Let's Talk Gluten

Pasta is a health food 🤷🏻‍♀️?

If you’re following Government guidelines on healthy eating, it’s there in the Food Pyramid! But I have some bad news… the Government Guidelines on healthy eating might as well be from the last Century – oh wait, that’s right, they are!

Hopefully you know by now, that I research everything to death, and that’s why when I hear gastro-enterologists or oncologists say there’s nothing wrong with eating gluten, I get pretty wound up.

Let me share how gluten can play a role in your brain fog, poor memory, concentration, bloating, IBS, Fibromyalgia, poor sleep and low energy ! 🤓
Defining Gluten
First of all, what is it?

It’s a group of proteins found in the seeds of grains and grasses. It’s easy if you use the acronym BROW to remember which ones:

B– Barley
R– Rye
O– Oats *GF oats can be safe for some people, if they’re not sensitive to grains
W– Wheat

Obvious and Hidden Sources

While it is found in obvious items like breads, pastas, cereal, pizza, cakes and cookies, it’s also found in foods like burgers, sausages, dressings, and even soups. There can even be traces of gluten in personal care items like shampoo, body wash and cosmetics!

Who Does This Affect

A third of the population is impacted by gluten – and that number is on the rise!

If you’ve ever heard me speak, you’ll know I quote Dr Tom O’Bryan – author of You Can Fix Your Brain – and Dr Alessio Fasano of Harvard University, who both agree that no one should eat gluten, as it undermines your health.

It is one of the main food-based, inflammatory triggers, causing damage to the tight junctions of the gut lining, making it leaky, reducing immunity, and even triggering autoimmune illnesses like Fibromyalgia, Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis, and neuro-psychological conditions like Anxiety, ADHD, Dementia, and Depression, to name just a few.

Gluten and the Brain

Here’s the thing! The research shows that if Coeliac Dsease had first been discovered by neurologists, it would have been classed as a neurological disease because of the number of brain and psychological symptoms associated with it! Only a third of the people with Coeliac Disease have gut-related symptoms like bloating, diarrhea and reflux! Two thirds experience mood swings, anxiety, depression, and memory loss.

Gluten and Hormones

And let’s not forget hormones! Thyroid hormone is produced in the gut so if the gut is leaky, that’s going to severely impact the production of hormones! And if one hormone is out of balance, all others will be – adrenals (stress) hormones, sex hormones, metabolic hormones… Then there’s the small matter of gluten destroying the thyroid – wreaking even further havoc on hormonal health – which is another one of my little bug bears with thyroid medication – levothyroxine contains gluten!

Gluten Cross-Reactivity

And then there’s Cross-Reactivity – foods that an over-reactive immune system thinks are gluten – which means that you can have reactions to buckwheat, cacao, chocolate, corn, coffee or cow’s milk – foods with no gluten in them but have a similar molecular structure to gluten.

More Than Just Losing Weight

I’m sharing this, not to restrict you, but to help you begin connecting the dots with regard to your symptoms, so you can get proactive, drawing from the knowledge that food has an impact on your hormones, your joints, your thoughts, your decision-making, and not just your waistline!

In my functional health practice, I work with women to deeply explore their gut health and balance their hormones, so that they can personalise and enjoy what they’re eating without discomfort. That way, you eliminate the guesswork and fast-track the healing process, so that you can get back to being powerful in body and in mind.

Because by getting personal, you take action on any current symptoms, or alternatively, live true to the maxim Prevention is Better than Cure.