The Gluten and Gut Healing Connection- Why Gluten is Making you Sick
Gluten-Free foods and gluten-free eating plans are much more common these days. People are trying out a gluten-free lifestyle and feeling SOOOO much better. They lose weight, have more energy, a better memory, less anxiety, better moods, better sleep. The list goes on.
So what's the deal with gluten? Why does it make such a big difference in the way you feel to stop eating it?
Many doctors and nutritionists (including me) agree that gluten is contributing significantly to something called "leaky gut". Yes, it's a real thing. Here is the blog I wrote as an intro to leaky gut.
Basically, gluten contains something called lectins, which is a natural part of the wheat plant that helps the wheat protect itself from pests. Lectins also damage gut lining and don't mesh well with an optimal gut microbiome. Fifty years ago wheat gluten had some lectins, but not enough to cause disarray in our guts. These days, it has 10-100 times the amount of lectins. The refinement of wheat has also contributed to unbalanced guts and leaky gut, but the lectin levels are the primary reason.
How, you ask, could the gluten in wheat all of the sudden have 10-100 times the amount of lectins as it used to 50 years ago? I was hoping you would ask, because I finally figured this out today after watching hours of nutrition videos (from reputable nutritionists and doctors) to try to find a good explanation.
In 1970 Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize for developing a high yield dwarf wheat variety that was disease and pest resistant. This discovery made wheat cheaper and easier to distribute, especially to starving populations. The problem was that it was the lectins in the wheat, or the increase in them, that was helping the wheat to resist diseases and pests. Fast forward to present day, and we are all exposed to this more modern version of wheat with too many lectins. It's killing our gut microbes and causing leaky gut by stressing the gut lining.
So, this is why, as a nutritionist, one of my first recommendations to most of my clients is to go gluten free. It's not an easy transition, but it's one of the most effective diet changes I can recommend. Sugar free and dairy free is also helpful, but going gluten free is, in some cases, a non-negotiable. Once you let go of gluten you can start to connect it to the way it really makes you feel. It doesn't really make you happy....it makes you sick.
If you need help trying a gluten free diet (it's a lot easier with the help of a nutritionist), or if you'd like guidance to be sure you are going gluten free in a healthy way, just message me on Facebook. I can help!
So what's the deal with gluten? Why does it make such a big difference in the way you feel to stop eating it?
Many doctors and nutritionists (including me) agree that gluten is contributing significantly to something called "leaky gut". Yes, it's a real thing. Here is the blog I wrote as an intro to leaky gut.
How, you ask, could the gluten in wheat all of the sudden have 10-100 times the amount of lectins as it used to 50 years ago? I was hoping you would ask, because I finally figured this out today after watching hours of nutrition videos (from reputable nutritionists and doctors) to try to find a good explanation.
In 1970 Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize for developing a high yield dwarf wheat variety that was disease and pest resistant. This discovery made wheat cheaper and easier to distribute, especially to starving populations. The problem was that it was the lectins in the wheat, or the increase in them, that was helping the wheat to resist diseases and pests. Fast forward to present day, and we are all exposed to this more modern version of wheat with too many lectins. It's killing our gut microbes and causing leaky gut by stressing the gut lining.
So, this is why, as a nutritionist, one of my first recommendations to most of my clients is to go gluten free. It's not an easy transition, but it's one of the most effective diet changes I can recommend. Sugar free and dairy free is also helpful, but going gluten free is, in some cases, a non-negotiable. Once you let go of gluten you can start to connect it to the way it really makes you feel. It doesn't really make you happy....it makes you sick.
If you need help trying a gluten free diet (it's a lot easier with the help of a nutritionist), or if you'd like guidance to be sure you are going gluten free in a healthy way, just message me on Facebook. I can help!
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