Is This Your Brain On Gluten?

If you are a parent or a teacher, perhaps you have had to deal with a scene like this. Picture an after-school meeting with three or four teachers sitting around a conference table, along with a haggard parent, and an impatient student.Food-talk-4-u-student

“I’m sorry, but your child’s participation and motivation levels have been dropping this semester.”

“I don’t know why. He says he’s doing his homework whenever he has any to do at home.”

“My understanding is he used to do well in his subjects, but we all have seen a general lack of caring. He seems so able, but we are having a hard time motivating him to apply his abilities anymore.”

“Yes, but things are hard at home. My job is on the swing shift, so I don’t get to be around him much. I leave him food to eat, but mostly he eats fast food with his friends and just seems to like mac n’ cheese when he gets home. It’s getting harder for me to get him to keep up with his chores at home, too. His friends are nice enough, and he isn’t in trouble with the law.”

“We are just hoping we could all work together the help him to see how much potential he has but he has to use that potential to succeed.” ……

Food-talk-4-u-parentDr. Tom O’Bryan recently cited an article in the “Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 2005; 40:1407-1412,” which, I too, have reviewed. A group of researchers in Finland, studying lifestyle and genetic factors in a group of children in a 30-year study about heart disease, was able to share their blood-study results with another group of researchers looking at the long-term effects of silent Celiac Disease.

What a bonanza of information was shared! Of the initial group of 2,800 children, 2,400 were still in the study 21 years later, enabling the second group of researchers to see any effects of undiagnosed/silent Celiac Disease on the educational and life goals of these children. After studying their blood samples and testing for Celiac Disease (CD) they found a group with silent CD. This group differed in no way from their cohort in relation to age, gender, stature, weight, medical diagnoses, health concerns, use of alternative medications, physical or social activity, or cause of death of parents.

Food-talk-4-u-wheat-fieldBut those with silent wheat allergies were four times less likely to attend college than those with no wheat allergies. In the work force, only 28% of those with silent CD were in management positions compared to 45% of their non-allergic cohort.

Do you see pieces of the puzzle falling into place? Clearly, not everyone has Celiac Disease or even falls into the gluten sensitivity spectrum, but aren’t you even a little bit curious to see what your brain or your loved ones’ brains could look like off gluten? Underachievement need not be the by-word around the family table discussions at report card time.

If you and your family could fix this, would you? Why would you not?

According to Celica Central, the current diagnosis rate for CD is 1 person out of every 133 people. However, this is literally the tip of the ice burg! For every one person who is diagnosed, there are eight people who aren’t! Picture an ice burg. What we see on top of the water is just a pinch of the actual size of the ice burg as most of it is unseen underwater. Such a perfect analogy for gluten sensitivities. Celiac Central’s research suggests that by 2019, the diagnosis rate for CD will go up 50-60% due to increased public awareness.  That’s what one of my goals is here.

Now, What’s on My Plate:

Zoodles!
Zoodles!

Zoodles! Anyway I can get ‘em! With the farmer’s markets now offering every imaginable version of summer squash, this is the best time of year to eat Zoodles (a.k.a. julienned zucchini). Who needs wheat pasta or even gluten-free pasta when you can increase your veggie intake and supplant empty carbs!

Using a julienne peeler or a spiral slicer, create your Zoodles using about 2 lbs. of fresh squash (it does not have to be just zucchini). You can pre-peel the squash or not.

More Zoodles!
More Zoodles!

Place Zoodles in a colander and toss with about 1 tsp of sea salt and allow to rest for up to ½ hour. This coaxes the extra moisture out of the Zoodles so your plate won’t look soupy. After 20-30 minutes, rinse the Zoodles under cold water and squeeze dry. Paper towels work, but I like using a clean kitchen towel to spread out the Zoodles, roll up, and gently squeeze.

The rest is up to you:

A quick stir-fry with a bit of ghee, minced garlic or garlic powder, and perhaps Penzey’s Bavarian Spice, with a splash of toasted sesame oil to finish for a great side dish

As a stir-fry spaghetti noodle substitute for your favorite spaghetti sauce!Food-talk-4-u-Zoodles-3

As a raw salad recipe thanks to Zen Belly:

Mix together:

¼ cup tahini

1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 Tbsp. coconut aminos

1 tsp. fish sauce (check it’s gluten free)

½ tsp red pepper flakes

Garnish with:

1 sm bunch scallions, sliced

2 Tbs sesame seeds

If you would like to learn more about how you can implement simple dietary changes that could revolutionize your health, please join our community by subscribing to this blog. Just type in your email address in the box on the left of this screen and click on the green subscribe button. We never share your information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

I welcome your comments and testimonials. Remember, if you or anyone else you love is not at their best, go gluten-free for 30-60 days. 100% gluten-free. Not 98%. Has to be 100% because gluten is just that insidious! There is nothing to lose, except your health, life, sanity, if you don’t.

Thanks for reading!

Deidre

Disclaimer:

The information being discussed in these blogs is NOT intended to replace a relationship with a qualified health care professional. Foodtalk4you blogs endeavor to empower people through the exploration of publicly available resources of information about human anatomy and physiology, and how different foods affect the human body.  Readers should seek the advice of their qualified health care providers with any questions about their medical conditions or health status before attempting any dietary, exercise, or lifestyle changes.

Gluten, Grains, and You

After giving a general introduction to the sometimes shadowy world of symptoms for gluten sensitivity, you must certainly be asking yourself: So what is all this stuff about gluten?  What does it actually do?  Are other foods causing similar responses in my body?

Well, it’s all about the gut and the ripple effects of what is happening there that can cause either health and homeostasis (the proper balance mechanisms working in harmony) or various levels of disease (“dis-ease” = feeling not right, something wrong) and chaos in the balancing mechanisms.

Sit back and enjoy a brief lesson in anatomy and physiology:

The best way to go from point A to point B is a straight or smooth line if the function is, say, covering an organ or the body.  Our skin is smooth; our heart, lungs, and intestines are covered with smooth tissue to protect and enhance their motile functioning.  But if surface area is needed, say in our brain, a straight or smooth line of brain matter would not give us enough cerebral cortex or gray matter to have much tissue with which to think.  Hense the wavy, folded surface of our brain which allows for increased surface area.  Little known fact that could help you in a quiz show: if we could “iron out” the surface area of our brains, we would end up with the area of a pillow case! Now that’s brain power!

Food-talk-4-u-digestive-systemNow consider the digestive system.

Mouth: smooth with teeth and tongue for chewing and swallowing functions.

Throat and esophagus: smooth for transport of mushy swallowed food.

Stomach: smooth but folded to allow for stretching out and churning action of the now soup-constency food.

Small intestine where most of the absorption of nutrients occurs:

Damaged intestinal microvilli
Damaged intestinal microvilli

Not smooth.  Much surface area is needed for exposing the soup-like foodstuffs  to the intestinal wall.  I have heard the small intestine described as a shag carpet surface.  The shag carpet projections are called villi and the fuzzy parts of each villi are called microvilli.  And this is where our focus will be today.

Gluten and other grains can effect a couple factors here.  The shag carpet structures that need to be maintained for proper absorption of nutrients become damaged, bent, crushed even, rendering them useless in nutrient absorption.  To keep the carpet analogy going, we now have Berber carpet.

And if that’s not disastrous enough, the integrity of the junctions holding the individual cells of the small intestine together is compromised and the intestine becomes “leaky”.  This is where systemic inflammation and auto-immune issues start.

leaky_gut-262x300Imagine molecules of protein escaping from being absorbed for use and, instead, are floating around and being seen as foreign invaders.  Our bodies will naturally mount an immune response which is what starts the inflammatory response I have mentioned before.  Where ever this immune response happens is where trouble happens: pick an organ, any organ; pick a body system, any body system.

Researchers are saying more and more that the bedrock of most all disease is auto-immune in nature.  The gluten found in wheat, barley, and rye (and the lectin found in other grains) are what serve as a launching pad for auto-immune and inflammatory diseases.  This is why the signs and symptoms of any level of gluten sensitivity are so broad.

To quote Dr. Tom O’Bryan’s article, “The Gut-Disease Connection” from May 8, 2014, in “Dr. Allessio Fasano’s “Leaky Gut Theory of Autoimmunity” he found that the 1st step in the development of autoimmune disease is leaky gut…and in the event we can reverse the leaky gut, the possibility of shutting off the autoimmune response becomes real.”

There are Celiacs who have no digestive issues; there are non-Celiacs who have plenty of digestive issues.  I have read recent articles stating that there are some on the gluten sensitivity spectrum who are only reactive to wheat.

So what is one to do?  Give being gluten free a real try for 30-60 Food-talk-4-u-gluten-free-icondays.  If your symptoms improve, great.  If you improve somewhat but still have some level of “dis-ease”, then expand your eliminations to include all grains (rice, corn, oats, etc.).  Then, once you are normalized, try reintroducing non-wheat grains one at a time and note your body response.  Everyone is unique; maybe you can eat a bowl of oatmeal or a serving of rice.

Today’s Sign Post= check out radicatamedicine.com for more information about gluten and gluten-free eating.

Other grains and gluten-containing grains contain lectins and phytates which also disrupt proper nutrient absorption; they will be discussed in a future post.

Thanks!

Deidre

 

Disclaimer:

The information being discussed in these blogs is NOT intended to replace a relationship with a qualified health care professional. Foodtalk4you blogs endeavor to empower people through the exploration of publicly available resources of information about human anatomy and physiology, and how different foods affect the human body.  Readers should seek the advice of their qualified health care providers with any questions about their medical conditions or health status before attempting any dietary, exercise, or lifestyle changes.

 

Nutrient Dense Food

As my personal plate is over-flowing at present, I am posting a summary of a recent Designed for Health class.  Sorry for the slow down on posts, but life happens.  Blessings to all who are marking milestones with graduations right now!  Can’t wait to cheer our daughter as she receives her MD from the University of Iowa!

Nutrient Dense Food—

What does that mean to you?

So, we’re looking at food as close to its original form as possible:Food-talk-4-u-pear fresh, minimally processed, with no long list of ingredients. What we need to be looking at is not counting calories but “is eating this food going to do me good or harm?” Is this food nutrient dense?

We’ll get into this more in the fall postings, but you’ve certainly heard of essential fatty acids and essential amino acids? Those come from (good) fat choices and protein choices, respectively. But did you know there are NO essential carbohydrates! Therefore, to maximize the goal of food being nutrient rich, it’s the carbohydrate category that can do us harm.

Now, if you try going gluten-free for the next month or so, you will automatically avoid the empty calories of breads, cakes, pastas, etc. made from wheat, barley, or rye. While I am sharing with you gluten-free “conversions” for those items, it is still possible to maintain the empty calorie sink hole with gorging on scrumptious gluten-free scones every day! So keep that in mind. Treats are treats. I am trying to guide you toward being gluten-free; that’s baby steps, but carbs are carbs.

Food-talk-4-u-nutrient-densityOkay so where do we spend our carb calories? Nutrient dense vegetables and some fruits of every kind and of every color should be our goal. That’s why I started our first class with the smoothie chart. What a wonderful drink in which to pack nutrients!

For lunch yesterday I fixed a smoothie with a whole pear, 1/3 avocado, ¼ each lime and lemon, soaked chia seeds, sweet spices, three leaves of Swiss chard, two handfuls of baby spinach, unsweetened grated coconut, whey protein, and coconut milk. It made three glasses full so there are snacks and meals already waiting for me in the refrigerator!

Please note the following resources for more information about gluten:

Dr. Mark Hyman, MD – on his home page type in the search box: Three hidden ways wheat makes you fat to read the full article.

On Marksdailyapple.com, Mark gets pretty technical, but has a truck load of information. Click on the testimonials section for folks who talk about massive health turnarounds through food.

What does sugar do to us? Well, briefly…

It skyrockets your blood sugar levels which in turn calls for you to make, release, and respond to insulin. A problem with any part of that process is called Diabetes.Food-talk-4-u-sugar

Sugar is addictive in the same way crack and heroin are addictive. The opiate receptors in our brains are stoked and demand MORE!

By-the-way, starchy carbs are also addictive for the same reason!

Sugar is inflammatory to the body, affecting the heart, joints, skin…pretty much everything.

Where gluten is found –

Well, if you eliminate wheat, barley, and rye, you are well on your way, but gluten is also found in the ingredient lists of packaged and processed foods. Many food labels now sport gluten-free entries under allergy information, but those not labeled gluten-free, you will have to check the list.

Beware of anything with the word ‘wheat’ or ‘wheat starch’ in it. I used to love sautéing artificial crab meat with onions, veggies, and spices for a great hot cracker spread, but in the ingredient list is ‘wheat starch’…

In restaurants, ask for the gluten-free menu. Outback’s original way of cooking their steaks has gluten, but their fire cooked steaks are without gluten! Who would have known! Good news! Their brownie covered with chocolate sauce and ice cream is gluten-free! Birthdays happen!

Food-talk-4-u-nutrition-labelBeware of gravies of any kind; they usually come out of a can and all contain gluten. Soy sauce has gluten, but you can use Tamari or Coconut Aminos instead at home.

Always read labels and look for yourself. While you’re at it, look for items without added sugar, too!

Hope these tips for nutrient dense foods and gluten-free advisories will help you in the coming week.

Deidre

Disclaimer:

The information being discussed in these blogs is NOT intended to replace a relationship with a qualified health care professional. Foodtalk4you blogs endeavor to empower people through the exploration of publicly available resources of information about human anatomy and physiology, and how different foods affect the human body.  Readers should seek the advice of their qualified health care providers with any questions about their medical conditions or health status before attempting any dietary, exercise, or lifestyle changes.

May is National Celiac Disease Awareness Month

May is National Celiac Disease Awareness month and I will be devoting myself to gluten issues all month!

Food-talk-4-u-wheat

Judging by the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center’s four pages listing 300 symptoms that have been connected with Celiac Disease, (cureceliacdisease.org), we’d better pay close attention to what we are eating! Not that this list solely belongs to gluten sensitivity, but gluten sensitivity’s symptoms can be so incredibly subtle that even the most diligent practitioner may miss an accurate diagnosis by treating symptoms and not causes.

Food-talk-4-u-painful-stomachSo, if you are suffering from multiple symptoms without a diagnosis, can’t explain why you do not feel ‘right,’ suffer with any kind of an autoimmune disease, (this includes Diabetes), then take a second look at gluten. Anything from an unhappy belly, iron deficiency, late or no onset of menstruation, inflammation or an inflammatory condition, polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, clumsiness, brain fog, migraines, dermatitis, ADD/ADHD, to unexplained muscle or joint pain can be related to gluten sensitivity. Just to name a few.

There are tests that can show if you are reactive, but some have shown to have false negatives AND you have to be eating gluten at the time for a positive result. Why not just cut gluten out?

When I think of the times our undiagnosed  daughter went to the school nurse because of her unhappy belly and feeling ‘not right’ and was given packages of saltine cracker to eat, I just shiver in remorse. Even her pediatrician was baffled at her wide array of seemingly unrelated symptoms and things we didn’t even know were symptoms at the time (not a truck load of teenage hormone issues but a train load).

The saddest thing, however, was when I told our pediatrician years later what the cause actually was, Celiac Disease, he shrugged it off saying that was a “trendy diagnosis!” Our daughter almost died from malabsorption of nutrients! Trendy diagnosis? May the patient beware! Not all physicians are tuned in to gluten sensitivity.Food-talk-4-u-doctor

Question your physician about his/her experience with gluten sensitivities. There are websites, such as Dr. Tom O’Byran’s, thedr.com, that can help you get in contact with someone conversant in gluten issues.

Stay tuned! Next post will explain just how gluten ravages the body and what foods need to be eliminated.

Deidre

Disclaimer:

The information being discussed in these blogs is NOT intended to replace a relationship with a qualified health care professional. Foodtalk4you blogs endeavor to empower people through the exploration of publicly available resources of information about human anatomy and physiology, and how different foods affect the human body.  Readers should seek the advice of their qualified health care providers with any questions about their medical conditions or health status before attempting any dietary, exercise, or lifestyle changes.