Spit That Out!

Was it the holidays? The timing sure seems coincidental. Then again, I don’t believe in coincidences or accidents, but that’s another blog post.

A number of you, dear readers, have shared that you are experiencing digestive upset in one of it’s many forms. While that certainly may be related to over-indulging on those holiday goodies (and, if that’s the case, lose the guilt and you may begin to feel a bit better) there could be more to it than that.

There has been much talk about the challenges associated with gluten intolerance and, as my understanding continues to grow about how this substance impacts the body, I am feeling called to share some of that with you.

You may be thinking “Duh, I don’t have celiac disease, so why should this matter to me?” I used to think that too. And, even though I avoided gluten for the most part in recent years, some did creep back into my diet occasionally.  Not anymore though.

There are many technical explanations about the types of potentially harmful proteins found in gluten; I’ll leave that to the experts to explain. Quite simply though, when I distill the information down, everything I’ve heard and read points to the addictive qualities of gluten and the inflammation it causes in the body. And when you realize that the gut is often considered to be the “second brain,” it makes sense that it’s important to pay attention to what we’re putting into our bodies.

When my daughter was a child, I eventually recognized in her what I later determined to be gluten sensitivity. That was 25 years ago, when the topic wasn’t discussed or understood as it is today. Every time she ate a piece of bread, she would get stuffed up and unable to breathe well through her nose. And when I came near her with a tissue to help her to blow it she would run away. I had to get very clever about finding ways to clear out her sinuses, like luring her towards a sunny window, which always made her sneeze for some reason I never understood. Bam. Gotcha! Then I had to figure out what to feed her instead. So I did, which was no easy feat considering my Italian heritage and the fact that we lived in the New York area where they had the best tasting bagels on the planet. Just sayin’.

At a recent event, Dr. Daniel Amen, psychiatrist, popular author and Director of the Amen Clinics, shared a wide variety of instances where gluten sensitivity was problematic for his patients. In one example, a young man diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome was relieved of his social anxiety upon eliminating gluten from his diet. Another patient, a 70+ year old gentleman, no longer experienced migraine headaches when he stopped eating gluten. And children who were previously given drugs like Ritalin to control their unwanted behavior were better able to focus upon removing offending foods like gluten and dairy from their diets.

Dr. David Perlmutter, a Board Certified Neurologist, lecturer and author, makes a connection between high-carbohydrate diets (especially gluten) and inflammation, going so far as to state that inflammation is the cornerstone of coronary artery disease, Alzheimer’s and “any number of other problems.” Dr. Perlmutter also stated that “we find gluten sensitivity in a large number of our patients with headaches, ADHD, depression, dementia, certain movement disorders, and in 10% by the literature of individuals with schizophrenia.” (A Grain of Truth: The Gluten Summit, 2013).

Wow, if that’s not enough for you to consider eliminating this ingredient from your diet, then I don’t know what is. What have you got to lose, except maybe some unwanted symptoms (and pounds)?

While there are tests available to determine gluten sensitivity, they are often incorrect or inconclusive. That is, a positive response is considered problematic but a negative response may be inaccurate. I wonder how many people go through the testing process only to be misled by the results? Then there are those who haven’t made the connection at all and remain undiagnosed.

These ideas are meant to inspire you to do your own research and to open your mind to the possibility that eliminating gluten might be an important factor for your overall health and well-being.

In a future post, I will reveal some of the hidden sources of gluten and offer some suggestions about dietary alternatives.