William Davis (cardiologist)

William R. Davis
Residence United States
Fields Medicine, Cardiology
Alma mater Saint Louis University

William R. Davis is a Milwaukee-based American cardiologist and author of health books known for his stance against "modern wheat", which he labels a "perfect, chronic poison."[1][2]

Wheat Belly

Wheat Belly became a New York Times bestseller within a month of publication in 2011.[3] Davis says that all modern wheat, which he refers to as "Frankenwheat", is as toxic and as addictive as many drugs and makes people want to eat more food, especially junk foods. In an appearance on the The Dr. Oz Show he said, "The wheat of today is nothing like the wheat of 1960, 1950—that is, the wheat that our moms or grandmothers had—so it has been changed. This new crop has implications for human health that have never been anticipated. So this is appropriate for nobody, no human, nobody in this audience, should be eating this modern creation of genetics research." [4]

The book inspired analyses which compare Davis' conclusions with the current evidence-base published in the established scientific literature. One analysis found that Davis used some data that was associated, but did not prove causality (false analogy), compared food data that is not naturally comparable (that is, incommensurable), made false assertions, ignored studies that disproved some of his claims, made assertions that were not backed up by any case studies, made self-contradictory statements and, while he made some statements that were true, they were not catastrophic as he claimed. Most of the true claims he makes do not smear wheat at all, such as increasing one's intake of fruits and vegetables and avoiding deep fried foods. One reviewer cited a recent review of studies on refined grains, which concluded: "The great majority [of studies] found no associations between the intake of refined-grain foods and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight gain, or overall mortality."[5][6]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. CBS News. "CBS This Morning: Against the Grain - Doctor on how to fight "Wheat Belly"". Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  2. The Dr. Oz Show. "Are You Addicted to Wheat?". Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  3. David Quick (September 11, 2012). "'Wheat Belly' continues its run on NYT Best Seller list, but is demonizing wheat and gluten justified?". The Post and Courier. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  4. Doctor Oz Episode May 24, 2013
  5. Julie Jones (July–August 2012). "Wheat Belly—An analysis of selected statements and basic theses from the book". Cereal Foods World 57 (4): 177–189. doi:10.1094/CFW-57-4-0177.
  6. Fred JPH Brouns, Vincent J van Buul, Peter R Shewry (September 2013). "Does wheat make us fat and sick?". Journal of Cereal Science 58 (2): 209–215. doi:10.1016/j.jcs.2013.06.002.