Will "gluten free" products be the new allergy?

A horrible hypothesis I know, but absolutely possible. Let's think for a moment why everyone is going gluten free? Celiac disease is a strong case of leaky gut in which the immune system is triggered by gluten. Well then gluten must be the bad guy, right? And if we omit gluten from our diet, we should still be able to eat a bunch of gluten free cookies, pies, bread and junk food, right? Sorry, it's not that black and white.

Gluten is not the root cause

This is exactly what the food giants are hoping we conclude and they are sending marketers into a frenzy with gluten free everything. The problem is gluten is not the root cause of celiac disease, gluten is the trigger. The root cause is leaky gut or more scientifically, a damaged lining in the small intestine due to improper digestion. Like all allergies, the problem occurs when the particles of poor quality, indigestible food breaks through the gut lining and the immune system does not recognize these particles as "self".  It just so happens that most of these poor quality cereals, crackers, cookies, granola bars, etc. have gluten in them along with a plethora of other gut damaging ingredients. Doing it's job, the immune system attacks and produces antibodies to gluten and any unrecognizable junk. If we continue to bombard the digestive tract with processed junk, the immune system will continue to attack.

Autoimmune diseases, such as celiac, are worse cases of leaky gut in which the immune system has started to attack the "self" in confusion. In a case of celiac, the immunes system attacks the small intestinal wall. In the case of all food allergies, if the offending food is not removed, the immune system will continue to fight and increase in severity soon reacting to offenders that appear like the culprit. If a person is allergic to wheat, they may soon show allergies to hay, grass, and gluten free flours that look like wheat.

Gluten free junk food

Many people decide to go gluten free because they are beginning to feel the symptoms of eating processed foods, but they continue to eat gluten free junk food. When my husband went gluten free, I decided to look into the local bakeries and health food stores for gluten free convenience items. Here is what I found. They usually use shortenings for binders, heaps of sugar and often low quality ingredients to cut prices. People with serious allergies almost always begin to trigger their immune system when eating gluten free products.

What the doctors meant by "avoiding gluten" was to eat foods that are naturally gluten free. If you are having trouble finding foods that are naturally gluten free, you may want to try the Food Foundation Detox. Our next fall detox will begin Monday September 22nd, 2014.

Allergies can be defeated

There is an upside to allergies; the gut can be healed. If you are suffering from seasonal allergies, or any food sensitivity, you can overcome it. There are many ways to improve your diet, remove the stressors, and strengthen the defenses. It begins with a nutrient dense diet and building a healthy food foundation. If you or your loved ones are suffering from severe allergies, I can help you with nutritional therapy.