I'm in the "power issue!" Well, at least my article is.
In the March issue of Vogue, I investigate the claims that Dr. William Davis makes in his best-selling book Wheat Belly. Is wheat really a "perfect chronic poison?" Does whole wheat bread spike your blood sugar more than table sugar? And why does it seem that everyone has either celiac disease or gluten intolerance? Download Wheatbellyrebuttal
Davis's patients shed pounds—and improve their health—on his radical wheat-free diet. But should this come as a surprise? The wheat protein gluten, as Davis himself notes, is ubiquitous in processed foods—from cookies and donuts to canned soup and frozen dinners. Replacing these with real foods would spur weight loss and better health. (Nothing like carrying around 30 fewer pounds to give you increased energy and decreased arthritis pain.)
If everyone reading Wheat Belly starts eating more kale, quinoa, fruit, and avocados, then kudos to Davis. But, as you'll see from my article, I'm still not convinced that whole wheat bread is the villain Davis says it is. You have to ask: What kind of whole wheat bread? After interviewing nutritionists, bakers, and wheat breeders for this article, I have a hunch that the real culprit is the plastic-bagged bread at the supermarket. Made with flour that's milled within an inch of its life and baked in less than three hours (so that the gluten proteins don't have time to break down properly), it contains more gluten than the dense 100% multi-grain bread I now buy at a local bakery. (More on this subject in a future article.) Wheat Belly has also had the (no doubt unintended) consequence of motivating me to get back into bread-baking. Thanks, Davis!
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