You've undoubtedly seen the increasing variety of gluten-free products lining the shelves of your local grocery store, and might even be overwhelmed by friends or colleagues jumping on the "gluten-free" bandwagon. What's this all about? And why are so many people moving towards a gluten-free diet?
First of all, gluten is the common name for proteins found in all wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, kamut, einkorn, and faro) and related grains rye, barley, and triticale. When persons with gluten sensitivity eat these proteins, many different reactions can occur...
1. In clinically diagnosed Celiac Disease (with a positive HLA-DQ 2 or 8 gene), the person suffers digestive complaints such as gas, bloating, pain, diarrhea, constipation, other symptoms of irritable bowels, and more, including fatigue, weakness, and skin disorders.
2. In persons without the Celiac genotype, similar symptoms can occur. This is considered "Non-Celiac Gluten Enteropathy".
3. In persons without intestinal complaints at all, research is finding that the proteins can still cause many unwanted effects upon other body systems. These include organ and tissue inflammation, neurochemical (brain) imbalance, and tissue autoimmunity. In other words, the proteins end up confusing your body, and your immune system starts attacking other healthy tissues, such as your thyroid, pancreas, brain and nerves.
Although Celiac Disease is perhaps the most extreme example of gluten-induced illness, there are countless other people who are suffering mild to severe digestive complaints, along with autoimmune conditions (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis), mood disorders, sleep disorders, neurologic disorders (dementia, Alzheimers, Parkinson's, MS, learning delays in children, etc) that may also have a gluten-related basis. Cellular inflammation is the common denominator in all of these seemingly unrelated illnesses; a hallmark of any allergic or autoimmune response by the body.
The July 2009 issue of Gastroenterology found that in the past 50 years, the incidence of Celiac Disease went from 1 in 700 to 1 in 100, and this was not simply due to increase detection. They also found a 4-fold increased risk of death with undiagnosed (or silent) Celiac Disease.
Why is this? What are the factors leading to increased prevalence of Gluten Sensitivity in all its forms? Isn't bread the "Staff of Life?" Don't all cultures eat bread and gluten? The answer lies in several probable causes:
1. Poor nutrition and processed foods. When we process foods, we remove critical aspects of their integrity and nutrition that are meant to supply us with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and more. Whole, natural, and organic foods are the foods we are designed to eat, from a genetic standpoint. They are required by our cells for normal, optimal function. Until the industrial revolution, organic food was the only food ever available on the planet. Processed, refined, adulterated foods may have some benefit in that they may keep us from starving, from the long-term effect upon our bodies is that of chronic malnourishment, depleted energy, and cellular dysfunction & early death. We must ask ourselves if a fast meal and an (artificially) cheaper grocery bill are worth chronic disease and illness later in life.
2. GMOs. Genetically-modified organisms may certainly have a role in the drastically increased incidence of not only gluten sensitivity, but increased food allergies across the board. GMOs have not had long-term health and safety studies performed in humans for any meaningful amount of time. We are all part of a vast experiment on the part of Agricultural and Biotechnology corporations, and have had our right to choose not to eat these "foods" taken away from us through aggressive marketing and lobbying efforts. Over time, the natural, heirloom varieties of wheat and grains our ancestors ate have become almost non-existent on our grocer's shelves. Anecdotal evidence shows that Americans with mild to moderate gluten sensitivity at home can eat breads, pastas, and gluten-containing products when traveling in other countries because they use more traditional species of grains that have not been genetically modified or hybridized to death to over the past decades.
3. Gluten storage in bins for long periods of time, leading to enterotoxin contamination.
4. Leaky Gut Syndrome. For those individuals with compromised intestines to begin with, any type of gluten sensitivity, allergy, or outright CD will be increased. And the incidence of leaky gut, or inflamed and dysfunctional bowels is increasing dramatically as well. (Stay tuned for an upcoming blog on the Gut-Brain-Immune Connection!)
5. Chronic Stress. We are living our lives at unprecedented levels of chronic stress; physical, chemical, and emotional/spiritual. Whereas our ancestors had very stressful events, such as surviving a clan attack or fighting a wild animal, we have traded stressful events for chronically elevated stressful lifestyle. This directly impacts our immune system and its tolerance to what we are consuming.
6. Enzyme insufficiency. This is a cause and a result of all of the above. Without enzymes to break down the proteins we are consuming, we are susceptible to not just gluten intolerance, but all of the common digestive complaints such as heartburn, indigestion, gas, bloating, etc.
What can be done and what should you do?
The simplest way to see if you are experiencing gluten sensitivity is to stop eating all gluten-containing products for at least 30 days. Then introduce them back into your diet and see if you notice a difference in your energy, your mental clarity, your digestion, etc. However, many foods that do not contain gluten can be contaminated with gluten during processing or in facilities that make multiple food products. It helps to have a professional guide you through the process.
If you have any of the above mentioned symptoms, you should also have an evaluation by a professional with experience in dealing with nutrition and gluten-free lifestyles. At Ananda Wellness, we test for not only the Celiac-specific genes that your medical doctor tests for, but up to a dozen other specific markers that might be positive... even if you test negative for Celiac Disease!
Here are some links to other websites that may be of use to you and your loved ones.
Happy reading, and my best to all of you as always!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jared C. Gruhl
And here's some of the research for this post...
A 2007 study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry found that of all psychiatric patients with neurological manifestations and gluten sensitivity, only 1/3 of those had gut and digestive complaints. JNNP, 2007:72:560-563.
Another article around the same time estimates that "The current ratio of clinically diagnosed to undetected cases [of Celiac Disease] is approximately 1 to 8." Gut, 2006; 55:1037-1046.
And a 2001 article in Gastroenterology stated that "for every symptomatic patient with CD there are 8 patients with CD any cheaper grocery bill each month.d no gastrointestinal [digestive] symptoms.
