Originally Posted by Stefan Blom

Select the text with the shading. Then click the arrow on the border button, which is the last button of the Paragraph group on the Home tab (the screentip depends on the most recent selection in the drop down), and choose Borders and Shading. In the Borders and Shading dialog box, click the Shading tab. For "Apply to," select "Text." Select the "No color" option (even if it already appears to be selected) and then click OK.