Yes, that is the takeway for me after listening to a 8-day eSummit called The Gluten Summit put together by Dr Tom O’Bryan and his team. He gathered 29 different speakers, each a leader in his/her own field of specialty (including cardiologists, neurologists, nutritionists) to educate the general public and healthcare practitioners not just about celiac disease (which is increasing) but about the less known but more commonly occurring non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
Having come from the GAPS and now the Paleo diet mindset, I am not surprised to hear in substantiated studies and research figures the potential harm gluten and even grains can afflict on our bodies. And this assault on our bodies does not exhibit itself as a gut or gastrointestinal issue unless one is a celiac.
Why? In a very simplified summary – the gluten (and sometimes grain) that cannot be digested causes inflammation in the gut. That inflammation then travels all over the body. Where it decides to settle is where the manifestation occurs. For example if the inflammation settles in the joint tissues, you get joint pain. If it settles in the head, you get migraines. And so on. A few cardiovascular doctors came onboard to share that non-celiac gluten sensitivity can even lead to cardiovascular issues! Wow! Just eye opening!
Now, of course not everything is due to gluten or grain sensitivity but it is really worth eliminating that as a possible cause of your health issue if you have a whole host of health issues that puzzle you and your doctors. And especially if you examine your daily diet and see gluten in every meal!
So start with removing gluten from your diet and dairy. Dairy, because of its cross reactivity with gluten for at least 6 to 8 weeks. Yes! It takes that long for them to leave our bodies! And yes, that means no more processed foods at all. Because all processed foods contain wheat and/or dairy. And switching to a gluten free diet does not mean eating a lot of non-gluten junk food either!
The only thing that bugged me was that many (all?) of the speakers talk of evolution as though it were a fact! As I listened to the enlightening talks (each lasting about 1 hour each), I can’t help but squirm every time the speakers mention how humans have not evolved to eat grains, especially those containing gluten. My brain automatically does a shut down when I hear that 😉 Actually I do that whenever I read Paleo blogs and listen to their podcasts.
But I do agree with the author of Wheat Belly, Dr William Davis (a cardiologist) that the wheat of today (and even rice, come to think of it) isn’t the wheat of Bible times. The gluten element has been modified so as to suit the palates of people used to softer breads and cakes. But realistically, none of food commercially available today is similar to the foods eaten in Bible times 🙁
Meanwhile, I am going to get hold of a copy of Wheat Belly by Dr Davis and Grain Brain by Dr David Perlmutter (neurologist) and read it cover to cover!
3 Comments on Gluten (and grains) really isn’t that great for us
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Hi,
I have been following your post and it really encouraged me as a mother. I am into Gluten free diet for my children and especially my 2-yr old daughter as she has Autism and her gut is really not very good. I hope that you can share with me some of the gluten free food that u prepared & where to shop because most of the info I search are all US or other countries context.
Thks.
Amanda – thanks for stopping by. To make things simple for ME, I cook only meats, including seafood, veggies, limited amount of fruits and seeds & nuts.
There’s no way to get grass fed meats here that is affordable (QB Food does sell grass fed beef but I am not sure how long the cow was grass fed), so I make do with conventionally raised meats and fish. I don’t do organic vegetables either.
If you are looking for baked goods, I use almond and coconut flours. I order my coconut flour from iHerb (use LIM018 if you have never ordered from them before and receive US$10 off your first purchase!)
With almond flour, I buy raw almonds from my wet market, blanch them, dry/roast them in the oven and then grind it in my food processor.
HTH!
I once read a book called “The Maker’s Diet” that was quite enlightening on the use of kefir and soaking of grains.