Wheat Belly Diet - Condensed Version

The following is a short version of the Wheat Belly Diet by Dr. William Davis, M.D.

The diet starts with the biggest step: elimination of wheat. 

But a healthy diet cannot end there. The next step is to limit carbohydrates.

Eliminate: All wheat-based products (all breads, all breakfast cereals, noodles, pasta, bagels, muffins, pancakes, waffles, donuts, pretzels, crackers), oat products (oatmeal, oat bran), cornstarch-based products (sauces or gravies thickened with cornstarch, prepared or processed foods containing cornstarch, cornmeal products like chips, tacos, tortillas), sugary soft drinks, candies

Enjoy Unlimited: Vegetables - except potatoes; fresh or frozen, never canned

Raw Nuts and Seeds - raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, cashews; dry-roasted peanuts (not roasted in oil); pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Healthy Oils (unheated) - olive, flaxseed, coconut, avocado, walnut

Meats - red meats, pork, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs. (Consider free-range, grass-fed and/or organic sources.)

Non-Wheat Grains - ground flaxseed, chia seeds Teas, coffee, water, unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk or coconut water

Cheeses - real cultured cheeses only (not Velveeta or single-slice processed cheese)

Avocado or guacamole; hummus; unsweetened condiments, e.g., mayonnaise, mustard, oil-based salad dressings; ketchup without high-fructose corn syrup; pesto, tapenades; olives

Limited: Fruit: No more than two servings a day (one serving is a level handful), preferably in this order (best first): berries of all varieties, citrus, apples, nectarines, peaches, melons.

Minimize bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and grapes

Fruit Juices - only real juices and in minimal quantities (no more than 2-4 oz)

Dairy Products - No more than one serving per day of milk, cottage cheese or yogurt, unsweetened (Fat content does not matter.)

Legumes/beans; peas; sweet potatoes and yams; rice (white and brown);

Dark Chocolates - 70 to 85 percent cocoa or greater; no more than 40 grams (approximately 2 inches square) per day

Sugar-Free Foods - preferably stevia-containing, rather than aspartame

Never: Fried foods, fast foods, hydrogenated "trans" fats

Cured meats - hot dogs, sausages, bacon, bologna, pepperoni

High-Fructose Corn Syrup Containing Foods; honey; agave syrup; sucrose

Processed rice, rice flour or potato products - rice crackers, rice cereals, pretzels, white breads, breakfast cereals, potato chips

Fat-Free or low-fat salad dressings

"Gluten-free" foods

Quick Tips: For healthy breakfast choices, consider ground flaxseed as a hot cereal (e.g., with unsweetened almond milk; blueberries, strawberries, etc.). 

Also consider eggs; raw nuts; cheese; consider having "dinner for breakfast," meaning transferring salads, cheese, chicken, and other "dinner" foods to breakfast. Add one tsp or more of taste-compatible healthy oil to every meal. 

For example, mix in one tbsp flaxseed oil to ground flaxseed hot cereal. Or add two tbsp olive oil to eggs after scrambling. 

Adding oils will blunt appetite. If you suspect you have a wheat "addiction," use the first week to add healthy oils to every meal and reduce the amount of wheat by half. 

In the second week, aim for elimination of wheat while maintaining the oils. Reach for raw nuts first as a convenient snack.