The Truth About Gluten

Gluten is a hot topic these days, and rightfully so. Research has shown that the large majority of our health is determined by our environment, meaning that the things we do every day has the biggest impact on our health. Our environment includes things such as our sleep schedule, stress levels, exercise, and diet. The importance of these cannot be overstated, in fact- our food choices may have the biggest impact of all of these on our health.

Food is not just calories to fuel the body; food is information for our genes. Good quality food choices can turn on protective genes and poor food choices can turn on harmful genes. Quite simply, the food we eat either builds us up or breaks us down. One food, in particular, has quite the history of causing damage in the human body. I’m of course talking about gluten. From his famous book, Grain Brain, Dr. David Perlmutter states that,

“Gluten sensitivity represents one of the greatest and most under-recognized health threats to humanity.” 

Have your attention yet?

What is Gluten?

Gluten is a protein found mainly in barley, oats, rye, spelt, and wheat. It is a sticky substance that holds food products together. When you think of a fluffy pastry- gluten is the glue that holds it together so it can be light and fluffy. While in most processed foods such as cookies, cakes, crackers, bread, pasta, and pizza, gluten can also be hidden in foods such as soy sauce, soups, and certain processed meats. Gluten can also be hidden in personal care products like shampoo, body wash, and lipstick. Replacing these things with gluten free foods, and gluten free products can make a vast difference in your health.

Source: http://www.singaporecoeliacs.com/gluten-and-your-health/

Why is Gluten a Problem?

Many say, “We’ve been eating gluten for thousands of years, why is it a problem now?” Well, our food supply has changed more in the last 50 years than it has in the previous 10,000 years. 

1.With the advent of hybridization, genetic modification, and widespread use of herbicides and insecticides, the food we eat today has little resemblance to the food of centuries ago, particularly in the United States. 

2.Grains are Inflammatory due to the fact that they are inherently stubborn when breaking down in the gut. In fact, certain grains contain anti-nutrients, causing the body to use up more energy to break down and digest the food than the body receives from the food. According to Dr. William Davis, who authored the book Wheat Belly, 

“Two slices of bread made with whole-wheat flour raise blood sugar higher than six teaspoons of table sugar and higher than many candy bars.”

3.The content of gluten in foods today is much higher than in years past. Estimates vary, but fall somewhere between an increase in 50%, up to a ten-fold increase in the gluten content today compared to 50 years ago! We are ingesting substantially larger amounts of this protein, leading to overexposure. So all these “recent” gluten allergies are not really that shocking when you think about it.

Digestion

We are not what we eat; rather, we are what we eat, digest, absorb , and assimilate. This is a long process that takes quite a bit of energy and hard work by our digestive system. A breakdown at any step can lead to loss of nutrients, inflammation, immune system activation, gas and bloating, constipation, diarrhea, brain fog, or fatigue. Our food must be fully broken down in order to be utilized by our cells for energy. This poses a problem for foods like gluten, and is why at Core Health we recommend a gluten free diet. 

Gluten’s protein structure is large and difficult to break down. Dr. Tom Osborn describes gluten like a brick wall: the bricks must be taken off and shuttled into the bloodstream 1 by 1. You take off the mortar, pull off the brick, and away you go. Because gluten is so hard to break down, one may only break off a chunk of 10 or 20 bricks at a time, not a single one. When a large protein structure enters the bloodstream where it should not be, the immune system sends an alarm all over the body, putting everyone on high alert that the body is under attack. This can be seen as inflammation. 

Research by world-renowned Dr. Fassano and his team, discovered that gluten, even in those without celiac disease, can trigger the release of zonulin; a sort of gate-controller of the cells in our intestine. Once triggered, zonulin opens the spaces of the gut, exposing the immune system. This increased intestinal permeability, or leaky gut, can lead to serious conditions such as autoimmune diseases and many more.

http://natural-alternative-adhd-treatment.com/leaky-gut/