Recently I was meeting with a new client for the first time. Upon telling her she should be eating a diet that’s ‘gluten free,’ she asked me, “So, what is gluten and why shouldn’t I be eating it?” Here’s the reason we should all avoid gluten in our diets.
More than 55 diseases have been linked to eating gluten. It is the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. It can also be found in oats if the product is not listed as being ‘gluten free.’ Gluten is used as an additive in a lot of products where it doesn’t add any nutritional value, such as instant grits, instant oatmeal, salad dressings, and other food products.
Many people who are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease don’t know it or haven’t been diagnosed with it yet. People with celiac disease get violently ill when they consume gluten and most of the time they know what food causes the reaction, but don’t realize that gluten is what’s causing the problem. People are not aware of how many health problems are caused by gluten in the diet, even though more people are now becoming gluten intolerant.
If you have any of the following symptoms, you could be gluten intolerant.
- Digestive issues such as gas, bloating, diarrhea and even constipation.
- Fatigue, brain fog or feeling tired after eating a meal that contains gluten.
- Neurologic symptoms such as dizziness or feeling of being off-balance.
- Inflammation, swelling or pain in your joints such as fingers, knees or hips.
- Mood issues such as anxiety, depression, mood swings and ADD.
- Diagnosis of chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. These diagnoses simply indicate your conventional doctor can’t pinpoint the cause of your fatigue or pain.
- Migraine Headaches
- Hormone imbalances such as PMS, PCOS or unexplained infertility.
- Diagnosis of an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma or Multiple sclerosis.
- Frequently getting colds, flu, or sinus infections
- Skin problems such as rashes or eczema
- Unexplained weight gain or weight loss
How can you find out if you’re gluten intolerant?
The best way is to go on an elimination diet. Remove gluten completely from your diet for a minimum of 3 weeks (or longer), to see if any of the above symptoms disappear – for me it was just over a week.
For some people it may take 4-6 weeks for the symptoms to go away, but most of the time, 3 weeks will be the magic number. At the end of the 3 weeks, add gluten back into your diet slowly and keep a journal of how you feel. The symptoms should reoccur within a day or two.
My first experience with an elimination diet was a couple of years ago. I went gluten free and was feeling great – no knee pain, lots of energy, etc. Then I ate a breakfast sandwich at a local restaurant and that very afternoon I had knee pain again. So now I do my best to stay gluten free. If I eat something with gluten in it without knowing about it, I’m able to figure out pretty quickly why I’m having joint pain again.
If you have any questions regarding gluten intolerance, elimination diets, or any of the above mentioned health problems, please feel free to contact me.