Gluten: An American health epidemic?

Grains are seeds of grasses. All grains have protein in them. Not all the grains are made up of the same type of protein. Gluten is one form of the protein found in some of the grains. A subtype of protein in the wheat, barley and rye is called gliadin. Through extensive research it has been found that the gliadin form of gluten is very problematic for our immune system.

Whenever a substance is ingested into the human body and the immune system recognizes this substance as a foreign body, the immune system goes into defense mode. In the case of gluten, the immune system immediately starts producing antibodies in order to neutralize the gluten (which is viewed by the immune system as a foreign protein or antigen). The immune system produces antibodies called IgA. These antibodies congregate heavily in the small intestine. The small intestine is the largest section/organ of the digestive system and it is in the small intestine where a majority of the nutrient absorption takes place. It is during this battle that the small intestine becomes inflamed and even damaged.

The good news is that if a gluten sensitive person adopts the proper diet the inflammation and even damage can be reversed.

Every person is different; however, typically the more severe the inflammation or damage, the longer it takes to heal the small intestine. I have known people who have healed significantly in as little as three months and on the other hand more severe cases may take upwards of 18 months to properly heal.

No. Symptoms come in a wide variation. Not all gluten sensitive people display digestive symptoms. I know people who have muscle soreness, or headaches, or fatigue, or heartburn, or failure to thrive (grow), or indigestion when they ingest gluten and are gluten sensitive. This is why there are so many undiagnosed and untreated gluten sensitive people in America. There are many other symptoms that I have not listed. The symptoms do not always manifest in digestive ways.

I have found that serum testing for IgA is very inaccurate. A majority of conventional doctors will test a person for serum IgA levels. The problem is that there are a lot of false negatives with this testing. The reason being is that the immunologic reaction takes place in the small intestine and not necessarily in the blood.

Recent data indicates that well over one third of the American population is gluten sensitive. If a person is symptomatic that number rises to nearly 100 percent.

I collaborate with a lab in another state that has the cutting edge technology in food sensitivities. I have researched many labs and I believe this lab’s technology is the gold standard for properly detecting food sensitivities. The Director of the lab is a nationally known and respected gastroenterologist with many years of research and clinical experience.

I have first hand knowledge of the devastating effects of untreated gluten sensitivity. My own kids had a significant failure to thrive/grow. Until they were properly diagnosed the subject of a correlation with gluten sensitivity never surfaced. Once they were diagnosed and changed their diet, they blossomed almost immediately. They are now very healthy and thriving young adults.
There is research that strongly shows a correlation with untreated gluten sensitivity triggering over 190 different adverse health conditions. Many of these conditions are very serious. Examples are as follows:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Hashimoto’s Disease
• Autoimmune liver disease
• Crohn’s disease
• Asthma
• Autism/ADD/ADHD
• Osteoporosis
• Some cancers to include lymphomas
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Irion deficiency
• Malabsorption of nutrients
• Ulcerative colitis
• Sjogren’s syndrome
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Microscopic colitis
• Fibromyalgia syndrome

No. In today’s society we are finding that if a person is gluten sensitive they may also be sensitive to any of the following: casein, eggs, soy and others. People may be sensitive to just one food or may have multiple sensitivities.