Wheat Belly. William MD Davis

high as wheat products are dried, pulverised starches such as cornflour, rice starch, potato starch and tapioca starch. (It is worth noting that these are the very same carbohydrates often used to make ‘gluten-free’ food. More on this later.)

      Because wheat carbohydrate, the uniquely digestible amylopectin A, causes a greater spike in blood sugar than virtually any other food – more than a chocolate bar, table sugar or ice cream – it also triggers greater insulin release. More amylopectin A means higher blood sugar, higher insulin, more visceral fat deposition . . . bigger wheat belly.

      Throw in the inevitable drop in blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) that is the natural aftermath of high insulin levels and you see why irresistible hunger so often results, as the body tries to protect you from the dangers of low blood sugar. You scramble for something to eat to increase blood sugar, and the cycle is set in motion again, repeating every two hours.

      Now factor in your brain’s response to the euphoric exorphin effects induced by wheat (and the attendant potential for withdrawal if your next ‘fix’ is missed), and it’s no wonder the wheat belly encircling your waist continues to grow and grow.

      MEN’S LINGERIE IS ON THE SECOND FLOOR

      Wheat belly is not just a cosmetic issue, but a phenomenon with real health consequences. In addition to producing inflammatory hormones such as leptin, visceral fat is also a factory for oestrogen production in both sexes, the very same oestrogen that confers female characteristics on girls beginning at puberty, such as widening of the hips and growth of the breasts.

      Until the menopause, adult females have high levels of oestrogen. Surplus oestrogen, however, produced by visceral fat adds considerably to breast cancer risk, since oestrogen at high levels stimulates breast tissue.¹¹ Thus, increased visceral fat on a female has been associated with an increased risk for breast cancer as high as fourfold. Breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women with the visceral fat of a wheat belly is double that of slender, non-wheat-belly-bearing postmenopausal females.¹²