Are You a Wheat-aholic?

In 2007, the big problem area in diet for most Americans is processed carbohydrates. What carbohydrate dominates? Yes, wheat. It isn't unusual for someone to be eating wheat products five times a day: shredded wheat cereal for breakfast, pretzels for a snack, a low-fat turkey breast sandwich on whole grain bread for lunch, crackers for a snack, whole wheat pasta and green salad for dinner. Sounds healthy, doesn't it? Except it makes you fat and precipitates all the factors that cause this rampant scourge in our country: heart disease.

If you need convincing, try your own experiment. Eliminate-not reduce, but eliminate- wheat products from your diet, whether or not the fancy label on the package says it's healthy, high in fiber, a "healthy low-fat snack", "heart healthy," etc. I find elimination of wheat surprisingly easier than just cutting back. I believe this is because wheat is powerfully addictive. It's very similar to telling an alcoholic that a drink now and then is okay-it just doesn't work. They need to be alcohol-free. Most of us need to be wheat-free.

You won't be hungry if you replace the lost calories with plenty of raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds; use healthy olive oil, canola oil and flaxseed oil liberally (though not for frying); add ground flaxseed and oat bran to yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.; and more lean proteins like lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish, and eggs.

If it doesn't work for you, perhaps you're among the small minority for whom wheat products are okay. But if you lose 20 lbs, feel better, and witness across-the-board improvements in cholesterol patterns and blood sugar-well, then, your experiment succeeded.

Related:

Read more articles by Dr. William Davis, which cover topics including the role of Vitamin D in maintaining heart health and how to reverse coronary heart disease.