Has anyone read this book? It caught my eye at Costco the other day, and I'm kicking myself for not buying it. I've read some Amazon reviews, but I thought I'd see what everyone here thinks about it. I'm planning ahead for my Lifetime Plan - Not planning to abandon IP in favor of a new program, btw!

Hi,

This book is definitely infomative. He can get pretty technical and detailed, but overall the message is solid and he backs up his points.

My father-in-law gave up wheat after reading this and in under two months lost 15-20lbs, ALL from his belly.

I totally recommend reading it, some good lifelong habits and ideas are suggested.

Jenn

It's a great book and a fairly quick read. My bf cut out wheat after reading it and I plan to do the same when I am off IP.

Another great book is Why We Get Fat. It covers a lot of the science behind ketosis and why IP works so well.

Thanks for your input! I couldn't face Costco crowds today, but I ordered it from Amazon . . . This IP experience is really opening my eyes and motivating me to stay off grains and sugar for the long haul!

It's just my opinion but I think buying Wheat Belly is a waste of money.

News flash - highly processed food is bad for you.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot of details but if you want to read a book I'd suggest you skip Wheat Belly and instead read Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers.

Great post I will check it out also!

The interesting info in Wheat Belly is how Wheat has evolved and the addictive property that has been bred into it now.

Not sure if the naysayer has actually read the book but there is good info in many places, not just through a single source.

Totally not related to the book -- just wanted to say in your pic you look like Jillian Michaels -- the fab ab coach from Biggest Loser. I think she's very pretty so that's meant as a compliment!

Ur right!!!!, she does!!!!!!!!!!!! nobylspoon looks like Jillian Michaels!!!!!

I like reading all of the info I can get to be as imformed as I can. Im going to order wheat belly and Why we get fat for my kindle!

Definitely agree. Both of these books are 'must reads' imo.

I found Wheat Belly a bit disappointing, so I don't know that I'd call it a must read. Maybe if I had read it before reading dozens of other anti-grain books, I'd feel differently.

Except for the genetic information, I'd read it all before, in books I'd read on diabetes, insulin resistance, irritable bowel, autoimmune and inflammatory issues, low-carb, paleo and primal diets, and in anti-grain books like "Against the Grain..."

The genetic information explained why I have less of a reaction to pasta (durum wheat, an older wheat at only 28 chromosones) than bread flour (modern wheat, 42 chromosones).

In that regard, I think Wheat Belly is a bit of a one-trick pony. It doesn't spend enough time explaining why wheat may be the worst of many, but it's certainly not the only problem in the SAD (standard American diet).

The author does touch base on this information, but one can leave the book with the impression that all will be ok if you just eliminate wheat (because the other grains aren't nearly as bad).

That's can be a huge mistake, as I have learned the hard way. When I first discovered that I had a problem with wheat, I experimented with a lot of wheat substitutes and it took me a while to realize that the "substitute" starches were doing the same damage only a bit more subtly.

If you're a slow or selective reader, and don't have time to read dozens of books on the subject, then I'd suggest passing on Wheat Belly for a book with wider scope. If you were only going to read one book on the problem with grains, I wouldn't choose Wheat Belly to be that book (I wouldn't even put it in the top ten or fifteen). There are too many books on the general topic of grain-restricted diets that do a much better and more comprehensive job.

However, if you're a very rapid reader like I am and are reading 30 or more books per month like I do.... then I'd say sure, add Wheat Belly to the pile, but I'd also recommend Refuse to Regain, The End of Overeating, Against the Grain, Life Without Bread, Good Calories Bad Calories (if you're not into deep reading, Why We Fat is supposed to present the same information in a more readable format - I haven't read it yet), South Beach Diet, and at least three or four basic Paleo Diet books, starting with the older books like Neanderthin or The Paleolithic Prescription and working up to modern paleo like Primal Blueprint and Primal Body Primal Mind (which I'm reading now).

And of all those books listed, I'd put Wheat Belly at the bottom of the pile. Well, actually I guess I'd put it at the top in that if you've read all the others, Wheat Belly is going to be very anticlimactic. So if you need some light reading to get you started on the subject, then start with Wheat Belly.

If you've read more than one (or even one) of most of the books I've listed, Wheat Belly isn't going to provide much new information. The writing style is easy and quick to read but it's the pulp fiction of books on the topic (or pulp non-fiction as the case may be). The book is very readable, but it's also "dumbed down" to the point that quite a bit of information is lost.

It's not a bad book by any means, it just presents almost no new information. If you've read any of the books that advocate some form of carb restriction, you've probably going to find 90% of Wheat Belly redundant.

I don't regret reading it, but it's a book I'm very glad that I checked out from my local library. I rarely buy a book that I haven't read through the library first, or at least flipped through at Barnes & Nobel. Only then do I decide which are books I'd like to own (last time I checked there were 200 books on that list).

Most of the book titles I've mentioned are on that list (or I already own them).

Wheat Belly definitely didn't come close to making the list, because it's not a book I would be tempted to read again or to refer back to.

So I'd recommend getting it from the library before deciding it's something you have to buy.

Hehe, I'm the guy in the pic with Jillian

Fortunately dissenting opinions are allowed even if they are not welcome.

I liked the book, but it can be summed up pretty quickly and easily. The premise is that the wheat of today is not the wheat of yesterday and that it has been modified for many reasons, but one of them is to induce increased consumption through cravings. Moreover, most of us cannot process it correctly and it makes us bloated, fat, lethargic etc.

It is not so much about processed vs non-process but the actual integrity of the grain itself

Just wanted to say thanks because I read a magazine article about Wheat Belly and planned to add it to my kindle wishlist. I don't think I want to spend the money on it anymore. Sadly, my small town library doesn't have it and our statewide kindle lending library didn't have it either. At least now I know that I have read enough similar books and I'm not missing much.