1) We have cave-man genes living in a modern world
2) 99% of Westerners are too inflamed because of diet and lifestyle
If you are looking for a diet that fits into the USDA guidelines, look elsewhere. Those diets simply don’t work and are not based on solid science and observation, they are driven by government and industry.
Through extensive study of nutrition, as well as tons of personal and patient observations with blood labs, weight, energy, digestion, gas, and all kinds of problems created through diet, it has become clear that wheat, yes the stuff that everything is made of, is toxic to almost everyone on some level, and many people are suffering without knowing it.
To be clear, its also delicious and extremely addicting, and getting it out of our diet takes commitment and dedication. Knowing that wheat is not a health food and is highly inflammatory and disease promoting, I have been gluten reduced for a long time, meaning I tried to eat it sparingly. My vices were quesadillas, pizza, burgers, beer, breakfast foods, ok I love most of it but tried to limit it to a few meals a week or less. I also like to eat out, which is very problematic if you care about the quality of your ingredients and where it comes from.
If I would eat more gluten meals in a certain week, I would notice things like skin breaking out, digestive distress, bloating, and even a “foggy head.” I also noticed that drinking even 1 of my favorite beers, an IPA, would give me a foggy head/hangover feeling the following day. I knew this could not be related to alcohol alone as it was only happening with beer.
Continuing research as well as a desire to have my body perform at its absolute maximum gave me the decision to go gluten free. I decided to try it for 21 days with the Standard Process Cleanse. While I have done the cleanse 5 previous times, this was the best I have felt in a long time. I decided to do the cleanse a second time, and after 42 days, I was feeling like an absolute machine. It was exciting how much energy and strength I was having, and my digestion had probably never been that good. I’ll spare the details but happy to share privately if you leave a comment. I continued to eat incredibly clean and avoid gluten.
After one of my strongest days ever in the climbing gym, I was in a rush to meet a friend to play golf. I swung into whole foods and feeling untouchable decided in a lapse of judgement to have some chicken pot pie, and why not thrown on some gravy (white flour and animal fat). It was delicious. And literally within 10 minutes of finishing, I began to see a migraine aura, which for me is like 1000 flash pictures were just taken in front of me. The headache set in a few hours later, severe, pounding, and lasting for days. I used to get migraines regularly but through chiropractic care they have been absent for years. A foggy head almost like a hangover followed the headache for almost a week, and digestion was horrible.
Lesson learned, back to gluten free and all the other healthy habits. When people see my health routine they think “I could never…” but its something I’ve been working on for years, it started with baby steps like buying a few things organic and trying to eat more vegetables. Its now grown into something of an obsession. Over several weeks digestion improved and again I began to feel like superman. On vacation in Mexico a few weeks later, I decided to test the waters again with a flour quesadilla. Repeat above sequence of mal-events. Migraine, terrible digestive distress, and brain fog for the rest of my vacation.
I have had one other accidental exposure to gluten since then, through soy sauce at a sushi restaurant, which has gluten as an added ingredient. Same series of symptoms. Obviously gluten does not mix well for me. Most people who are reading this fall into one of two camps, those that say, “He must have an allergy or celiac’s disease, thank god that’s not me,” or “That sounds like me I need to go gluten free immediately!” The former is a much larger group and the people this blog is written for.
If you would have asked me before this experience, I would have said “wheat is not a health food but I don’t have any sensitivities to it.” I ate it relatively often and noticed no real problems with it. Looking back on my health though, it was not where it is now or where I would have wanted it to be. Cutting it out completely allowed me to feel really great for the first time in a long time, consistently day in and day out. It is only when you feel really great that you can notice the contrast to not feeling really great. Wheat’s ability to instantly rob you of your health at the slightest exposure is why it must go.
A lot of patients and even health experts argue that people have been eating wheat for thousands of years and it has x-y-z nutrients and blah blah. Read Wheat Belly. It is a great book explaining the changes to the wheat crop 50 years ago and the way this has transformed the modern food supply. Its an incredibly well researched and well written book explaining again why you should get off wheat immediately.
I hope this inspires you to try a gluten free diet and make a powerful shift in your health.
Dr Paul
This book written specifically for patient’s and those seeking better health, explores advanced concepts in healing and acts as a tool to launch your own healing miracles and maintain your family’s health without using dangerous drugs and risky surgeries.