lead to not only diabetes but also colon cancer, heart disease, and weight gain; whole grains also lead to colon cancer, heart disease, and weight gain—just not to the degree that white flour does.”
― William Davis, Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor

“The original study showed that the GI of white bread was 69, while the GI of whole grain bread was 72 and Shredded Wheat cereal was 67, while that of sucrose (table sugar) was 59.5 Yes, the GI of whole grain bread is higher than that of sucrose. Incidentally, the GI of a Mars bar—nougat, chocolate, sugar, caramel, and all—is 68. That’s better than whole grain bread. The GI of a Snickers bar is 41—far better than whole grain bread.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“2 cups water 1 tablespoon whole cloves 1 teabag green tea 1 teaspoon FOS powder 2 teaspoons allulose (optional) Additional sweetener to taste 1 cinnamon stick (optional) In a small saucepan, combine the water and cloves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover to maintain a low simmer for 10 minutes. Add the teabag in the last 1–2 minutes of simmering, then remove from heat. Discard teabag. Stir in the FOS, optional allulose, other sweetener, and optional cinnamon stick, and serve or sip throughout the day. MATCHA,”
― William Davis, Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose Weight

“A wheat belly represents the accumulation of fat that results from years of consuming foods that trigger insulin, the hormone of fat storage.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“former grain-eaters can require weeks, months, and occasionally years to recover from the range of disruptive health effects of former grain consumption.”
― William Davis, Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor

“Summary: Wheat Belly Detox Supplements Look for the supplements we use in the Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox in health food stores. Because of regional variation in brands, the reputable brands that are available to you may differ from the ones I list below. Where national brands are widely distributed, I will specify a few quality representative ones. High-potency probiotic supplement: 30 billion to 50 billion CFUs per day for 6 to 8 weeks. My favorite brands include Garden of Life, Renew Life, and VSL#3, all of which contain a long list of preferred bacterial species, as well as high CFU counts. Vitamin D: 4,000 to 8,000 IUs per day to start for adults, as gelcaps or drops; long-term dose adjusted to achieve a 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood level of 60 to 70 ng/mL. Excellent vitamin D preparations are widely available in many brands and surprisingly low in cost. Look for oil-based gelcaps (that look like little fish oil capsules) or liquid drops, but not tablets. Even the big-box stores like Costco and Sam’s Club have excellent preparations. Magnesium: Preferably magnesium malate, 1,200 mg two or three times per day, or magnesium glycinate, 400 mg two or three times per day; or magnesium citrate, 400 mg two or three times per day. (If elemental magnesium—i.e., magnesium without the weight of malate, glycinate, or citrate—is specified on your supplement, aim for around 400 mg magnesium per day.) Source Naturals, NOW, and KAL are excellent brands. Fish oil: 3,000 to 3,600 mg per day of EPA and DHA, divided into two doses. Among my preferred brands are Nordic Naturals, Ascenta Nutra-Sea, and Carlson. Iodine: 500 to 1,000 mcg per day as potassium iodide drops or kelp tablets. Like vitamin D, there are many excellent preparations available at low cost. Iron: Look for supplements in the ferrous form and take only if low ferritin levels or iron deficiency anemia is identified; the dose depends on the severity of anemia and the form chosen. Sundown Naturals, Feosol, and Pure Encapsulations are among preferred brands. Zinc: 10 to 15 mg per day of (elemental) zinc as gluconate, sulfate, or acetate. Twinlab, Thorne, and NOW provide great choices.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox: Reprogram Your Body for Rapid Weight Loss and Amazing Health

“1 capsule Bacillus coagulans GBI-30,6086 2 tablespoons prebiotic fiber (inulin or raw potato starch) 1 quart half-and-half or other liquid”
― William Davis, MD, Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose Weight

“ASPARAGUS WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL Asparagus packs a lot of health benefits into a little package. The little bit of extra effort required to roast the garlic will be more than worth it to liven up a batch. Makes 2 servings 1 head garlic Extra-virgin olive oil ½ pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces 1 tablespoon ground pecans or almonds ½ teaspoon onion powder Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel off the papery layers from the garlic head, then slice off the top ¼ inch to expose the garlic cloves. Place in the center of a square of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Seal the garlic in the foil and place in a shallow pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the foil and let cool. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring, until bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the ground pecans or almonds and then the onion powder. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins into the pan. Continue to cook the asparagus, stirring, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, 1 to 2”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Like death, taxes, and marital spats, fungi are an inevitable part of human life.”
― William Davis, Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health and Lose Weight

“Convenience, mass food commercialization, and the lack of blood and dirt under our fingernails have contributed to a silent but massive health epidemic.”
― William Davis, Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health and Lose Weight

“A True Story Let me tell you about Wendy. For more than ten years, Wendy struggled unsuccessfully with ulcerative colitis. A thirty-six-year-old grade school teacher and mother of three, she lived with constant cramping, diarrhea, and frequent bleeding, necessitating occasional blood transfusions. She endured several colonoscopies and required the use of three prescription medications to manage her disease, including the highly toxic methotrexate, a drug also used in cancer treatment and medical abortions. I met Wendy for an unrelated minor complaint of heart palpitations that proved to be benign, requiring no specific treatment. However, she told me that, because her ulcerative colitis was failing to respond to medications, her gastroenterologist advised colon removal with creation of an ileostomy. This is an artificial orifice for the small intestine (ileum) at the abdominal surface, the sort to which you affix a bag to catch the continually emptying stool. After hearing Wendy’s medical history, I urged her to try wheat elimination. “I really don’t know if it’s going to work,” I told her, “but since you’re facing colon removal and ileostomy, I think you should give it a try.” “But why?” she asked. “I’ve already been tested for celiac and my doctor said I don’t have it.” “Yes, I know. But you’ve got nothing to lose. Try it for four weeks. You’ll know if you’re responding.” Wendy was skeptical but agreed to try. She returned to my office three months later, no ileostomy bag in sight. “What happened?” I asked. “Well, first I lost thirty-eight pounds.” She ran her hand over her abdomen to show me. “And my ulcerative colitis is nearly gone. No more cramps or diarrhea. I’m off everything except my Asacol.” (Asacol is a derivative of aspirin often used to treat ulcerative colitis.) “I really feel great.” In the year since, Wendy has meticulously avoided wheat and gluten and has also eliminated the Asacol, with no return of symptoms. Cured. Yes, cured. No diarrhea, no bleeding, no cramps, no anemia, no more drugs, no ileostomy. So if Wendy’s colitis tested negative for celiac antibodies, but responded to—indeed, was cured by—wheat gluten elimination, what should we label it? Should we call it antibody-negative celiac disease? Antibody-negative wheat intolerance? There is great hazard in trying to pigeonhole conditions such as Wendy’s into something like celiac disease. It nearly caused her to lose her colon and suffer the lifelong health difficulties associated with colon removal, not to mention the embarrassment and inconvenience of wearing an ileostomy bag. There is not yet any neat name to fit conditions such as Wendy’s, despite its extraordinary response to the elimination of wheat gluten. Wendy’s experience highlights the many unknowns in this world of wheat sensitivities, many of which are as devastating as the cure is simple.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“But even if you do not have SIBO or SIFO, it is likely—virtually guaranteed—that you have, at the very least, dysbiosis. Substantial disruptions of the bacterial and perhaps fungal species inhabiting your colon still pose implications for health, whether or not you are regular or require a stack of magazines for bowel habit success.”
― William Davis, Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose Weight

“In terms of mitigating wheat’s adverse effects, there is no need to restrict fats. But some fats and fatty foods really should not be part of anyone’s diet. These include hydrogenated (trans) fats in processed foods, fried oils that contain excessive by-products of oxidation and AGE formation, and cured meats such as sausages, bacon, hot dogs, salami, etc. (sodium nitrite and AGEs).”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“then you should consider reducing or eliminating the following foods in addition to eliminating wheat. • Cornstarch and cornmeal—cornmeal products such as tacos, tortillas, corn chips, and corn breads, breakfast cereals, and sauces and gravies thickened with cornstarch • Snack foods—potato chips, rice cakes, popcorn. These foods, like foods made of cornstarch, send blood sugar straight up to the stratosphere. • Desserts—Pies, cakes, cupcakes, ice cream, sherbet, and other sugary desserts all pack too much sugar. • Rice—white or brown; wild rice. Modest servings are relatively benign, but large servings (more than ½ cup) generate adverse blood sugar effects. • Potatoes—White, red, sweet potatoes, and yams cause effects similar to those generated by rice. • Legumes—black beans, butter beans, kidney beans, lima beans; chickpeas; lentils. Like potatoes and rice, there is potential for blood sugar effects, especially if serving size exceeds ½ cup. • Gluten-free foods—Because the cornstarch, rice starch, potato starch, and tapioca starch used in place of wheat gluten causes extravagant blood sugar rises, they should be avoided. • Fruit juices, soft drinks—Even if they are “natural,” fruit juices are not that good for you. While they contain healthy components such as flavonoids and vitamin C, the sugar”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“The higher the blood glucose after consumption of food, the greater the insulin level, the more fat is deposited. This is why, say, eating a three-egg omelet that triggers no increase in glucose does not add to body fat, while two slices of whole wheat bread increases blood glucose to high levels, triggering insulin and growth of fat, particularly abdominal or deep visceral fat.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“disguised as a bran muffin or onion ciabatta, is not really wheat at all but the transformed product of genetic research conducted during the latter half of the twentieth century. Modern wheat is no more real wheat than a chimpanzee is an approximation of a human.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Health care is the system created to deliver the greatest revenue-generating products and procedures to”
― William Davis, Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor

“Here are some lethal combinations: Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, the gliadin protein in wheat and LPS endotoxemia.”
― William Davis, Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health and Lose Weight

“Modern lifestyle habits have therefore primed your body for unhealthy microbial expansion. If there is no benefit to curtailing your carbon footprint or erecting levees against the equivalent to rising oceans in your body, what can you do to turn the tide against microbial expansion and invasion? Thankfully, you can do plenty.”
― William Davis, Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health and Lose Weight

“(Predictably, this strategy is being pursued by the pharmaceutical industry to commercialize a weight loss drug that contains naltrexone, an oral equivalent to naloxone. The drug is purported to block the mesolimbic reward system buried deep within the human brain that is responsible for generating pleasurable feelings from heroin, morphine, and other substances.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“In the world of grains, one grain stands apart, since it consists entirely of protein, fiber, and oils: flaxseed. Because it is essentially free of carbohydrates that increase blood sugar, ground flaxseed is the one grain that fits nicely into this approach (the unground grain is indigestible). Use ground flaxseed as a hot cereal (heated, for instance, with milk, unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk or coconut water, or soymilk, with added walnuts or blueberries) or add it to foods such as cottage cheese or chilis. You can also use it to make a breading for chicken and fish.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

“Restore vitamin D to healthy levels and wonderful things happen: improved mood, clearer thinking, better bone health and protection from osteoporosis, reduced blood sugar and blood pressure, and improved physical performance and protection from dementia and cancer—compounding many of the wonderful effects begun by wheat and grain elimination.”
― William Davis, Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox: Reprogram Your Body for Rapid Weight Loss and Amazing Health