Is A Gluten-Free Diet For You?

Many people are embracing the gluten-free diet that has become widely recognized in recent years.  An estimated .5% of Americans were on a gluten-free diet in 2009.  That percentage had more than tripled to 1.69% in 2014.  Those diagnosed with celiac disease remained fairly steady, declining only slightly from .7% to .58%.

The gluten-free diets are especially popular among Caucasian women and younger adults between the ages of 20 and 39.  Many who are on this diet does so simply because it makes them feel better.  Because a food might be gluten free, doesn’t make it a health food.  There are many so-called “fake” foods out there to proclaim being gluten-free.

Cutting down on your net carbs is the key to optimal health that most people are choosing.  Not consuming or limiting grains will help you to limit the spiking of your insulin levels and leptin resistance.  This helps your body burn fat rather than carbs as the primary fuel.  This will help optimize your mitochondrial function and boost your weight loss.

Gluten-free is dismissed by some doctors as being a mere pointless fad.  There are many books linking wheat and gluten to a wide range of health problems from gut dysfunction and allergies to neurological diseases and autoimmune problems.  “Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar; Your Brain’s Silent Killer” is The New York Times best seller, written by Dr. David Perimutter, who is a neurologist.  He reveals how processed grains contribute to dementia.  He believes that everyone would benefit from avoiding all grains and not just gluten to help you burn fat much better.

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder where people suffer severe gastrointestinal reactions and malabsorption of nutrients in response to gluten found in wheat and other grains.  Others have wheat allergies or some level of gluten intolerance and will fare better on a gluten-free diet, even though they do not have celiac disease.

Some people do suffer changes within their bodies when eating gluten and are distinct and separate from those having either celiac disease or wheat allergy.  In a study published in the journal Gut, it was found that people who react to gluten, despite not having celiac disease, were found to have leaky gut which is likely what caused the immune activation.

Gluten sensitivity may affect a majority of people.  The protein gluten is made up of glutenin and gliadin molecules, which in the presence of water will form an elastic bond.  Gluten is found in grains other than wheat, including rye, barley, oats and spelt.  You can also find gluten hidden in processed foods under a variety of names that also includes malts, starches, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, texturized vegetable protein and natural flavoring.  Gluten sensitivity may affect a majority of people.

These are ways that wheat affects your health.

  • Hybridization has increased the proportion of gluten in wheat.
  • Glyphosate contamination may play a distinct role in the development of celiac disease.
  • Wheat proteins can cause leaky gut and associated heath problems.

Gliadins are responsible for many adverse health effects.  Gliadin gives wheat bread its doughy texture and can increase the production of the intestinal protein zonulin that can, in turn, open up gaps in the normally tight junctures between intestinal cells.  The elevated gliadin antibody levels have been linked to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, and the presence in the blood indicates intestinal permeability.  It has also shown to up-regulate zonulin in the gut regardless of whether the person has celiac disease or not.

Lectins affect your health the following ways:

  • Pro-inflammatory
  • Neurotoxicity
  • Immunotoxicity
  • Excitotoxicity
  • Cytotoxicity
  • Cardiotoxicity
  • Endocrine disruption
  • Adversely affects gastrointestinal function

A gluten-free diet is a treatment for celiac disease, which means abstaining from any food that contains gluten.  For a food to bear the label of gluten-free it must be naturally gluten-free as grains that include rice, corn, quinoa, sorghum, flax and amaranth seed and must have been refined in such a way to remove the gluten.

Nearly everyone benefits from avoiding grains whether they have a gluten intolerance or not because grains have high net carbs and avoiding them will help improve your mitochondrial function that can exacerbate health problems related to insulin resistance such as overweight, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and more serious problems like heart disease and cancer.

– Dr Fredda Branyon