What Davis essentially does over the course of the book is walk through various medical conditions that have been far more prevalent in recent years, such as acne and diabetes, and present an argument for how consuming wheat either contributes to or causes each condition. There were things that I liked and disliked about Wheat Belly. On the whole I may not be completely sold on the idea of wheat being the root cause of all evil, but I do believe Davis presents a decent case for severely reducing wheat intake and getting back to a more natural and less processed diet.
On the negative side, the book is written with shock value in mind. Davis is looking to frighten people into eliminating wheat from their diet. Some of his arguments suffer at the hands of his quest to convince the reader that modern wheat is the root cause of much evil. For example, Davis' arguments tend to be too dismissive towards any alternate explanations or counter-arguments. Rule #1 of law school: present the issue from every side THEN show why your solution is the best option. Davis sums up and dismisses alternate solutions in a single sentence, which tends to weaken his position. The alternative is that he doesn't address an issue at all. In addition, some of the weaker arguments use medical jargon to disguise the fact that they're based more on correlation than causation. In these situations he tends to address this issue with the "well we don't know that wheat isn't the problem" line of reasoning. Again, not the best way to make your point.
Despite his less-than-stellar rhetoric, Davis does have a solid overarching premise and wheat is undoubtedly the cause of a number of health problems in modern American society. For example, Davis makes a solid case for the relationship between diabetes and wheat consumption. The same goes for his arguments concerning heart disease and other weight-related medical conditions. I've never spared a thought about the healthfulness of whole grain or whole wheat foods. in fact, when trying to lose weight I frequently increase my whole grains. Davis makes a strong argument here: wheat spikes blood sugar, which is not what you want when losing weight or managing diabetes.
Despite my initial misgivings, I found myself convicted to forego wheat. I've been wheat-free since breakfast yesterday (I don't count Communion; I firmly believe that consuming the body of Christ is far more important than this silly health quest of mine).
And you know what? I did feel better yesterday than I have in a long time. Stranger still was the withdrawal that I've struggled with this afternoon; all I want is a slice of bread and it's making me a bit snippy.
Do I think going without wheat will solve all my problems? Nope. Will eating wheat cause me to go crazy, suffer acne, or develop some other horrid skin condition? Despite what Davis argues, I don't think it will. But I do believe Davis` argument that wheat is not as good for my waistline as I believed it be.
Image from here.
If a person is diabetic his blood get thicker and that cause blockage and heart disease.
ReplyDelete