Are Wheat & Gluten Killing You Slowly?

Times are starting to evolve and people are starting to move away from the conventional one size fits all government eating guidelines such as the food pyramid or more recently the food plate.

I am proud to say that I do not follow this kind of advice(anymore), the broad advice given by the government is to follow a diet high in carbohydrates and low in fat, which I feel is nothing short of ridiculous. I have seen the results of this advice first hand when I worked for 6 years on a doctors referral and cardiac rehab scheme, the diabetics getting fatter despite doing everything they were told, the obese people getting nowhere for exactly the same reasons – following poor advice.

I though follow a different path, a lot more people are starting to as well, its becoming known as the “food revolution”. This path may seem controversial or go against some of what you may have been told in the past, but times have changed and science is pointing us in a new direction, plus it achieves results over and above anything I have ever witnessed before..

The nutritional habits I adopt are designed to bring your energy back, fight the toxins and make you healthier than you have ever been before.

The four main problems we face living in the western world are:

Toxicity
Acidity
Deficiency
Inflammation

If we can correct these imbalances our body will thrive and you will have bundles of energy and live a long and happy life.

Today we will focus on number 4, inflammation.

Long-term (chronic) inflammatory conditions kill people very slowly.

Wheat and gluten cause lots of inflammation.

Inflammation is the underlying cause of many chronic illnesses such as heart disease, arthritis and diabetes.

In this article I discuss wheat and gluten and look into the potential benefits to be had from going wheat and gluten free. This may seem very difficult as many foods you probably eat contain wheat and gluten, it also doesn’t help that many gluten containing foods don’t even say they contain gluten!

So to start off I will give a bit of background information about wheat and gluten.

Wheat is a cereal grain which is cultivated worldwide. The production of wheat across the world is astounding.

The world trade in wheat is larger than all of the crops put together.

Its been said that some peoples diets are actually 60-70% wheat based products.

Wheat is used to make foods such as cakes, beer, cookies, bread, cereal, pasta, noodles and a lot more. How many of you consume these foods in your diet?

Controlled trials in otherwise healthy people show that it can damage the intestinal lining, cause bloating, pain, stool inconsistency and tiredness.

So there is wheat briefly covered, now on to gluten.

Gluten is derived from the latin word GLUE, yes glue.

Gluten is a sticky, gooey protein. Gluten is a component of wheat.

Wheat is the biggest source of gluten in the modern diet.

Wheat is made up of albumin, globulin, gliadin, and gluten.

Gluten is formed when moisture is added to flour.

Gluten is commonly found in wheat, rye, barley and some oats. Gluten is what gives yeast based dough its elasticity.

Gluten is linked to wheat as it is a protein composite which can be found in foods which have been processed from wheat. It is used in foods like ketchup, sausages, gravy granules and ice creams.

Did you know? Wheat flour actually makes great glue (ever made anything with paper mache?).

There are adhesives used in building and renovation that include wheat as an ingredient: wallpaper paste and some tile grout products!

As I mentioned above products can contain gluten and not advertise this fact, in the UK only cereal must be labelled as containing gluten or not, all other products are voluntary.

In most supermarkets there will be a health food isle which will contain all of your wheat and gluten free products together.

Approximately one in ten of us have a wheat or gluten intolerance and you can see how these problems can be worsened by the many foods hiding the fact that they contain gluten.

So now you know a bit about wheat and gluten, so why am I recommending going gluten and wheat free?

Well it has been found that wheat and gluten products such as bread and pasta are very inflammatory.

Inflammation is a massive health concern and maximum effort should be made to avoid inflammation. The list of diseases caused by long-term inflammation is massive and includes:

arthritis
IBD
lupus
acid reflux/heartburn
acne
allergies and sensitivities
alzheimer’s disease
asthma
atherosclerosis
bronchitis
cancer
celiac disease
chronic pain
Crohn’s disease
cirrhosis
colitis
dementia
dermatitis
diabetes
dry eyes
edema
emphysema
eczema
fibromyalgia
gastroenteritis
gingivitis
heart disease
hepatitis
high blood pressure
insulin resistance
interstitial cystitis
joint pain/arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis
metabolic syndrome (syndrome X)
myositis
nephritis
obesity
osteopenia
osteoporosis
Parkinson’s disease
periodontal disease
psoriasis
scleroderma
sinusitis
spastic colon
tendonitis

Many people find that after removing wheat and gluten from their diet that their digestive system improves dramatically, a healthier digestion system can help you to maintain your healthy weight or even help you to lose that unwanted weight.

People who suffered from celiac disease found that by cutting out wheat and gluten their condition improved dramatically. This is due to the fact that a sub protein of gluten called alpha-gliadin is responsible for causing a reaction in the mucous lining of the intestine, causing an inflammatory response of people who suffer from celiac disease. This then affects how these people absorb the nutrients they need to function optimally.

So why not just try cutting out wheat and gluten for a week and two and see how you feel? The results can be nothing short of miraculous.

Most people say to me – but Rich what carbs can I actually eat?

Stick to potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, rice cakes, and oats (gluten free oats) and rice pasta, beans (berllotti, cannelloni, kidney, butter etc), if you get the right ones also try – buckwheat pasta, sour dough, rye breads and spelt loafs.

When you shop buy as many fresh, raw, organic ingredients as possible, cut out the processed junk and notice a big turn around in your health. Take a trip to the wheat and gluten free section and pick up some of the great tasting products you have never tried before.

If you feel better then maybe your constant consumption of wheat and gluten has been the problem which has prevented you from being truly fit and healthy, or you are actually wheat or gluten intolerant and the problem has been uncovered.

Thanks for reading,

Richard Clarke