This is not a pretty story, prepare yourself…

Excluding gluten from your diet unfortunately is much easier said than done however.

Here is how you go about it:

1. Remove bread, pasta, and baked goods.  Most people think this means they’ve gone gluten-free, sadly it doesn’t.
2. Then you must also a label reader.  Many prepared foods (in boxes, bags, or cans) contain gluten in them.  A list like this will help you keep an eye out for gluten containing ingredients.
3. Sadly, you’re still not done.  Next you must check your medications and supplements as many contain gluten as a filler ingredient.  If your supplements do not say they are free from gluten you must assume they contain it.
4. Do NOT buy from the bulk aisle of grocery stores (bummer).  They keep wheat flour at one end, and by pouring it into the bucket, and people scooping it out, it gets all over the other bins and food in the other bins.  You must assume these foods are contaminated with gluten.
5. Rice is often contaminated with gluten, so just switching to rice is often not sufficient.

Even more.  Depending on your sensitivity to gluten you must go further.

1. Unless the product says CERTIFIED gluten free, you cannot assume that it is gluten free.  McCann’s steel cut oats for example, a staple many health conscious folks buy, was shown to be contaminated with wheat.  This is not unusual, MANY foods either contain or are contaminated with wheat.  It is everywhere in our society!
2. If wheat and gluten are used in your household you should have a separate set of pans, plates, bowels, and utensils that are kept strictly gluten free.  Does this sound utterly ridiculous?  Yes it does.  It sounds obsessive, and it is, but it can be necessary.  Even the tiny bit of contamination on a cutting board used to cut bread, wiped off and then used to prepare a gluten-free meal has been shown to activate immune reactions to gluten.  It is THAT significant.

Here are a few cases given at the conference.

1. A young woman had been vomiting for two weeks anytime she ate food.  She was diagnosed with an eating disorder before seeking alternative care.  After an extensive workup it was found that the gluten in her chewing gum (the white powder that is used to keep the gum sticking to its wrapper) was causing the reaction.  She went completely gluten free and the vomiting stopped.
2. A young boy with autism was put on a gluten free, dairy free diet and had a remarkably positive reaction.  Three months later the boy put on lip balm and had a strong return of symptoms.  It was found the lip balm contained gluten (not listed anywhere on the label) and when he licked his lips the tiny bit he ingested was enough to trigger a return of symptoms.  After going back to the gluten free, dairy free diet his symptoms disappeared.
3. An older man with ulcerative colitis had the disease in remission using a gluten free diet.  Suddenly he started having 16 bowel movements per day.  After a workup it was found that he had started eating non-breaded roasted chicken at Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Some research found that although the chicken was unbreaded, it was marinated with soy sauce.  Soy sauces are made with wheat and do contain gluten.  When he discontinued the food and went back to a gluten free diet his symptoms disappeared.

Unfortunately, no good news for wheat and gluten.  Gluten, yes, it’s that bad.

More posts will be upcoming on gluten in the future.

What are your thoughts?  Have you tried a gluten free diet?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

A quick update about the elimination diet (ECD).  I have a number of posts on it in the works, but let me give you a quick update.  I’m now in the second week of the elimination diet: no wheat or gluten grains, no dairy, no soy, no eggs, no citrus, no corn, no peanuts, and very little sugar.  What am I eating.  Lots of meat (beef, chicken, pork, fish) and plenty of vegetables.  How’s it going so far?  Very good.  The first week was a little rough, especially with some sugar cravings, and a deep feeling of loss around giving up butter!  Now into the second week and things are going along nicely.  I feel like I have more energy and it is much more stable throughout the day, the quality of my sleep is better, and my mood has been much more even keeled.  Bowel movements have taken some time to adjust, but seem easier (I have a mild tendency towards constipation), and hunger has largely disappeared and I have found myself a number of times unintentionally fasting until lunch time.  And so far my wife and I have each dropped a couple of pounds.  The best part is an intentionality around eating; more focus on what I’m going to have for my meals, instead of a more random, let’s see what’s here attitude.

Much more on the ECD to come.

2.  Reduce/eliminate wheat from your diet

3.  Reduce/eliminate polyunsaturated vegetable oils (corn, cottonseed, canola, safflower, soy, “vegetable”) from you diet.

4.  Take at least 1000mg of fish oil daily

5.  Take at least 2000IU of Vitamin D3 daily

What are your thoughts?  We’d love to hear them.  Please share them with us in the comments below.