WASHINGTON – Responding to the increasing media coverage of “Wheat Belly,” a book advocating the elimination of wheat from the diet, the National Association of Wheat Growers has issued the following statement:

“Humans have been growing and eating wheat for thousands of years and the assertion that wheat’s nutritional value has been changed is patently untrue. Eliminating wheat foods means eliminating an important source of healthful nutrients that are vital to our bodies functioning properly like fiber, iron, B vitamins, antioxidants, and folic acid, which is especially important to women of childbearing age.”


The statement was issued specifically in response to a request from the ABC television show The View, which has aired a segment discussing “hot” food topics including whether eating wheat is healthy. The View segment featured an appearance by Jeffrey Morrison, who is a certified nutritional expert, who advocated the position of Dr. Davis. The show follows an appearance by Dr. Davis on CBS This Morning on Sept. 3. Additionally, the “Wheat Belly” diet was advocated July 24 on the O’Reilly Factor.

“Wheat Belly” remains atop the New York Times bestseller list. It has been on the list for 21 weeks.
The Grain Foods Foundation has been promoting a recent paper by Glenn Gaesser, a member of the G.F.F. Scientific Advisory Committee, critical of gluten-free dieting.

The G.F.F. noted that the thrust of Dr. Gaesser’s work was picked up in a WebMD article by the site’s leading dietician, Janet Helm.

“Janet later posted a follow-up piece on her personal blog, which specifically mentions Dr. Gaesser’s literature review and points readers to a host of sources that refute Dr. Davis’ Wheat Belly claims,” said Jennifer Geiger, an account supervisor at Mullen.