I received a question from one of my clients today, with a link to an anti-wheat blog post. She asked for my thoughts. Is wheat really the reason why so many people are overweight? Should I stop eating wheat? 
There is a lot of anti-wheat opinion out there. It’s a trend. Fueled by a book released last year, a lot of people are cutting wheat out of their diets. While I see no problem with not eating wheat per se, I do see a lot of exaggerated, scare-tactic claims, and some people seem to be convinced that the humble wheat grain is actually the most potently evil substance that has ever afflicted mankind. I am all for trying to identify any foods that don’t work well for you and steer clear of them, but what scares me a bit is that people seem to be avoiding wheat just because they read somewhere that it was bad. Not because they have any symptoms of an intolerance.
I’m not saying go out and eat Wonder Bread, but I think we could all benefit from some logic here.
I think wheat itself is a scapegoat for many people to point the finger at for their overweight (it’s easier than admitting their cookie or ice cream habit might be involved). About 1 in about 133 people actually have Celiac disease, an autoimmune condition in which gluten from wheat causes serious damage to the intestinal lining, but a larger number of people seem to have some level of intolerance or sensitivity to it, which isn’t formally diagnosable. Whether it’s truly 50% of the population, as a recently popular book claims, I’m doubtful.
Not that it matters, really. What matters is YOUR life and YOUR body. Is consuming wheat doing you a disservice, or would cutting out be a positive step for you? That is all that matters. Personally I did a wheat free stint and found that I digest it quite fine and noticed no difference in anything for avoiding it, so I have no qualms about including a piece of sprouted grain toast with my breakfast on most days. If you go wheat free and find that it DOES lead to good outcomes, awesome. Really, the only way to know is to give it a test drive.
However, if you go from eating Pop-Tarts for breakfast, bagels sandwiches for lunch, and pizza for dinner to having lean proteins and vegetables for each meal, drop 20 lbs and then say Look! Giving up that evil stuff wheat made you lose weight… I reserve the right to point at you and snicker.
Maybe your wheat-free diet just solved your processed food diet? Maybe?
Most commonly, people who benefit from excluding wheat from their diets replace it with lower calorie or higher nutrient foods. I think that’s great, whether you blame the wheat or not. If you trade a plate of pasta for a plate of vegetables instead, of course you’ll lose weight if all else stays the same. Someone who “feels better” without wheat may be choosing more whole foods with fiber (vegetables, beans, whole oats or other grains) instead of low fiber, low nutrient crackers and packaged white flour foods. I think pasta is pretty detrimental to most people’s diets, and that could be because it’s made from wheat, or it could be also because it’s high in calories and carbohydrates, raises blood sugar steeply, often eaten in mega-portions and coupled with a glass or two of wine. Just about any food you had instead would provide more satiety and nutrients for the calories. If you go from refined wheat foods to other refined grain foods (like rice or rice pasta), you may not see much benefit.
In summary: I’ve known a lot of people who feel better when they’re avoiding wheat. Some lose weight too. Whether it’s from choosing whole foods because crackers and cookies aren’t on the menu, taking in less calories, or because their bodies are happier and less inflamed without gluten….doesn’t really matter. If it works for you, it works.
For post-workout carbohydrates, you can choose oatmeal, sweet potatoes, quinoa or other grains. I made flour-free oat bran scones this week which I’m loving. I also like butternut and acorn squash or beans for carbs, but for larger or more active people, these might not be dense enough carb sources to get enough grams in, especially for people who want to gain muscle mass. You certainly don’t need wheat. It doesn’t provide a lot of nutrients to most people’s diets, so I’m all for doing an experiment if my clients want to try a wheat-free experiment.
My suggestion to everyone: testing for yourself and observing the outcome is far more helpful than reading emotionally-laden opinion pieces on the nutritional pariah of the moment. Because next week “they’ll” have you avoiding some other “evil” food. Eat what makes you feel and look your best.
jeri July 21, 2012 at 8:08 am
Thank you for an intelligent discussion about wheat. While there are medical conditions that make wheat a food to avoid, it really only affects a small percentage of people. But to go into any trendy store or restaurant these days, you would think it was a deadly substance. I don’t understand the need for people to imagine health problems just to be hip or cool. It’s not only silly, it’s an injustice to those with legitimate allergies and intolerance problems. I have a good friend with a for-real gluten intolerance and it’s a challenge for her to shop for groceies, go to a restaurant or even buy a beverage. She would gladly trade places with any of these pretend sufferers just to enjoy the slice of pizza they “can’t” eat.
Michelle July 23, 2012 at 3:23 am
Where’s the oat bran scone recipe??
I gave up wheat two summers ago, but still eat plenty of other carbs, so haven’t seen a change in my scale (which is okay, I’m training for a marathon, I like my carbs). But I love scones & would love a wheat-free recipe!
Levi July 29, 2012 at 10:24 am
I ignored most of the anti-wheat hype for a while, but then I realized the reason I felt sluggish and didn’t perform well on certain days could be traced back to a wheat-filled breakfast. Then I began to link certain health issues to wheat intake. So now I have hard time not hyping up a wheat-free diet!
Like you, I encourage wheat-free experiments. Skipping wheat for a few days doesn’t hurt, so why not try?
admin July 30, 2012 at 10:00 am
Thanks for sharing that Levi! Did you start to see improvements once you adjusted?
debby August 14, 2012 at 7:04 am
As always, Georgie, you can be counted on for a fair -minded, well thought out approach to a controversial topic.
And yes! Where is the scone recipe?!
Kgrafix December 10, 2012 at 9:29 pm
I have found most of the information about wheat very informative. Funny how wheat is becoming a food that is having an effect on quite a few people all of a sudden. I truly believe that wheat has been genetically manipulated and hybridized, and the ill effects are starting to show on the guinea pigs! And I do believe that it is the cause of much of our obesity and diabetes today. I had developed over the past 4 years an intolerance to wheat. I have not been tested, but I gave up wheat 5 months ago, just to see what would happen. I was not an overweight person, but the pain was terrible. In a week, I had no more pain, I lost 10lbs so far, I have no more “Wheat belly”, I have no more menopausal symptoms, and I recover unusually quick from illness (colds, flu, etc.). There is something to be said about my metamorphosis!
Kristy January 12, 2013 at 5:44 am
I gave up wheat about 5 years ago. I was having serious pain, bloating, cramping, skin rashes, sluggishness, etc, and didn’t have insurance at the time so I decided to do 2 week elimination diets until I found the culprit. I tried giving up lactose (less stuffy nose but no big improvement), soy (no change), meat (more tired) and then tried wheat. Within a few days of being off wheat the pain and bloating started to disappear. While I was extremely disappointed, I realized I had to stay off wheat and decided to eliminate all gluten. It wasn’t a miracle weight loss cure but it sure helped with my digestive issues and skin rashes.
I would say that elimination trials are a good way to go if a food allergy or intolerance is suspected and professional testing isn’t a possibility. Try for 2 full weeks and only change one thing at a time. Keep a journal that tracks your results; how you were feeling after each meal. At the end of the two weeks, if you feel that having that food off your plate makes you feel healthier and happier, then ditch it!