BY NICOLE DENISON

HOW GLUTEN AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH

BY NICOLE DENISON

HOW GLUTEN AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH

WHAT IS GLUTEN?

The new “fad” diet that everyone from Kim Kardashian to Lady GaGa are talking about is the Gluten-free diet. Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye, and barley that makes bread chewy and it is a filler in most processed carbohydrates such as bagels, cookies, and pasta. Modern day technology has tried to increase the yield of wheat by genetically crossing a breed that has a larger bulb with a breed that has a shorter stalk so that it is able to hold the enormous head up. This new hybrid dwarf breed of wheat is not much like its former breed, can’t survive without humans, and it currently makes up 99% of wheat grown worldwide. Because so many hybridizations were formed so fast, there was no animal or human testing done on new strains and they can’t pin point which hybrid could be responsible for the ill effects of wheat.

CELIAC DISEASE IS HAVING AN ALLERGY TO GLUTEN

● Celiac Disease is an inherited autoimmune disease that affects 1 out of 100 Americans and 6% of Americans have a sensitivity to gluten.

● This allergy causes gluten to kill the villi that line the intestine allowing gluten to get through and the immune system attacks it. This causes symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and exhaustion.

IS GLUTEN BAD FOR THE REST OF US?

Wheat can even be bad for people who don’t have Celiac disease. 75% of wheat is made up of molecules of glucose called amylopectin A, which is easily digested in the stomach and these whole grains cause more of a spike in blood sugar than simple carbohydrates such as sucrose. Your blood sugar spikes more when you eat a couple of slices of whole wheat bread than when you eat a candy bar because whole wheat contains more amylopectin A than a candy bar.Eating wheat causes your blood sugar to rise which triggers your pancreas to excrete insulin, which allows your body to store the glucose as fat. This initiates the 2hour roller coaster of appetite cravings, and wheat acts much like morphine in the brain.The fat stored from wheat is visceral fat that is stored in the abdomen and the more of it that there is, the more resistant to insulin you become. Because of the location of this fat, inflammatory responses such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are triggered.

EFFECTS OF ACID IN THE BODY

Wheat metabolizes as acid in the body. The body has to equal out its pH so it takes alkaline stores out of bones and this weakens the bones causing osteoporosis. Animal products also metabolize as acid in the body, but the vegetables in our diet are meant to balance it out. The introduction of wheat into our diet has thrown off the balance causing an excess of acid.Visceral fat causes inflammatory hormones such as leptin to be released within the joint fluid, causing cartilage and joint damage.Also, when your blood sugar rises, glucose binds to protein and glycation occurs in bloodstream, tissues, and joints. The advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are the particles that cause atherosclerosis, skin aging, dementia, kidney dysfunction, cataracts and arthritis. These particles are literally responsible for aging us and we can actually have a blood test measure our rate of aging to test and see if is accelerated or not.

OTHER EFFECTS OF WHEAT

● Carbohydrates increase liver production of VLDL (very low density lipoproteins) that are responsible for the creation of small LDL particles which are dangerous because they can stick around and cause problems in small areas of the body such as arteries.

● After eating wheat, insulin triggers an insulin-like growth factor-I or IGF-I in the skin which causes acne. Wheat gluten is also said to cause other skin inflammation such as dermatitis hepetiformis and psoriasis.

● If this hasn’t scared you enough, hair loss has also been linked to gluten..

WHAT TO EAT

● It can be hard to gradually reduce wheat because of the insulin-glucose roller coaster and it’s addictive exorphin effects.

● People who have not had wheat for a couple hours go through withdrawal and become crabby a foggy so some people feel more comfortable eliminating it gradually.

● Dr. William Davis, cardiologist and author of “Wheat Belly” says, that if you’re trying to give up gluten you should eat more vegetables, some fruit, raw nuts, meats, eggs, dairy products, and use healthy oils such as extra-virgin olive oil/coconut oil/avocado oil/cocoa butter liberally.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

● Davis M.D, William. Wheat Belly. New York. Special Markets Department, Rodale, Inc., 2011

By Nicole Denison as part of an internship at Bauer Physical Therapy, done while finishing Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology (emphasis: Gero-kinesiology) at Cal State Fullerton University.