Gluten Intolerance is the body’s ‘allergic’ response to gluten. Gluten is the sticky substance that makes flour bind. Gluten is in everything that contains wheat, rye, oats and barley….which is just about what every American downs on a daily basis.
GI is different than Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is a chronic digestive disorder found in individuals who experience a detrimental immune response when they ingest gluten. The difference is that not everyone who is a Celiac is also Gluten Intolerant, because GI covers a broader range of food. Sometimes foods are ‘wheat free’ but not necessarily ‘gluten-free.’ Celiac is a lifelong condition and GI is something that is believed to be able to reverse itself.
The truth is that almost all Americans from Anglo-Saxon decent have some kind of sensitivity to gluten, mainly because of a genetic weakness passed on through generations. A European food staple is bread or ‘wheat’, unlike (for example) the Chinese and their rice. Eventually it will affect all races in certain geographical areas where eating wheat is a main staple.
Usually symptoms don’t occur until someone is in their 20’s, getting progressively worse with age unless diagnosed. The cure is to stop eating wheat and all products containing gluten. This is a hard one, but once diagnosed or once someone decides to get off gluten (and really everyone of Anglo-Saxon descent should probably do this) it is easy to steer clear of hurtful foods.
Many people these days are limiting their intake of gluten even if they aren’t sensitive to it because it is a much healthier diet for the body. Your body will thank you. Depending on how much flour-containing products you do eat, you will lose anywhere from a little weight to a lot of weight! Not because you are doing ‘low carb’ but because flour products usually contain empty carbs and they just add weight to any normal person.
To substitute, gluten-free people eat potatoes, rice, rice crackers, rice-corn-quiona-pastas, more vegetable and fruits. Overall it is a much better diet for any body for it provides good energy throughout the day.
The first symptoms of GI or Celiac Disease is usually being sick a lot. Maybe you were healthy as a child, but find yourself getting tired easily and sick as you get older. GI causes the body to become vitamin and mineral deficient because the gluten wipes out good bacteria that help absorb nutrients…basically you become malnourished. I was sick for years, going to many doctors, trying to find out why I was so sick all the time. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue…a generic diagnosis for people who are chronically sick. It was like having the flu everyday, but it only progressed to this stage after it had been years since the actual genetic predisposition to gluten kicked in. It is believed that major stress usually triggers the gene to become active. I was in a car accident and became very sick for years afterwards.
Someone who is 30 something or 40 something, who never had symptoms of GI, may all of a sudden start getting sick often. Maybe you might be getting sluggish after breakfast or lunch and that is a real tell-tell sign because at these meals it is common for people to eat sandwiches or flour-type products.
The only real way of knowing you are GI is by getting part of your intestine removed and tested by a gastrointerologist. Nobody wants to have this done, so I suggest everyone do a two week test. Stop eating gluten totally for two weeks and see what happens. Sometimes if you are very sensitive to gluten, you will notice an immediate difference! Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks to get some of that gluten out of the intestines to let the body heal..then you will notice a difference. If you want to know for sure. Another great way to tell if you have GI is to go to a kinesiologist and find out what your body is actually sensitive or allergic to. I opted for this because one of the first doctors I went to when I was sick WAS a gastrointerologist and he had no answers for me and he completely ‘missed the boat.’
Kinesiology is the study of how the body reacts to different chemicals and stresses. You can find out a lot about your body and what it is missing or what it can’t handle by seeing one. This literally can save your life by treating your problems on the spot and providing you with knowledge about yourself that will prevent future illness and disease. After all, almost every disease is caused by some kind of deficiency in the human body.
Kinesiologists are like doctors…..some are truly gifted and some aren’t as bright as others . So, if you want to do this, make sure you see a very well respected one. These guys are few and far between and once you see one, you will realize why this is so. Most people could never do what these guys do. It takes patience and brains.
If you are Gluten Intolerant or Gluten Sensitive or just want to be healthier, these are Gluten-Free must haves:
o GF Pancake Mix or Muffin Mix (easy and quick)
o GF Pasta
o Rice (tons of different types…get creative)
o Corn Chips (so if someone makes some Tuna Fish, you have something to eat it with)
o GF Soy Sauce
o Nuts and Seeds (curbs hunger and remember, healthy fat helps everyone LOSE fat)
o Rice Cakes
o GF Cookies
For more info on gluten-free diets:
Remember to read labels! Always! And if you want to know what you have to avoid in detail, search gluten-free on Google and find out what lists are out there to help you avoid the gluten.
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