Should You Consider Going Gluten-Free for the New Year?

Before discovering Spencer's gluten intolerance, I knew nothing about gluten.  In fact, like most Americans, I regarded bread as one of the most benign, gentle foods imaginable.  It was bread that I ate when my stomach was upset, and bread that made most any meal complete.  I loved everything bread:  bagels, brochette,  French toast, sandwiches on whole wheat, fried eggs on toast, English muffins, fried dough...you name it, I loved it.  And I always assumed that it was loving me back.

But after seeing the massive transformation in Spencer's health after we removed the gluten, I began reading.  And reading more.  I recognized that several of Paulo's niggling health issues could be caused by gluten--anemia, elevated liver enzymes, skin irritations, geographic tongue.  I could go on, but you get the idea.  Sure enough, in spite of the fact that his doctor was initially convinced that there was NO WAY he was Celiac, Paulo tested off the charts for Celiac Disease. Since going gluten-free he is a new man, and it's wonderful to know that we caught a potentially life-threatening disease as early as we did.

In the last two years we've all gone gluten-free and, other than the normal colds and flus that come our way, we've never been healthier.  Initially, I didn't notice any symptoms myself and yet I feel immeasurably better gluten-free, too.  In fact, I credit my body's ability to cope with the last few year's chronic lack-of-sleep as well as it has to our improved diet.   

This year, my mother's doctor recommended that she leave out the gluten, and my father, who is now recovering from prostate cancer, discovered that he, too, is sensitive to gluten.  As a life-long athlete and all-around healthy man, the cancer caught him quite by surprise and he's beginning to investigate the relationship between diet and cancer with an eye to this new information.

But the crazy thing is just how oblivious we all were to this extremely common dietary risk!  Like most people, I believed that bread was a staple food and had a hard time believing that it could be so harmful to many, if not most people in one way or another, and the numbers are growing. I know better now, and you should too.  Gluten intolerance has increased 400% in the last 50 years, and is chronically undiagnosed.  99 percent of people with gluten intolerance credit something other than gluten for their ailments, and many doctors are sadly misinformed about the many ways in which gluten intolerance manifests itself.  According to the New England Journal of Medicine it is associated with 55 "diseases", including such well-known dangers as cancer, osteoporosis, lupus, epilepsy, depression, and yes, autism. (edited to add a partial list of the symptoms associated with gluten sensitivity, health issues associated with Celiac Disease, and other autoimmune conditions associated with Celiac Disease from Dummies.com--a good primer for the newbie!)

And the best part?  It is 100% treatable without drugs or side effects.

So if you are considering getting healthier in the New Year, or if you're just interested in knowing a little more, I encourage you to read this article.  As far as educating the uninformed, I think it's one of the best I've read in a while, and since I read a lot about Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity, that's got to be worth something!

A Happy and Healthy New Year to You!

Comments

[Michelle]

Nice article. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to read someone else who "gets it" with regards to gluten intolerance...never mind Celiac Disease. It's so hard to believe that people would rather take a pill and continue to eat the way they do and just deal with the side effects as they occur rather than prevent the whole thing to begin with. We have all been gluten free since May of 2006 and I attribute our decent health record and unbelievable fertility to that. When we get some sort of virus it never knocks us down as badly or as long as everyone around us. And since my miscarriage in 2004, we haven't had any fertility issues considering we are surprisingly (definitely wasn't planned and was trying to avoid with NFP) looking forward to the birth of a 6th Ouellette this year!! :) We certainly see no point in ever introducing gluten into our family again! And the best part is, our kids are so little gluten free IS their life. They aren't missing out on anything! Great post! Email me or call me sometime I've been praying for you since our last phone call...!