Carbs and Heart Issues

Dr. William Davis recently wrote a fascinating article about having what he calls a wheat belly and what that means to heart disease risks.

Low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, and small LDL particles, are the three most common abnormalities today behind heart disease.
Along with this pattern comes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, diabetes and pre-diabetes, increased inflammation, increasingly blood clot-prone blood. This common collection that now afflicts over 50 million Americans, of which I am one, goes by a number of names, including metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance syndrome, and syndrome X.

A wheat belly is like a "beer belly," which too many of us already know too much about, and results in the same protruding , sagging abdomen that develops when you overindulge in processed carbohydrates. It represents the fat that laces the intestines.

While we know that candy bars and soda’s aren’t good for health, most Americans have allowed processed carbohydrates, but especially wheat products like pretzels, crackers, breads, waffles, pancakes, breakfast cereals and pasta, to dominate diet. Dr Davis blames the extreme over-reliance on these foods for the obesity and related issues.

How did this happen?

Back in the 60s, we had sandwiches with white bread, hamburgers on white flour buns, spaghetti made with bleached, enriched flour. Data from the 1970s and 1980s, however, demonstrated conclusively that using whole grains, with the bran and B-vitamins left in, was better for bowel health, blood pressure and cholesterol values . Then on to the 90s and the new century, and the new spin became “eat more whole grains, eat more whole grains,” repeated by “official” organizations and propagated by countless media conversations. And we Americans followed right along.

But while video games, unhealthy snacks, and vending machines have been the main target for the nationwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes, it’s notewrthy that increased weight has befallen even active people who eat “healthy” with plenty of whole grains.

It’s the grains that are largely behind the obesity and diabetes epidemic, at least among the frustrated health-conscious. But not all grains. Oats and flaxseed, for instance, seem to not contribute to weight and the associated patterns like small LDL.

Try this: Eliminate all forms of wheat for a 4 week period--no breakfast cereals, no breads of any sort, no pasta, no crackers, no pretzels, etc. Instead, increase your vegetables; healthy oils; lean proteins (lean red meats, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, Egg Beaters, yogurt and cottage cheese); raw nuts like almonds, walnuts, and pecans; and fruit. Of course, avoid fruit drinks, candy, and other garbage foods, even if they're wheat-free.

People have reported that they think clearer, have more energy, and sleep more deeply. Hunger also becomes less of an issue. Most people lose the insatiable hunger pangs that occur 2-3 hours after a wheat-containing meal. Instead, hunger is a soft signal that gently prods you that it's time to consider eating again. You may even find that you miss meals, just because you forgot to eat.

As Spock would say: “Most curious.”

Along with foregoing that trip to Mickey D or Burger King, or all the other fast food that exists there is also something to be said for getting that extra kick start, with a well thought out supplement regimen, along with exercise.