Gluten Free Diets Blamed For Perpetuating Illness
Patients are repetitively encouraged to eat gluten free to cure their illnesses only to find themselves in a worse situation. This is especially true for autistic individuals. Gluten free foods contain prolamines which are indigestible to a damaged intestinal tract. Certain individuals do not have the prolyl oligopeptidase enyme which breaks down prolamines.
Jordan Reasoner, co-founder of SCD Lifestyle and author, is a recovered celiac sufferer and advocate for eating real food to cure disease. Once he was diagnosed with celiac disease he switched to a gluten free diet and continually got sicker over the following two years. His testimony is one of thousands, myself and son included.
For most patients suffering from any illness, gluten free diets do not work.
On August 2, 2013 the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) published in the Federal Register and announced a press release saying, “In order to use the term ‘gluten-free’, ‘no gluten’, ‘free of gluten’, and ‘without gluten’ on its label, a food must meet all of the requirements of the definition, including that the food must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.” This new rule was directed to the FDA by the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA).
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Manufacturers have one year to come into compliance with this new rule.
Gluten free products jumped in sales 18% in 2012 selling over $12 billion in product. Other products that have gone gluten free recently are play dough, stickers and finger paints. The fact remains, however, that gluten free foods cause inflammation which directly causes illness.
Gluten free foods continue the sickness cycle because many gluten free foods are composed of high starch flours that feed bad bacteria in the gut, are indigestible and do not nourish the body. It is an empty food that perpetuates the cycle of sickness. High starch gluten free flours are rice flour, brown rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, tapioca flour, corn starch, baking powder, arrow root powder and even cocoa powder.
Reasoner says, “Gluten free foods are still junk food in disguise.” He goes on to say, “It’s making us sicker.” He describes the reasoning as, “The average gluten free diet is built on the same foundation as the Standard American Diet (SAD), both are low fat diets with highly processed food most of which are toxic. These foods are low in nutrients and high in toxins.”
Four toxins found in gluten free foods:
Prolamines:
Wheat and grains are not beneficial to people who suffer from celiac, chrones, ulcerative colitis, autism, ADHD, anxiety and bipolar disorder because they contain prolamines. Prolamines are highly indigestible to a damaged intestinal tract. Prolamines are indigestible because these patients specifically do not have the prolyl oligopeptidase enzyme which breaks down prolamines.
Gliadin is the prolamine specifically found in gluten. Corn contains a prolamine zein. Rice contain the prolamine orzanin. Oats contain the prolamine avenin. These prolamines feed inflammation. Inflammation leads to Leaky Gut.
Soy:
“Roundup Ready® Soybeans were commercialized in 1996, followed by alfalfa, corn, cotton, spring canola, sugar beets and winter canola, which contain in-plant tolerance to Roundup® agricultural herbicides. This means you can spray Roundup agricultural herbicides in-crop from emergence through flowering for unsurpassed weed control,” states the Monsanto Weed Management Pages on the Monsanto website. This means the soy bean itself has Roundup agricultural herbicides in the bean and as the plant pollinates you are “spraying” Roundup herbicide. The soybean contains Roundup in it when it is planted, the plant pollinates Roundup in the wind and you eat Roundup when you eat soy. This is why soy leads to inflammation and causes other intestinal damage.
Environmental Health News reported, “Scientists found that Roundup’s inert ingredients amplified the toxic effect on human cells—even at concentrations much more diluted than those used on farms and lawns.”
In essence every time you eat a soybean you are taking a sip straight from the bottle of Roundup.
Reasoner says, “Soy is filled with toxins and it screws up your hormones because of the presence of phytoestrogens and this is important because phytoestrogens are linked to cancer, infertility, hypothyroidism and potentially thyroid cancer.”
Oils:
Contrary to good fats, processed oil like canola, rapeseed, safflower oil and sunflower oil cause enormous damage and are found in gluten free foods. They are high in omega 6 fatty acids without omega 3 balancing it out, directly causing inflammation. Canola, grown in Canada, gets its name from the word Canada combined with “oil low acid” giving us can-ola, or canola. Soyatech.com says, “In Canada there are three main groups of herbicide-resistant canola: Roundup Ready and Liberty Link varieties that were produced using genetic modification, and Clearfield varieties that were developed using a traditional plant breeding technique called mutagenesis.” The seeds are pre-treated with the herbicide inside the seed in the same manner stated above for soy.
Canola oil comes from the yellow flowers that close up into pods filled with seeds. Canola oil is extracted from these seeds which contain roughly 42% oil. The left-over seed then gets manufactured into meal for livestock. Please note if these oils are making humans more ill, and seed by-product is fed to livestock, you as the meat eater are eating the pesticide laden canola seeds when you eat meat. The pesticide is passed into the livestock through the food. This is why it is so vital to eat grass-fed beef.
Sugars:
Many gluten free foods are loaded with sugar, evaporated cane juice (which is sugar), brown rice syrup (which is sugar), sugar beets (which is sugar) and others. Sugars, in all forms, feed bad bacteria in the intestinal tract causing Leaky Gut. The only sweetener approved for those with leaky gut is local honey in limited doses or unprocessed stevia leaves. Stevia in the store has been processed and bleached for your consumption making it an unapproved food for intestinal healing.
When the small intestines have an overgrowth of bad bacteria it triggers Leaky Gut the same way gluten triggers Leaky Gut. Jordan Reasoner said during the Real Food Con(ference) of 2013, “When gut flora is out of balance and your gut barrier is damaged, your gut’s going to be inflamed. Inflammation triggers Leaky Gut and Leaky Gut triggers inflammation. The only way to escape this is to break the Leaky Gut cycle.”
The cure for an inflammatory disease is to stop the cycle of inflammation and feed the good bacteria in the intestinal tract. Nourishing your body with real food is the source to healing. Foods that are easy to digest and contain no sugar are your best options. Diets that starve out the bad bacteria but nourish your body can be found through GAPS foods, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet or the Paleo Diet.
Click here for a printable list of foods that are easy to digest and benefit the Leaky Gut. This list is beneficial as a shopping list.
Click here for one of the best resources of which foods benefit and help heal.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, neurologist, MD, mother of an autistic child who has recovered from food and works at an autistic clinic in Britain, where she has walked thousands of children out of autism, says these patients have a lack of stomach acid which causes issues with digesting their food. This is the starting point of inflammation as undigested food continues into the small intestines where it either feeds good bacteria or bad bacteria and then passes through ulcerations in the intestinal wall caused by the bad bacteria where it then enters the blood stream.
Countless blood tests in her clinic show food particles floating around in the blood stream. Food is not supposed to be in the blood stream, it is supposed to remain in the stomach and intestines.
Traditional aids for food digestion are fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kim chi, miso and others. Sauerkraut is the simplest starting point as it is quick and easy to make at home. At least two teaspoons of some kind of fermented foods should be eaten with every meal to assist in food digestion. Many people choose to also drink apple cider vinegar, containing the real mother, to increase stomach acid assisting in food digestion.
Once this healing takes place, especially in the small intestine, food gets absorbed and the body gets nourished. Generally kids heal faster than adults. Some adults take three years of constant healing foods, abundant amounts of grass-fed bone broth and powerful probiotics to reach a level of normalcy.
Signs and symptoms that you are having issues with inflammation are congestion, gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, anger, impatience, fatigue, joint pain or cramps. Some food sensitivities do not appear for up to three days. The cleaner your food intake the easier it is to see which foods are causing inflammation.
Gluten Free diets perpetuate illness while eating real food, as close to the state in which it was grown, including grass-fed meats and organic vegetables and lots of good fats, heals illness. Dr. Natasha states, “Meats and fats nourish, vegetables cleanse.”
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Other sources:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/even-toys-are-going-gluten-free-2013-02-05
http://www.monsanto.com/weedmanagement/Pages/roundup-ready-system.aspx
Tag:Food
27 Comments
Certainly interesting. Its hard to keep up with what is good for you anymore these days.
I’ve never really understood people who eat gluten free and are strict vegans.
What is the connection?
It sometimes can be difficult for people with gluten allergies to digest other foods and when I was first diagnosed I had difficulties digesting a lot of things including dairy and soy. Now I can eat small amounts of these without much problem but am still gluten free. I would not restrict myself further and become a vegetarian or vegan.
I am tired of having acid reflux and a racing heart after eating gluten. What’s so wrong with wanting to avoid that?
1) There is no CURE for Celiac Disease.
2) Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease, not a food allergy or intolerance.
3) The reaction a Celiac has to gluten is a bodily reaction to a toxin; the damage and pain is caused as the body literally eats itself from the inside out to remove said toxin from the system, all while eating the small intestines.
4) When the small intestines are damaged by the white blood cells, no nutrients can be absorbed, the villi are destroyed and take many months to repair.
4a) Indigestible ingredients simply pass through any individual’s digestive tract, not damage it. Damage comes from an immune system response.
gluten free diet is 100% necessary to 1% of the American population before you spew lies.
dr natasha campbell-mcbride, referenced in the post, has found food particles in the blood stream of thousands of patients showing the food isn’t just passing through these individuals digestive tracts like you say.
where are the scientific references to this ‘food particles in the bloodstream’?? Why are people so eager to believe whatever they read on the internet by someone who doesn’t back up what they are writing about with credible scientific evidence!
Please refer to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride’s extensive log of studies and documented pathogens in GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) referenced in the post.
Very well put. I was diagnosed Celiac 2.5 months ago.
if you are following a correct gluten free diet you should be eating lean meats, chicken, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables with a good daily dose of finer. A little brown rice and nuts (if you tolerate nuts). There is nothing in the gluten free diet about breads, pastas, carbs and sugars. People have incorporated the bad foods into their diet because we are a spoiled society and want what we want .
can you clarify what is “a good daily dose of finer?”
This is so stupid. Everything they’re talking about is found in normal gluten-containing foods too, at least as much. The article should be claiming “Gluten free doesn’t neccessarily mean healthy” or some such as opposed to a sensationalized headline that claims gluten free diets make you sicker. And yes, I know meat and vegetables are good for you…and when unprocessed, they are always gluten free!
Mandi the gluten free ingredients that cause further illness for some are listing in the article. not everyone has a problem with these ingredients but for those that do the free suggested food list and the free approved and unapproved food website are linked.
I take your point. Nothing bugs me more than these boxes of muffin mix or whatever that are gluten free, sure enough, but that also contain every other piece of crap in the known universe. Obviously, the fact that a substance is gluten free doesn’t necessarily make it healthy. Cocaine, for example, is gluten free. But having said this, I think there’s a subtlety lost in the title. “Gluten free diets” may indeed “perpetuate illness,” but this is not because they are gluten free. This is because they contain a whole bunch of other lousy unhealthy crap. Indeed, it’s perfectly possible to be gluten free and be quite healthy. People who eat a paleo diet, for example, often fit this category. But this is accomplished by eating healthy foods–and not eating unhealthy foods, including gluten.
All honesty, everybody’s bodies are different. There is no one size fits all solution. Some people going gluten free has helped them. Me by improving my immune system (before if I got a cold it always turned into bronchitis borderline pneumonia needing medical intervention after I’m over it within a week no medical intervention needed), improved my diabetes, defogged my head immensely, and almost completely reversed my depression. But I admit I have gained weight with it only negative I’ve encountered. Everybody needs to listen to what their body is telling them and do what is right for them. What works for one person won’t work for another. I’m sorry that going gluten free hasn’t worked for you like you had hoped, but good for you for listening to your body and responding accordingly. I’m not going to stop because my benefits out weight the cons.
I don’t understand what your definition of “gluten free foods” is in his article. Apples are gluten free. Are apples bad for me? I am guessing that you are talking about packaged products sold to replace foods that traditionally contain gluten – GF pizza crust and GF pasta for example? What about a gluten free diet that does not utilize these processed options? Where you eat corn tortillas and quinoa for example instead of bread made with gluten free flours.
half way down the post the items in the gluten free flours that cause more damage to some people are listed. there is also a recommended food list for those individuals who struggle with a more sensitive gut.
I don’t think you can say it is the gluten free diet that perpetuates illness. It is all the processed food.
I was diagnosed celiac 9 years ago but I could not eat all those processed foods because my intestines were so damaged. I could not eat soy, dairy or starches like potatoes and also had to avoid sugar and yeast. I made what I called my ‘bread’ from scratch from rice flour. Eventually about 5 years later I could gradually eat more of these ingredients. I have been gluten free 9 years now, and I now can eat the processed gluten free food, but I still make a lot of my food from scratch myself and the processed GF food is like a treat a few times a week.
Agree with all the commenters that the article should be framed as a discussion of processed foods (gluten free versus not gluten free). The issue isn’t with gluten free foods (which we think of when we go to a restaurant as food that doesn’t have wheat added to the sauce or breading to the chicken) it is with processed foods that people replace for processed foods made from wheat. I suspect there are foods (quinoa for example) that get substituted for pasta that aren’t so deadly. The punch line is shop the periphery of the grocery store (or farmer’s markets or your own garden if you are so lucky) and avoid the processed stuff.
I believe a healthy approach to gluten free is to avoid processed foods-including gluten free bread and processed food replacements. Basically grain free… Gluten free is super healthy if you take it to mean lean meats, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts…all organic, non-GMO, hormone and antibiotic free. Simply- processed is bad in all forms really- gluten or not…processed is filler and not real food. It certainly isn’t more healthy to fill the gut with wheat gluten anymore than it is to fill it with other “replacements”, soy filler, pesticides, preservatives, artificial colors, and artificial anything. If you have to add a bunch of things to make it food then it really isn’t food. Stick to what nature has provided us to eat.
Good morning! This article came to me via the SCD Facebook page. I must admit I popped over because of the name. I was not expecting it to further limit the foods that certain groups should be consuming. It is a great article, and we have found that my husband’s gluten intolerance extends to oats and certainly to the starches, etc. found in gluten free products, which anyone interested in eating a healthy diet should avoid.
While I agree with the points you make in this post, I, like many readers, am disappointed in the title because it gives fuel to the fire of naysayers who are against a gluten free diet. A “healthy” gluten free diet certainly doesn’t perpetuate illness, while a gf diet made up of white starches and sugars does. I am off to wander thru the rest of your site! Have a great day!
Been gluten free for about 7 months and some improvement in some issues but not better really. Got bile reflux and other issues going on though… A problem with bought gluten free flours that concerns me also is the psyllium husk content because it can stop the absorption of supplements/pharmaceutical drugs we take so the manufacturing companies for the breads/other bakery products should mention this but they do not.
I was diagnosed with Celiac disease 3 years ago. My health has made a 360 in a positive direction. I was sick monthly with sinus infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, all the time before being diagnosed. I cut out gluten, and started to feel better. But like any lifestyle you want options!
Yes the best way to eat is naturally gluten free items, meats, veggies, potatoes. But who doesn’t want to have options to enjoy life?! So what I want cookies? So what if I want to make a cake for my birthday, why shouldn’t I have options because I have a gluten intolerance? If you go gluten free for health reasons No One is forcing you to eat the replacement items. Just like no one is forcing you to eat potato chips, or pop or anything else you deem bad for you. We are all adults living in a free society where we can choose how we live our lives and what we put in our bodies. If you can’t have it, then avoid it.
I have been 95% gluten free for almost 10 years. What has been vitally important for me is to stay away from all the pre-packaged gluten free products. They all made me feel horrible. The longer I go, the more I back away from most all the carbs except ones that are complex enough to not mess with my blood sugar. While browsing at the library recently, I came across a book that has REALLY helped; The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin. I do not have a weight issue but she has put together an immensely helpful way of explaining how to eat to manage food intolerance.
What about an article on healthy delicious meals that kids would love as well?!
I heard this several years ago, not just now, so I do not believe that this is new information and should not be understood as such..
So basically, not only is gluten bad but every other food is bad as well. lol