"I am the Allower of my own Wellbeing"

A monthly newsletter written by Sherry Dell, PhD, CN

Volume 1, Issue 7
January, 2008

Did you know that conditions such as heartburn, autoimmune disease, neurological problems, weight gain/loss, osteoporosis, colitis/irritable bowel syndrome/crohn's disease/gastrointestinal bleeding, reflux disease, gallbladder problems, bloating, gas, diarrhea/constipation, headaches, skin rashes, and even fatigue can be traced back to a food sensitivity to wheat?

And not just wheat.  In addition to wheat, grains such as barley, rye, oats, spelt and kamut all contain gluten.  Gluten is made up of the proteins gliadin and glutenin which have been linked in research to all of the health problems mentioned here (1).  

You may have heard of celiac disease, which is a more extreme form of gluten sensitivity that results in damage to the intestinal tract.  Medical opinion has held that other than those few individuals with the inherited predisposition for celiac disease, wheat and its companion grains were safe for the wider population.  Recent research suggests otherwise.  In their 2007 article, "Is gliadin really safe for non-celiac individuals?...", Spanish researchers Bernardo et al (2) found that there is an abnormal immune response to gluten in people with and without celiac disease which results in injury to the intestinal tract.  This injury is called Leaky Gut Syndrome.

If you imagine the intestinal tract injured in such a way that it can "leak," you can also begin to see how such a diverse set of health conditions can all be linked to gluten sensitivity.

While there are various routes to testing for gluten sensitivity, if you suspect you may be sensitive to gluten, I recommend you begin by keeping your own food and symptom journal  (which you can download here at my website).  In my opinion, this data will be by far the most valuable tool in helping you and your health practitioner determine the best health program for you.  Click here to get a more comprehensive list of which grains contain gluten and which are gluten free.

The good news:  Think about the amount of time, money, and effort you would be willing to expend to be free of some of the health conditions mentioned at the beginning of this article.  Maybe you already have tried all manner of treatments.  Though wheat and other glutinous grains are predominant in the American diet, as broad-sweeping, "miracle" cures go, the elimination or even just the reduction of gluten in your diet is about as low cost, non-invasive, and miraculous as it gets.  Try not to rule it out.

And check out Dr. Scot Lewy's website at www.thefooddoc.com and Dr. Rodney Ford's website at www.thefooddoctor.org  for much more information on gluten sensitivity.

(1) For example: 

Autoantibody targeting of brain and intestinal transglutaminase in gluten ataxia. Hadjivassiliou M. et. al. Neurology 2006; 66:373-377.

Endomysial antibody-negative coeliac disease: clinical characteristics and intestinal autoantibody deposits. Gut 2006; 55:1746-1753.

Sydora BC et. al. “Bacterial antigens alone can influence intestinal barrier integrity, but live bacteria are required for initiation of intestinal inflammation and injury. Inflammatory Bowel Disease. 2006;12(6):429-436.

Kirsch R et al. “Activated mucosal mast cells differentiate eosinophilic (allergic) esophagitis from gastroesophageal reflux disease” Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 2007; 44:20-26.

(2) Bernardo, D, Garrote JA, Fernandez-Salazar L, Riestra S, Arranz E. "Is gliadin really safe for non-coeliac individuals? Production of interleukin 15 in biopsy culture from non-coeliac individuals challenged with gliadin peptides. Gut. Jun;56(6): 889-90.