Checked Your Gluten Lately?

Gluten Free

So most of us have heard the term “gluten free” or may know someone that is gluten free, has a gluten allergy or that may even be celiac.  It is becoming more and more commonly diagnosed as people have become more aware of what gluten really is.   I am personally completely gluten free.  I was diagnosed years ago as being on the cusp of celiac disease and was warned if I did not stop eating gluten, that I would soon be joining the club.  Clearly, my body despised gluten and I had all the signs; a distended “pooch” in my lower abdomen, I was sluggish all the time, often felt like my brain was “foggy” (yes, I am blond, no that had nothing to do with it), I was always sick with some illness and caught everything going around and I always had stomach issues and pain associated with them.  I do recall having eczema and rashes that would just appear also.  Gross, I know.  So, I was diagnosed and being really young at the time, I stuck with it for a bit, but then I rebelled against my diagnosis and went back to eating gluten.  It was a terrible choice on my behalf and when I realized I was spending more and more time at the doctor’s office somewhere along the way, it finally clicked.  I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.  I have been extremely active my whole life and the way I was feeling was from the things I wanted to do.  So, one day I just made a conscious decision that I was going to give up gluten completely and since that day, I have not looked back!

So I write this through the eyes of experience and over the past 17 years, I have read and learned as much as I possibly could about gluten and its effects on the body.  I am not (yet!) a registered dietician, but I can honestly tell you that I have taken nutrition courses, as well as fitness courses and my library is full of nutritional books that I have done my own research with.  I have always felt that knowledge is power and when I was diagnosed and decided to become completely gluten free for good, I wanted to know everything there was to know about my condition.  So I am going to share some of my knowledge with you and bear with me, as I will try to take it easy on your brain and not overwhelm you!  They say too much information and a confused mind makes people just say “no”…that is not what I want to achieve here.  I hope you can gain something from reading this excerpt on gluten and becoming gluten free.   Here we go!

What is gluten?  Gluten is a special type of protein that is commonly found in rye, wheat and barley. Therefore, it is found in most types of cereals and in many types of bread. Not all foods from the grain family, however, contain gluten. Examples of grains that do not have gluten include wild rice, corn, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, teff, quinoa, sunflower seeds and oats. Gluten enables bread to be able to rise before it is baked. In addition, gluten firms up when it is cooked and, with the help of starch, helps ensure the bread maintains its proper shape. Gluten also has an absorbent quality, which is why bread is capable of soaking up broth. On the downside, gluten is believed to be partly responsible for causing bread to become stale.

Incidence of gluten intolerance is widespread. 70% of Americans with a European descent have a gluten sensitivity or worse and many don’t even know it.   Upwards of 15 percent of the entire American population suffer from this condition, but only about five percent of these people have been diagnosed and treated.

These are symptoms for gluten intolerance and celiac disease.  The two conditions somewhat fall into the same category, however they are very different at the same time.

• Weight loss or weight gain
• Nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorbtion e.g. low iron levels
• Gastro-intestinal problems (bloating, pain, gas, constipation, diarrhea)
• Fat in the stools (due to poor digestion)
• Aching joints
• Depression
• Eczema
• Head aches
• Exhaustion, low energy
• Irritability and behavioral changes, mood swings
• Infertility, irregular menstrual cycle and miscarriage
• Cramps, tingling and numbness
• Slow infant and child growth
• Decline in dental health

Celiac disease is an immune reaction, a severe onset allergic reaction, to gluten. While celiac disease is initially an autoimmune disorder, it is also a disease of malabsorbtion, because essential nutrients are not absorbed. Therefore one of the most devastating symptoms of long-term undiagnosed celiac disease is malnutrition. Gluten intolerance often has a slower onset than celiac disease, and may be hard to diagnose due to the broad range of symptoms and causes. Many people experience different symptoms or have symptoms that are similar to another condition and are often misdiagnosed.

The simplest way to discover whether or not you are sensitive or intolerant is to take 2 weeks off of gluten completely.  Do this when you don’t have any big parties or fun things going on so you can stay on track.  Now when I say completely, I mean do not even have one bite of something containing gluten. No soy sauce, no soup with a sprinkle of wheat, not one bit of pizza…it’s only for two weeks and if you feel better it will be the best thing you could have done for yourself! Now, once your two weeks of no gluten is done, start introducing gluten back in slowly with different foods, one by one.  If you get a reaction, you will know what food causes it.  You will know if you feel better without the gluten almost right away and if you do, cut the gluten for good!  If you don’t really notice a difference, go back to the gluten life you were leading.  Plain and simple, no doctor bills involved!

-Jenn Hughes, Certified Nutritionist and wife of MX Star Ryan Hughes