Could you be suffering from gluten intolerance? Over 55 diseases have been linked to gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, and in lower levels in spelt, kamut and oats), and around 99% of individuals suffering from gluten intolerances or celiac disease are never diagnosed. These individuals, unfortunately, fail to ascribe their ill health or symptoms to gluten sensitivity and instead try treating symptoms (with medicines) that otherwise never go away.
Gluten is a staple of everybody’s diet. It is in pizza, pasta, bread, wraps, rolls, and pretty much all processed foods. It also causes serious health complications, with up to a 72% increased risk of death in those with gut inflammation related to gluten.
In fact, one study compared the blood of 10,000 people from 50 years ago to 10,000 people today and found that celiac disease rose by up to 400% during that time period.
The New England Journal of Medicine listed 55 “diseases” that can be caused by eating gluten. These include osteoporosis, irritable bowel disease, inflammatory bowel disease, anemia, cancer, fatigue, canker sores, and rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and almost all other autoimmune diseases. Gluten is also linked to psychiatric and neurological diseases, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, dementia, migraines, epilepsy, and neuropathy (nerve damage), as well as autism.
If you have any of the above diseases, or any of the symptoms listed below, you may have gluten intolerance:
Digestive Issues: gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation
Nutritional Deficiencies: due to mal-absorption (e.g., suffering from anemia (iron mal-absorption) or “chicken skin” on back of arms (result of fatty acid deficiency and vitamin A deficiency secondary to fat-mal-absorption caused by gluten damaging the gut)
Weight loss or weight gain: gluten protein disrupts metabolism functioning
Fat in stools: gluten prevents fat absorption
Aching joints: gluten triggers inflammation in the body, causing swelling and pain in your joints
Depression: intestinal damage caused by wheat leads to mal-absorption, and prevents our guts from absorbing zinc and B vitamins which are crucial for regulating our moods
Eczema: related to the inflammation that gluten triggers in the body
Headaches: inflammation from gluten puts a lot of pressure on our blood vessels, which can cause pounding headaches
Exhaustion: gluten is incredibly hard to process by the body, and slows our digestion, thus making us tired
Irritability & Behavioral changes: same as depression, our bodies cannot absorb minerals and vitamins when our gut is destroyed by the gluten we eat. These vitamins and minerals help regulate our mood
Irregular menstruation, infertility, miscarriages: gluten intolerance creates imbalances to our hormones and can lead to a myriad of female fertility and menstruation issues
Cramps, tingling, & numbness: triggered by inflammatory response the body has to gluten protein
Slow infant and child growth: due to nutrient mal absorption
Decline in dental health: gluten sticks to our teeth and this causes bacteria to thrive
Test yourself for gluten intolerance:
Eliminating gluten from your diet for a few weeks to a month is a great way to tell if your body has an issue with gluten. Gluten is a very large protein, so it is important to recognize that is may take months or years to clear from your system, so extending this gluten-free fast longer than a couple months before introducing it (if you so choose) is best.
If you feel much better off gluten than you do on gluten, then gluten is likely a problem for you. Eating a whole foods diet, high in raw fruit and vegetables will ensure the levels of gluten in your diet are significantly cut back.
By Carly Fraser - Live Love Fruit (livelovefruit.com)
"Live Love Fruit was founded by Carly Fraser as a way to help spread the word about the benefits of fruit and vegetables and to promote a high raw, plant-based lifestyle. Using accumulated knowledge over her 10 year journey, and own personal experience, Carly has inspired and motivated thousands of individuals to critically think about what they put in their bodies and to move towards a mind-set that helps them increase their consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables." More info
Obligatory Disclaimer:
The content of Live Love Fruit (LLF) either through this website (www.livelovefruit.com) or any other materials distributed by LLF is intended to provide helpful and informative material. Always consult your physician or qualified health-care professional before making any significant changes to your diet and before adopting any suggestions from LLF or drawing inferences from it.
Pictures: Filmagen / Flickr - Rafel Miro
More Happy & Healthy / Do you wish to write for Colors?
