Is Gluten Sensitivity Real?

Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity – Is it real?

I have been in the restaurant business for many years. Over the last 7 to 8 years or so, there had been a dramatic rise in people asking about gluten free menu items claiming they were gluten intolerant, gluten sensitive, or had a gluten or wheat allergy. I figured it was all in their head, or that this was just another fad diet trend. But it got me curious, and got me thinking about why the massive rise. Not just a slight rise, but a truly huge rise in people claiming gluten sensitivity. Surely it is not possible that all of a sudden, many people have wheat allergies or Celiac Disease. So I decided to do some research to satisfy my curiosity.

A couple of quick research facts:

A search for “gluten sensitivity” in Google returns over 562,000 results.

A search for “gluten free diet” in Google returns over 722,000 results.

There are over 100,000 medical papers published on Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity.

It is estimated that 17 Million Americans claim gluten sensitivity.

It is best estimated that around 2% of the population have Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivities.

Celiac Disease, Wheat Allergies, and Gluten Sensitivity:

True Celiac Disease is a serious, genetic, autoimmune disease where the ingestion of gluten causes damage to the small intestine. This is a genuine, diagnosable medical condition. Wheat allergies are another serious health condition and those with a true allergy would likely have a reaction with anaphylaxis (an allergic reaction requiring epinephrine).

But what about non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS)? Gluten sensitivity or intolerance is a condition that causes a person to negatively react after ingesting gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Those with NCGS have symptoms similar to Celiac disease such as “foggy mind”, depression, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, bone or joint pain, and chronic fatigue.

Confusing Information about NCGS:

NCGS has variable and wide-ranging symptoms which overlap with a number of other diseases (like Irritable Bowel Syndrome) making it difficult to study. Many have argued that NCGS does not exist at all or that it may not be caused by the gluten portion of foods.

A lot of food companies have jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon in order to profit from gluten-free products. There are now many purveyors of the ketogenic and paleo style diets. Their associated companies, supplements, and programs have also jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon as a result of populist consensus and consumer demand.

Interestingly, it is difficult to find good information on the topic that includes solid science. Most of the articles and ‘studies’ have inconclusive evidence of NCGS as a medically founded condition.
Predominant Media Outlets like Forbes, NY Times, and Time Magazine all publish articles that question if gluten sensitivity even exists. They cite a 2011 study that failed the nocebo effect involving all of 37 people and conclude that NCGS is all in people’s head or that another condition exists instead.

FODMAP’s and ‘Leaky Gut Syndrome’; More Confusion and Overlapping Issues:

FODMAP’s (which is an acronym derived from “Fermentable, Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols”, and are short chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine) are now being blamed for IBS instead of gluten. Some studies have been done to justify this prognosis. Without going into great detail on this extensive subject, NONE of the studies that have been done are ruling out one thing first without the other. At least one of these studies have been funded by a big food company Nestle. Nestlé owns over 8,500 brands in over 80 countries which includes a heavy investment in the wheat industry.

In addition to not having solid science on this topic, big industry often confuses this issue as there are many fad foods and supplements out there to ‘help’ people with FODMAP issues and IBS. Perhaps you have heard the term ‘Leaky Gut Syndrome’. It is also called ‘Increased Intestinal Permeability’. This ‘syndrome’ lumps IBS, food sensitivities, inflammatory conditions, mood disorders, and even autism together. Many online ‘doctors’ suggests that those with a ‘leaky gut’ should buy a certain e-book, paleo cure book, take certain probiotic supplements, and even consume bone broth (all conveniently available on their websites).

Increased Intestinal Permeability is somewhat of a medical mystery. The possible cause of leaky gut is increased intestinal permeability or intestinal hyperpermeability. That could happen when tight junctions in the gut, which control what passes through the lining of the small intestine, don’t work properly. That could let substances leak into the bloodstream. According to gastroenterologist Donald Kirby, MD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic: “Physicians don’t know enough about the gut, which is our biggest immune system organ.” He goes on to say, “‘Leaky gut syndrome’ isn’t a diagnosis taught in medical school. Instead, leaky gut really means you’ve got a diagnosis that still needs to be made. You hope that your doctor is a good-enough Sherlock Holmes, but sometimes it is very hard to make a diagnosis. We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists.”
If you do a search for “Leaky Gut Syndrome”, every self-help online medical adviser, every magazine, many fad diets, and many supplement companies have just the answer you need in only 4 easy steps. Huffington Post (The leader in investigative journalism – Note sarcasm) has ‘ Everything You Need To Know About Leaky Gut Syndrome’ in 10 simple paragraphs. Yet we can’t come to a scientific conclusion about gluten and wheat sensitivities, and this syndrome is a medical mystery!

Non-Profits ‘Helping’ Those With CD and NCGS:

What about the organizations that are supposed to help with Celiac Disease and NCGS?
I looked at some of the large non-profit organizations on Celiac disease. The Celiac Disease Foundation is funded by big players in the wheat industry: Lance Foods, Cheerios, Frito Lay, General Mills, Lucky Charms, Nature Valley, Pepsico, etc. On their website, they are extremely careful about what they say about gluten sensitivity:

“The gluten-free diet is sometimes promoted as a way to lose weight, or as a “healthier” diet for the general population.  These claims are unfounded.  The gluten-free diet is healthier for people with gluten-related disorders (celiac disease or gluten sensitivity), but there is no evidence that it is beneficial for people who do not have these conditions.” They go on to say: “The prevalence of non-celiac gluten sensitivity is not established.” https://www.gluten.org/resources/getting-started/the-gluten-free-diet-facts-and-myths/

Another 501c3 organization called Beyond Celiac takes in around 3 million USD per year and boasts an impressive list of food manufacturers as their donors. They are also careful about their stance on NCGS and point to the possible link of FODMAPs stating:

“The science on gluten sensitivity is evolving and we’re learning new information on the condition regularly. New research suggests that gluten alone may not be responsible for the symptoms produced by the condition currently called gluten sensitivity. Instead, it is showing that perhaps FODMAPs, a group of poorly digested carbohydrates, may be the cause of the symptoms instead. In addition, they encourage people to check out: ‘Is Gluten Really the Problem? The Role of FODMAPs in Gluten-Related Disorders’.”

Big Business:

You can imagine that wheat is a big business. There are billions of dollars at stake in the wheat industry. From the farmers, to the big agriculture companies, to the food manufacturers, to the crop insurance companies, to the commodities brokers, to the transportation companies (which also would includes fossil fuel), to the fertilizer and pesticide manufacturers. Some of these companies fund studies to confuse the issue and cast doubt on NCGS. Incidentally, the goal of the National Wheat Growers Association is to double the wheat production by 2030 to meet demand of a growing population.

Additional Scientific Information: 

Another study was conducted from 2013 to 2015 on patients with IBS (but without Celiac disease or a wheat allergy). A gluten-free diet helped those those with IBS and symptoms associated with gluten sensitivity. This was a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study. The conclusion was that:

“A gluten diet may worsen the symptoms of IBS patients. Therefore, some form of gluten sensitivity other than Celiac disease exists in some of them, and patients with IBS may benefit from gluten restrictions.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5083263/

One of my personal favorite nutrition experts that I highly respect is Dr. Michael Greger from NutritionFacts.org. He suggests that NCGS is certainly a condition that cannot be dismissed, but perhaps it is not just gluten. He states: “Most people with wheat sensitivity have a variety of other food sensitivities. Two thirds are sensitive to cow’s milk protein as well, then eggs were the most common culprit [of gut symptoms].”

Lack Of Science:

I could not find any studies that eliminate dairy products first in NCGS patients. However, approximately 70 percent of African Americans, 90 percent of Asian Americans, 53 percent of Mexican Americans, 74 percent of Native Americans, and 14 percent of Caucasian Americans are lactose intolerant!! 90% of the population in China is lactose intolerant!
I also could not find any studies conducted on those that seem to have IBS with NCGS that included introducing organic wheat. All studies only refer to wheat or gluten in general.

Other Possible Links to NCGS, IBS, Leaky Gut:

What percentage of people do you suppose are glyphosate intolerant?

Glyphosate is Roundup. It is a pesticide used in agriculture. It is also used in the desiccation process (drying of wheat prior to harvest) in a lot of our wheat supply. It is also used on 70 different crops in the US including wheat, soy, tomatoes, sugar, nuts, oranges, apples, beans, and corn . Glyphosate has been banned in Italy, Malta, Sri Lanka, The Netherlands, and Argentina. It is part of the reason for Brexit (The E.U. was close to a ban on glyphosate and Britain framers didn’t want the regulation). The World Health Organization’s research arm declares glyphosate a probable carcinogen, and it was just recently placed on the list of ‘Probably Carcinogenic’ in California.

A search for ‘antibiotics healthy gut’ give 728,000 results and the prevalent theme is that antibiotics wreak havoc on a healthy gut.

Facts:

FACT: Glyphosate is antimicrobial. An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth.

FACT: Antibiotics are used to kill microbes.

FACT: Much of our food supply is loaded with antibiotics (namely meat and dairy).

FACT: Gut Health or ‘Healthy Gut Flora’ requires the presence of microbial bacteria.

FACT: The standard American diet is low in healthy bacteria.

FACT: Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die each year as a direct result of these infections. Source: CDC https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/index.html There has been a surge in antibiotic-resistant microbes.

Unanswered Questions:

What percentage of animal waste contains antibiotics? This is the same waste (manure) that we use to fertilize our soil for crops.

Is antibiotic laden animal waste contributing to antibiotic resistant strains of harmful bacteria?
Is the manure that has been found to contain antibiotics and thus fertilizing our crops contributing to unhealthy gut flora?

Conclusion:

If we are killing off all of our healthy gut bacteria by what we consume, wouldn’t that contribute to IBS, NCGS, Leaky Gut, and Food Intolerance? If we change our diet to include foods that nourish us and aren’t full of pesticides and antibiotics won’t that change our insides and ultimately our health?
I am convinced that nutrition is the primary factory that contributes to our health. I have tried various health and diet fads. In the long run, they don’t work. I am also convinced that eating a whole foods, plant based diet that is completely organic is the best thing for optimal health. That will be the topic for my next post.

In the mean time, watch the documentary ‘What The Health’ on Netflix. It is an eye opening look at the effect of big business and lobbyists on the organizations like the FDA, the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association. They are supposed to be helping us but are unduly influenced by big business.

‘Let Food Be Thy Medicine And Medicine Be Thy Food’ Hippocrates

Please check out my other blog posts. As always, if you have any questions about my content please feel free to reach out to me directly.

JT

Transitioning From Vegetarian to Vegan

As originally posted on: https://www.arespectfullife.com/2017/05/23/moving-vegetarian-vegan-lifestyle/

I call a vegan ‘diet’ a lifestyle instead of a diet because it really is not a change in diet as much as it is a lifestyle and mindset change.  When I began my journey in October 2016 to change my eating habits, I started with a vegetarian diet.  I primarily consumed whole grains, fruits and vegetables.  I was also eating dairy products, especially cheese,  along with eggs, and fish.  I did not like the idea of giving up pizza, cheese and crackers, and I was concerned about getting enough protein.

It is important to realize that the meat, diary, and egg industries in the Western world are extremely powerful.  In the U.S. the Meat, Poultry, and Diary Associations are deep-rooted in the USDA and FDA.  We have seen powerful campaigns in our education system and on television.  For example: “Got Milk?”  We have essentially been brainwashed into thinking that the only way to get enough calcium, vitamin D, and protein in our diets is via the consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products.  Once you begin to realize that you are a product of your upbringing, teaching, conditioning, and training, and couple that with your desire to do the best possible things for your health, you begin seeking the truth.

The fact is, multi-billion dollar industries are not going to go away without a fight.  They will spread misinformation and propaganda in order to protect their financial interests.  If you think that greed and corporate capitalism will give you unbiased science, research, and information; I hate to tell you that you are dead wrong.  Unfortunately many people end up with massive health problems as they grow older.  Think about this as well: How big of an industry is modern medicine and pharmacology?  Do you really think that you will receive proper nutritional information when your poor health brings benefits to these industries?

To choose a vegan lifestyle, one has to change their mindset and throw out much of what we have been taught.  It is not easy to believe that you have been lied to your entire life.  It is almost unfathomable to consider that your fellow countrymen/countrywomen would feed you misinformation to the detriment of your best well being in order to profit from your eventual demise.  You don’t have to believe me.  The science and research has already been done by non-profit organizations.  I would encourage you to do the research yourself.  I have included some research information below.

If you choose to live a vegan lifestyle, it does not mean that you have to throw out all your leather shoes and become an animal activist! The things that I have found for me personally is that I feel a whole lot better, and I have gotten my health and life back.  I went from a 350 pound BBQ restaurant owner to a healthy person living a vegan lifestyle.  If you are interested to learn more about my journey, start with this blog post: “How I Lost Over 100 Pounds Eating Mindfully”.

I was asked two questions recently during an interview.  1. What would you tell yourself prior to choosing a plant based diet?  2. What would you tell other people that are considering a plant based diet?  The answers are:  1. I would tell myself to slow down, stop to think, and do your research in order to make the best you.  2. Don’t listen to what everyone else tells you and don’t be afraid of not getting enough protein and nutrients in a plant based diet.  If you are at all concerned about plant based protein sources, I have at comprehensive list on my blog post, “What Do Gorilla’s Eat?”.
Another question that I sometimes get asked is if I miss meat and dairy.  The answer is no.  I am not going to say that it was easy to stop eating animal products and bi-products.  I can tell you as a Chef that after a little time you will begin to really enjoy the taste of fresh produce and whole grains.  Processed foods taste horrible to me now, and the smell of meat is a turn-off.  I have also found so many foods that taste so much better!  There are tons of resources available for vegan recipes including on this blog.

I feel that I have to make a mention about eating fish and seafood.  For those concerned about animal welfare, fish do feel pain.  For those concerned about the environment, commercial fishing is destroying our oceans and its habitat.  For those concerned about your health, there is so much pollution and plastics in our oceans that I think it is a detriment to our health to consume products that come from the ocean that may be full of chemicals and plastic particles.  For More Information on Plastics in our Ocean click here.  Enough said.

I’ll leave you with this thought: Do you want to grow old gracefully?  Would you prefer to not experience a myriad of health issues?  If you desire to live a healthy life and grow older gracefully, please consider a vegan lifestyle.  I promise that you won’t be disappointed!




Additional Vegan Resources HERE.

As always, feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions about this post or any of its content.
JT

Giving Up Cheese & Going Vegan

As originally posted on: https://www.arespectfullife.com/2017/05/25/giving-cheese-going-vegan/ 

Giving Up Cheese & Going Vegan

It is with sad regret that I must inform you that as a Vegan you must give up cheese!  I am a long time Chef and a restauranteur.  I am a lover of pizza.  I am a wine connoisseur and wine was always best with CHEESE.  I am not going to lie and say that it was easy to give up cheese!

I was a teenager in the 80’s and the American Dairy Association ran commercials called “Cheese, Glorious Cheese”, which was a take on Lionel Bart’s opening song in the musical “Oliver”.  The commercial depicted cheese in many forms and people basically having a love affair with their cheese.  I am sure you have seen commercials from Kraft, Velveeta, Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Cheez-Its, Laughing Cow, Wisconsin Cheese Maker Association, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Panda Cheese, and the likes.  They all depict close up images of cheese and all of its melty goodness.

What those cheese commercials don’t show is cholesterol clogged arteries, heart attacks, flatulence, irritable bowel syndrome, or casein (found in dairy products and causes tumor growth)!  The fact is, refraining from eating dairy products is beneficial to your health.  The benefit to your health far outweighs the potential outcome of eating dairy products.

Think of cheese like heroin.  It feels good at the moment, but the detriment to your health and well being is just not worth it.  In fact, dairy products are addictive!  Cheese (as well as all bovine milk derived products) contains casomorphins – which are protein fragments, derived from the digestion of the milk protein, Casein. The distinguishing characteristic of casomorphins is that they have an opioid effect, just like heroin!

The science concerning my aforementioned statements is solid and readily available.  I would encourage you to do the research yourself.  I am have additional information on dairy HERE.
Here is the good news about giving up cheese:

1. The addiction to cheese becomes easier with time.  Like any addiction, it becomes easier to abstain as more time passes.
2. Fresh vegetables will begin to taste better to you in time.  Having a pizza without cheese and loaded with fresh goodness and herbs will be a wonderful treat.
3. You can make cheese-like products out of nuts!  Cookbook links below.
4. There are LOTS of cheese-like dairy alternatives available on the market.  Here is a quick list for your review:
   1. Daiya Foods
   2. Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheese
   3. Field Roast Chao Slices
   4. Follow Your Heart
   5. Go Veggie! Foods (not all products are vegan)
   6. Kite-Hill Artisan Vegan Cheese
   7. Miyoko’s Creamery
   8. Nacheez Vegan Nacho Cheese
   9. Parma! Vegan Parmesan
   10. Sheese by Bute Island
   11. Teese by Chicago Vegan Foods

My final thoughts on cheese consumption:  Not only is diary horrible for your health, the dairy industry is extremely cruel to the cows, and animal agriculture is destroying our environment.  It takes approximately 2,500 gallons of fresh water to produce one pound of cheese.  The average size dairy farm of 700 cows uses 3.4 million gallons of water PER DAY.  Besides water consumption, there are many other environmental concerns over animal agriculture.  I will not list all of those today but I would encourage you to watch Cowspiracy.

If you have any concerns about getting enough protein in your diet, please see my article “What Do Gorilla’s Eat?”. In addition, please read my post “G.OughT Milk?  Does It Do A Body Good?” HERE.

I hope this article is helpful.  As always, please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions at ctiexec at gmail dot com.

JT

The 3 Best Things I Did For My Heath

The 3 Best Things I Did For My Health as originally posted on: https://www.arespectfullife.com/2017/05/12/the-3-best-things-i-did-for-my-health/

If you have followed along with my blog posts, I recently posted ‘How I Lost Over 100 Pounds Eating Mindfully’. As a recap, I was a BBQ restaurant owner (smoked meats) and a craft beer drinker. I had gained about 150 pounds in a little over 5 years doing things like eating late after I closed the restaurant, and drinking too much amazing Michigan Craft Beer. My health deteriorated and I ended up in the hospital with a long list of prescriptions.

How could someone gain that much weight? Some of it, as mentioned above, was life circumstance. Part of it was poor discipline and poor choices. Another part of it was that I was on a bit of a destructive path after some devastating events (see blog post here) in my life and just didn’t care. It was all a toxic combination.

Being hospitalized scared me. I didn’t know what was wrong exactly and neither did the doctors. Their answer was to give me a long list of prescriptions. I had severe Edema in my leg, and my hands and wrists were swelling. I also had an allergic reaction to one of the medications my personal physician had prescribed.

When my health deteriorated, I lost everything. I lost my business, my relationship with my girlfriend, and my income. I could hardly walk. I couldn’t work. I could barely function. I am very fortunate to have a supportive and loving family. They helped get me back on my feet.

After being hospitalized, I spent several weeks doing some intense research about healthy eating and an anti-inflammatory diet. I realized that I needed a mindset change. I needed to re-prioritize my life and my choices. I found out the hard way that if you do not have your health, you do not have ANYTHING.

My research led me many different websites. I did find a lot of conflicting information. There are some very powerful lobby’s and industry advocacy groups in the U.S. that make finding facts difficult. I also found a nutrition website that had a LOT of great information, but they were trying to sell a few certain products and supplements, and it skewed their perspective and their reporting of so-called ‘facts’.

The biggest thing that I found is that FOOD IS MEDICINE. Treating a condition from the inside is the best possible route for your health. I decided to use food AS my medicine.

I have had a couple of serious back injuries. (See previous blog posts). I was an ibuprofen fiend. I would take SEVEN (7) 200mg ibuprofen 2 to 3 times daily! It would only take the edge off. I never wanted to take prescription painkillers as they are highly addictive so this was the route I chose.

Change #1: I stopped taking ibuprofen and started including Turmeric in my diet. I started taking 3 teaspoons of Turmeric powder daily (one teaspoon, 3 times per day). Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory and better than any drug on the market. You can buy the powder in the spice section or you can take a supplement (buy on Amazon by clicking here). More information on the benefits of Turmeric click here.

Change #2: I started hydrating with water that had Lemon and Lime juice in it. This meant that I stopped drinking diet soda (which robs your body of calcium and is full of sodium). Lemons are full of Potassium and Limes are full of Magnesium. Your muscles need Potassium and Magnesium to properly function. When your muscles are ‘spent’ or worn out, they stop receiving blood which also means they stop receiving nutrients. This is the main reason that people experience muscle spasms. As a person with muscle and skeletal issues from injuries, the severe muscle spasms can be debilitating. Lemon juice also helps with weight loss. I am happy to report that I don’t experience muscle spasms any longer. My healthy muscles continue to get stronger every day!

Change #3: As a BBQ restaurant owner, you can imagine that I ate a LOT of meat. In the past when I wanted to lose a few pounds, I would do a low carb diet and drop off 20 pounds in no time. I followed the Adkins Diet years ago and it worked for me. This time was different. I had to lose a lot of weight quickly to regain my health. I STOPPED EATING BEEF AND PORK, rarely ate chicken, but would eat eggs and fish. I also stopped eating dairy products. I went to a primarily plant based vegan diet.

Since making these changes I can tell you that I am a lot happier and healthier. I feel great! I exercise regularly and I have now cut chicken, most fish and eggs out of my diet and am almost entirely plant based. Essentially, I have followed an anti-inflammatory diet. My follow up post on this is here.

As a Vegan, one of my primary concerns was getting enough protein. I will do a follow-up post to this concerning protein and Vegans. In the meantime, here are some decent resources if you are curious about a plant-based diet. 

Also, check out my Top Amazon Vegan Picks here.

https://www.veganmotivation.com/

http://www.thekindlife.com/

I highly recommend the documentary Forks Over Knives