Originally posted by Dr. Davis on 2015-02-17
on the Wheat Belly Blog,
sourced from and currently found at: Infinite Health Blog.
PCM forum Index
of WB Blog articles.
Why do people
look YOUNGER on the Wheat Belly lifestyle?

We see this over and over again in the photos
people provide on the Wheat Belly Facebook page:
people look younger. It’s not uncommon for
people to look like they’ve shed 10 or 20 years, such as the
beautiful couple, Debi and Wayne, seen in the photos above.
But why does this happen?
As with many aspects of youth preservation
or anti-aging, we suffer from lack of hard science. Given what we
know about the health consequences of wheat and grains, however,
along with the phenomena that recede with their removal, I can
speculate on why people seem to look so much younger with this
lifestyle. Among the likely factors are:
- Loss of facial edema–Yes, people are thinner, but you will also
note that many people lose the swollen, bloated fluid retention when
they say goodbye to wheat and grains, an effect that develops within
the first few days.
- Loss of facial redness–Red cheeks and facial seborrhea also recede
rapidly, generally during the first week. Obviously, “selfies”
suffer from imperfect lighting, but I believe that you can make out this
effect in Debi’s face. (Wayne’s glasses and facial hair make
it tough to make out on his face.)
- Loss of puffy eyes–The aging effect of puffy, swollen eyelids are
commonly lost rapidly, also.
- Sharper facial contours–Consequent to both loss of facial edema and
weight lost, the cheeks and jawline appear sharper.
- Thicker hair–Though not seen in this couple and not the most
consistent effect, some people grow thicker hair or have empty spots
fill in, particularly if they have alopecia areata, an autoimmune
form of hair loss.
People also report feeling 10 or
20 years younger, or even the best they’ve felt in their
adult lives, so it is not just a matter of external appearance.
Internal physiological health improves substantially, restoring vigor
and energy of younger years. People feel less stiff, have less painful
joints and muscle, less gastrointestinal distress, and gain flexibility.
I have also frequently witnessed better maintenance of muscle mass,
even with weight loss. Typically, about ⅓ of weight lost is
in the form of muscle. This equation seems to be different when
weight is lost with wheat- and grain-elimination with less marked
muscle loss. Having more muscle is a marker of youth. (I wonder if
this is another reason why facial appearance is changed without producing
the look of emaciation that, for example, low-fat dieting or
calorie counting can cause.)
You can also take the anti-aging, youth-preserving
benefits of this lifestyle even further with some additional strategies:
Vitamin D–Among the most
powerful strategies of all, even having been shown to slow the shortening
of telomeres (a chromosomal time-counting mechanism), presumably
slowing the aging process.
Limiting other carbohydrates and
sugars–Thereby reducing glycation, or blood
glucose-modification of proteins–an irreversible process.
This means that the proteins in the lenses of your eyes will not opacify
and cause cataracts as easily. It means that cartilage proteins will
not glycate as quickly that would have otherwise led to brittle
cartilage and arthritis. It means that proteins in the body’s
arteries won’t glycate, causing stiffness and hypertension.
Cultivate healthy bowel
flora–Though we start with a high-potency probiotic, we
cultivate and nourish healthy species with prebiotic fibers/resistant
starches, as discussed in this Wheat Belly Blog post
and in Wheat Belly Total Health. This reduces
body-wide inflammation, improves gastrointestinal health, adds to
correction of metabolic distortions such as reducing insulin,
triglycerides, and blood pressure, and deepens sleep–very
youth-preserving.
Perhaps there’s more that I have not
identified. But know that, regardless of why you undertook this
Wheat Belly wheat/grain-free lifestyle, one of the nice
side-benefits is looking and feeling younger than you are.
