Dr Davis - The Wheat Belly 10-Day Detox - The effortless health and weight-loss solution

RAW OR DRY-ROASTED NUTS AND SEEDS. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and chia seeds are all great choices, as are dry-roasted peanuts (though they’re really a low-carbohydrate legume, not a nut). Avoid nuts roasted in unhealthy oils, such as hydrogenated cottonseed or hydrogenated soybean oil, as well as wheat flour, cornflour, maltodextrin, or sugar used to coat them. Should you choose roasted, none of these unhealthy oils or other ingredients should be listed. Cashews are the one nut that should be limited, as they are among the most carbohydrate-rich of nuts; consume lightly and use the carbohydrate management method discussed below.

FATS AND OILS. Choose coconut, palm, extra-virgin olive, extra-light olive, macadamia, avocado, flaxseed, and walnut oils, as well as organic butter and ghee. Don’t be afraid of saving the oils from bacon, beef, and pork. You can also purchase lard and tallow, but make sure they are not hydrogenated. Minimize use of polyunsaturated oils (corn, safflower, mixed vegetable, and sunflower). Avoid hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils completely.

CHEESES. Purchase real cultured cheeses only (not single-slice processed cheese), preferably organic and full fat, not skim or reduced fat. The cheese-making process minimizes the undesirable aspects of dairy (such as whey and unhealthy forms of casein). Be careful with blue cheese, Gorgonzola, and Roquefort, which are occasionally sources of wheat.

BEVERAGES. Drink water (squeeze in some lemon or lime or keep a filled water pitcher in the refrigerator with a few slices of cucumber, kiwifruit, mint leaves, or orange), teas (black, green, or white), infusions (teas brewed from other leaves, herbs, flowers, and fruits), unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened coconut milk (the carton variety from the dairy refrigerator), unsweetened hemp milk, and coffee. Sip the Coconut Electrolyte Replacement Wateras is or on ice. Avoid sodas and fruit drinks, even the sugar-free ones as they are typically sweetened with aspartame and have been associated with weight gain and unhealthy changes in bowel flora.

MISCELLANEOUS. Look for guacamole, hummus, pesto, tapenades, olives, and unsweetened condiments, such as mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup without high-fructose corn syrup, and oil-based salad dressings without high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, or cornflour.

ALCOHOL. It is best to refrain from alcohol or keep it to a bare minimum (no more than one glass per day) during your detox. If you wish to keep some on hand, though, consider wine (the drier, the better); non-grain vodka (Cîroc, Chopin, others); rum; tequila; brandies and cognacs; and non-grain or gluten-free beers (Redbridge, Green’s, Bard’s, and others). Note that beers, in particular, can have small quantities of grain residues, even if gluten-free, and have potential for excessive carbohydrates, so go very lightly with them; one 12-ounce serving approaches your carbohydrate limit, so never have more than one serving. (There is a more detailed listing of safe alcoholic beveragesin Appendix B.)

STEP 3: Manage Carbohydrates

The third step in the Wheat Belly 10-Day Detox is to manage carbohydrates, even beyond those found in grains, as they are the darlings of the processed food industry—cheap, tasty filler that contributes to dietary helplessness and health distortions. Carbohydrates provoke blood sugar and insulin and slow, even stop, your weight loss and health efforts. Properly managing these foods allows you to squeeze additional benefits from the power of your grain-free nutritional program. It will supercharge weight loss and allow you to gain further control over metabolic disturbances, such as high blood sugars, fatty liver, triglycerides, blood pressure, and needing to shop in plus-size aisles.

We follow this simple rule: Never exceed 15 grams net carbohydrates per meal or per 6-hour (digestive) period. We calculate net carbs by the following simple equation:

NET CARBS = TOTAL CARBS – FIBER

Because most of your foods will not come with labels or nutritional panels, you will need a resource to look up the composition of various foods, such as an inexpensive handbook with tables of the nutritional content of foods. (Find these in the reference section of your local library or bookstore, often for less than $10.) There are also several terrific smartphone apps useful for this purpose. (Search for “nutritional analysis” in your application source.) In addition, there are many Web sites that list nutritional analyses of foods. Look up total carbohydrate and fiber content of the food in question, make the simple calculation, and you have net carbohydrate content.

Nothing matches the power of eliminating grains to reduce inflammation, recover gastrointestinal health, reduce appetite, and drop weight. But banishing all grains while feasting on a bag of potato chips or downing three cans of sugary cola every day can still trip up health and weight. Carbohydrate management helps you sidestep problem sources and compound the benefits begun with grain elimination. And because diabetes and overweight are concerns for so many people at the start of their detox, this step is also necessary to take control of these modern epidemic conditions.

Carb management is easier than it sounds once grains have been eliminated, even for people who begin this process with a sweet tooth. Recall that ridding your life of grain-derived opiates reduces appetite and reawakens taste, including heightening sensitivity to sweetness. The desire for sweet snacks diminishes or disappears, and goodies you formerly thought were irresistible will taste sickeningly sweet. Addiction to milk chocolate, gummy candy, or other junk indulgences will go the way of padded shoulders and harem pants. Good riddance.

We also do not use the misleading fiction of the glycemic index or glycemic load. (See “ The Fairy Tale of Glycemic Index”.) Choosing low-glycemic index foods, for instance, will trigger blood sugar and insulin to high levels, cause weight gain, and prevent the health benefits of this lifestyle—virtually no different than high-glycemic index foods. Don’t fall for the health and weight booby-trap of glycemic index.

Your efforts to manage carbohydrates will limit rises in blood sugar. Contrary to conventional advice from most doctors (who typically advise that blood sugars should not exceed 11 mmol/L after a meal, a level associated with astounding levels of weight gain and health impairment), adhering to our 15 g net carb cutoff keeps blood sugars at or below 6 mmol/L at all times, including blood sugar after eating a meal. In other words, we aim to never allow blood sugar to rise over the level present prior to the meal.

If you have diabetes or prediabetes and start with higher-than-normal blood sugars, this approach will prevent additional rises in blood sugar with meals and allow even future fasting blood sugars to drop over time. We therefore work to keep blood sugars at healthy levels when you rise in the morning; before and after breakfast, lunch, and dinner; before bedtime; when you wear open-toed shoes, high heels, or go barefoot; as well as all other times of the day.

By avoiding spikes in blood sugar, insulin release is minimally triggered. Insulin is the root of much dietary and metabolic evil; it is a hormone that causes weight gain and blocks mobilization of stored fat from fat cells. Not triggering insulin allows the opposite to occur: mobilization of fat and weight loss from fat cells. Over time, insulin resistance is reduced, allowing weight loss to progress further. Along with it, inflammation, fatty liver, blood pressure, high triglycerides, inappropriate questions about your baby’s due date, and other distortions all strike a retreat.