The best way to avoid foods that are bad for you is to stay away from foods with health claims on the label. They are usually hiding something bad.
What a powerful quotation! These are the words of Dr. Mark Hyman, who, like Dr. Pretlow, has written and talked about food addiction. In Dr. Hyman’s case, that subject is tied in with his suspicions about gluten as a major player in the obesity epidemic. “Gluten Free” is one of the health claims that needs to be closely examined if a person is serious about eliminating gluten from the diet.
Why would anyone do that? A relatively rare condition called celiac disease (CD), whose sufferers cannot tolerate any gluten at all, has been recognized for some time. But only in the last couple of years has there been any acknowledgment that a lot of people who don’t technically have CD are nevertheless intolerant of gluten.
The damage is inflicted on the lining of the small intestine, which is only supposed to let certain things get through to the rest of the body. But gluten empowers zonulin, which makes holes in the mortar between the cells of the intestine wall. The “leaky gut” allows chunks of undesirable material to float around in the bloodstream and wreak havoc. It’s like getting the fresh water line in the kitchen sink crossed with the sewer pipe — not recommended.
The debris that is now circulating comes to the attention of the immune system, which attacks it, and pretty soon there’s a general whole-body inflammation going on. Trouble could spring up anywhere, including further damage to the gut lining.
General confusion
In such a widespread attack of the body upon itself, the weakest points will succumb first. Patients turn up with a bewildering variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms, and doctors don’t know what’s going on. Like celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity is tricky to diagnose. But evidence is piling up that convinces many health professionals that wheat is to blame for not only obesity, but heart disease, diabetes, dementia and cancer.
A person might think skeptically, “Hold on there, my grandpa ate a loaf of bread every day for 94 years and was never sick a day in his life.” This is what Dr. Hyman addresses as one of the “hidden reasons” that actually prove how much obesity and other illnesses stem from consumption of the fabled Staff of Life, wheat.
This is not the wheat your great-grandmother used to bake her bread. It is FrankenWheat — a scientifically engineered food product developed in the last 50 years…. [I]t is different in three important ways that all drive obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia and more.
It contains a Super Starch — amylopectin A that is super fattening.
It contains a form of Super Gluten that is super-inflammatory.
It contains forms of a Super Drug that is super-addictive and makes you crave and eat more.
Now, that is what you might call a real triple threat. The third item must pique the interest of anyone interested in the area of food addiction. The exorphins created by digesting wheat are molecules that latch onto the brain’s opioid receptors, making a person “crazy, hungry and addicted.” These “super drugs” even have their own name — they are gluteomorphins. More impressive still, they can be counteracted by the same emergency-room drug used to treat a morphine or heroin overdose. As Dr. Hyman eloquently puts it, “Bottom line: wheat is an addictive appetite stimulant.”
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “Three Hidden Ways Wheat Makes You Fat,” DrHyman.com, 01/25/13
Image by Jeff Keacher
2 Responses
I have been trying to write to dr. hyman to let him know I have a problem I would like to discuss with him concerning diverticulosis.. I can’t eat a lot of the foods he suggests due to inflammation of the diverticula. I would like to discuss this with him to give me a diet that doesn’t have nuts and seeds and raw vegetables. one thing that you need to know is that not everyone is on facebook and therefore can’t receive all his info that he puts out. I get his emails, but nothing else. please will someone respond to how I can write to him????
I am 77 yrs old and need help!
Barb, thanks for reaching out about your attempts to contact Mark Hyman, MD. Dr. Hyman lists the following address for written contact on his website:
Mark Hyman, MD
Vitamin Portfolio, LLC
4346 Belgium Blvd.
Riverside, MO 64150
We hope this information helps you to get in touch.
With Thanks,
STEVE O’KEEFE
Content Director
Childhood Obesity News