The Caveman Diet: Grain Free, Disease Free
Most people freak out without their morning wheat toast. However, more and more people are beginning to turn to the wheat-free diet, experiencing liberation from chronic health ailments, weight and blood sugar spikes. In the book, Wheat Belly, preventative cardiologist William Davis explains how eliminating wheat from our diets is the key to achieving permanent weight loss and relief from a range of health issues.
After witnessing over 2,000 patients regain their health after giving up wheat, Davis reached the disturbing conclusion that wheat is the single largest contributor to the nationwide obesity epidemic—and its elimination is key to dramatic weight loss and optimal health.Every day, over 200 million Americans (and millions more elsewhere in the world) consume food products made of wheat. As a result, over 100 million of them experience some form of adverse health effect, ranging from minor rashes and high blood sugar to the unattractive stomach bulges that preventive cardiologist William Davis calls “wheat bellies.” Davis says that excess fat is not related to inactivity or high fat diets but is due to our love of foods like bread, pasts, muffins and cakes. None of these foods were consumed by our Paleolithic ancestors. It doesn’t matter if you eat whole wheat, multi-grain, unsprouted, germ, organic or gluten free because wheat is wheat. In Wheat Belly, Davis exposes the harmful effects of what is actually a product of genetic tinkering and agribusiness being sold to the public as “wheat” informed by cutting-edge science and nutrition, along with case studies from men and women who have experienced life-changing transformations in their health after waving goodbye to wheat.
Dr. Davis’s diet plan fits in line with Nora Gedgaudas’ book Primal Body, Primal Mind. Nora Gedgaudas is one of the world’s leading experts on Paleolithic (Paleo) nutrition, certified in holistic nutrition and a clinical neurofeedback specialist. Like Dr. Davis, in her practice, she has seen incredible results by removing high carb foods for her patients’ diets, healing them of diseases modern medicine has deemed incurable. Her book like William Davis’ detail the horrible effects wheat and high carb grains have on the human body and even on the mind. The Paleo diet is reversing chronic diseases, relieving stress and psychological issues. Also, since it is a pre-agriculture diet, it doesn’t negatively impact the environment as it doesn’t require ludicrous agricultural practices or GMOs like grain diets require.Dr. Davis points out that two slices of whole grain bread will increase blood sugar higher than two tablespoons of pure sugar cane, a candida favorite! Although many turn to wheat free grains, spelt, kamut, quinoa, amaranth, teff, millet, brown rice and buckwheat, these are all still high carb foods which turn to sugar and spike blood sugar levels causing Hyperglycemia or Hypoglycemia when levels fall again. This causes great stress on the body. People argue this is only the case of high glycemic index foods but others say this includes all high carb foods.
Weston Price, was a dentist known primarily for his theories on the relationship between nutrition, dental health, and physical health. He founded the research institute of the National Dental Association, which later became the research section of the American Dental Association, and served as its chair from 1914–1928. By 1930, Price had shifted his interest to nutrition. In 1939, he published Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, detailing his global travels studying the diets and nutrition of various cultures. The book concludes that aspects of a modern Western diet (particularly flour, sugar, and modern processed vegetable fats) cause nutritional deficiencies that are a cause of many dental issues and health problems. The dental issues he observed include the proper development of the facial structure (to avoid overcrowding of the teeth) in addition to dental caries.Weston Price’s research discovered that cereal grain foods are the worst possible thing for our teeth! He discovered that foods high in dense nutrients, such as animal fats, were the best foods for our teeth. The reason for this is because animals were designed to collect all of the most valuable nutrients. These people had no degenerative diseases and perfect teeth. No traditional groups of humans throughout history were vegetarians as these foods were not available year round. However, Dr. Price found two eastern African tribes, the Kikuyu and the Bantu that ate a mostly vegetarian diet. They experienced tooth decay unlike their neighboring meat eating tribes.
The Icelandic explorer and anthropologist, Dr. Vilhjalmur Seffanson, also confirms the research of Weston Price. He spent many years in the 20th century living with the Eskimos in northern Canada and Alaska. None of them developed scurvy or any degenerative diseases. They ate a meat diet completely void of all fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Carl Lumholtz, a Norwegian scientist and explorer reported that the same was true in the southern hemisphere. He resided with the Aborigines in northern Australia who ate mostly animal foods and never plant foods if flesh was available.
Our food pyramid today is completely opposite of what our ancestors ate. But they did eat nuts and seeds so if you crave bready foods, try almond flour. Coconut flour is also wonderful but almond flour is easier to use and has a rich, moist taste to it. You can buy almond flour in the grocery store or make it at home yourself, which is easy to do with a food processor. There are thousands of almond flour recipes online to bake breads, cakes, cookies, pies or whatever you crave. Use plants based erythritol instead of sugar.
Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, which have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Almonds also lower bad cholesterol, are high in fiber and contain vitamin E. According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition eating almonds reduced the glycemic index (GI) of the meal and subjects’ rise in blood sugar in a dose-dependent manner - the more almonds consumed, the lower the meal’s GI and the less the rise in subjects’ blood sugar after eating.
By the way, almond milk is also a better choice over hormone/antibiotic injected cow’s milk.
Moral of the story, go grain free! Eat organic, hormone free meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, berries, herbs and vegetables. It will change your life, your body and your mind. Use nut flours when you crave something bready.
A note to vegetarians who eat soy burgers and other soy products, thousands of studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders, infertility, cancer, heart disease and more. Not a food our ancestors ate.
Related Red Ice Radio programs:
Nora Gedgaudas - Hour 1 - The Paleo Diet, Primal Body & Primal Mind
William Davis - The Dangers of Wheat
Dr. Andrew Saul - The War on Vitamins & Nutrition
If you want to learn more:
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