PART 2: When Gluten Free is For You

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Gluten-sensitivity has been a “hot topic” over the past several years, debated and reported on everywhere:

From the Today Show and USA Today
To gym-room discussions between the “paleo guy” and the “clean eating” guy
And studies on the (negative) impacts of gluten on obesity, autism, ADHD, and Alzheimer’s.

Making many folks question: “Am I sensitive to gluten?”

ARE YOU? (SENSITITIVE TO GLUTEN)

Determining if you are sensitive or “intolerant” to gluten is not necessarily like diagnosing strep throat or dairy allergy.

While you can take a blood or allergy test that will tell you if you are allergic to wheat, or suggest possible sensitivities to upwards of 200 different foods, the ONLY way to really know if you are sensitive to gluten is to check in with your body.

How does your food make you feel?

In my post last week on 4 Reasons Why Gluten-Free May Not Be For You, we talked about some common side effects experienced from gluten, including:

Inflammation
Skin breakouts
Bloating
Yeast infections
Allergies
Digestive disturbances
Gas
Constipation
Brain fog
Leaky gut
Inability to concentrate and focus
ADHD/ADD
Asthma
Arthritis and popping/clicking joints
Headaches and migraines
Mood issues, like depression and anxiety
Dizziness
Fatigue after meals with gluten

I HATE laundry lists of side effects (they sound like infomercials for prescription drugs that state, “may cause death). Nevertheless, the only way to determine if you are sensitive to gluten is to check in with your body…asses how you feel when you eat it (or shortly after).

Chances are, if gluten has been a staple in your diet for as long as you can remember, you have NO CLUE if you are sensitive to gluten or not.

For this reason, a short-term elimination diet, followed by a reintroduction can be extremely insightful into giving you a clue of where you really stand with gluten:

Removing gluten containing foods for 30-90 days (bread, pasta, cereals, crackers, bars, oats)
Then following it with a reintroduction of those foods gradually and repeatedly for at least 3 days in a row

Note how you feel.

Yesterday, I made the point about eliminating an apple from your diet for 30 days, then reintroducing it. Unless you are sensitive to FODMAP foods), more than likely you’ll do ok with that apple.

You could do the same thing with practically any food—eliminate then reintroduce—and simple observe how your body responds.

For example: Cut the 3-a-day Diet Coke habit, with a reintroduction, and more than likely you’ll notice the fatigue, gas or bloating you used to experience comes back (thankyou artificial sweeteners and dehydrating beverages).

Or, perhaps you’re a vegetarian—and you’ve eliminated meat for some time. Then upon reintroduction, you find you have a different kind of energy you didn’t have before (hello B-vitamins and Zinc) OR, you realize your digestive system was really deficient in hydrochloric acid in the first place (stomach acid that helps break down protein). This is the reason you felt good without meat—and all you actually need to do is boost your gut health to feel good when you eat meat, no problems.

And, cut out gluten, then reintroduce it, and you may find that your brain fog, bloating, gas or fatigue comes back. Bingo: gluten sensitivity.

WHAT TO DO

Discovering whether you are gluten-sensitive or not does NOT define YOU.

It’s funny when we humans put labels on ourselves—depending on our dietary choices and needs:

“I AM a vegetarian.”

“I AM paleo.”

“I AM gluten-free.”

“I AM a eat-whatever person.”

That being said, so you discovered you’re “gluten sensitive”…so now what?!

Eat real food.

So boring, but so true. (And “real food” does NOT mean cardboard).

Fortunately, there are TONS of delicious, nutritious and incredibly-good-for-you foods—BOTH on the perimeter of your grocery store (i.e. the real foods—like meats, fish, veggies, fruits and organic dairy) AND on the inside of the aisles (or online aisles).

In fact, now more than ever, while there are TONS of crappy, artificially-flavored, chemically, sugar filled gluten-free products on shelves…more and more real-food gluten-free options are beginning to emerge.