| Recently a neighbour's four-year old son was diagnosed as gluten-sensitive. He'd been having tummy aches and a bit of diarrhoea, was a bit whiny, looked pale and shadowy round the eyes. He wasn't a good sleeper, nor a good doer, and altogether was becoming a bit of a worry.
His parents were surprised when the doctor asked what his favourite foods were.
“Pizza”, said his mother. “He loves pizza”. But they were stunned when the doctor suggested he go off pizza and avoid all foods with wheat flour. No bread. No sandwiches. No cookies.
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Wheat has been described as the most reactive food in the history of the world. The Western diet is based on wheat, much of it engineered for high gluten levels. The resulting steady trickle of gluten through the digestive system can mean big problems for those who are sensitive to it.
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Jacqueline Steincamp
Photo source Jacqueline Steincamp
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What was going on, they wondered? Isn't bread the staff of life? Isn't it an integral part of what we should be eating for optimum health?
Did you know that there is an addictive element in wheat protein? This little lad was having healthy wholemeal toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, muffins after school – and maybe pizza for an evening meal. There’s an awful lot of flour in that – and most of it is flour that is made from wheat grown for commercial bakers. It is far higher in gluten than the old wheat used to be. Gluten is a protein that makes flour sticky, and helps baked good rise nicely.
A diet high in grains - even whole-grains - may not be good for people with an in-built problem with gluten. They often come from families with digestive problems. Or they may have been afflicted with a severe enterovirus which caused cellular damage to the gut. I can think of a leading New Zealand animal scientist who contracted the Norwalk virus from a sheep he was studying, was in hospital for a month, and had developed severe coeliac disease.
Coeliac disease is on the far end of the spectrum of gluten sensitivity. This sensitivity can manifest itself as a low-level, clinically undetectable intolerance to gluten reaching to reactions and gut membrane damage so extreme that a single molecule of gluten can cause bleeding, shock, even death.
It takes only a few molecules of gluten to upset the tissues of the small intestine in gluten-sensitive people. The intestinal membranes are damaged, and the ‘villi’ atrophy. These are the little projections that absorb nutrients. Then there is the over-production of a protein called zonulin which further blocks the absorption of nutrients. It is a bad scenario.
The person becomes malnourished, even though it may seem as though he is eating normally. Other food sensitivities may develop. Parasitical and fungal infections are likely to arise in a weakened body. Every system of the body can be affected. People can be unwell for years, never suspecting that a food they eat might have been causing their problems. Gluten has been shown to cause inflammation in the brain and researchers are now looking at its effects on the entire central nervous system.
Gluten can damage the stomach cells which produce an Intrinsic Factor necessary for vitamin B12 uptake. Over time, it can create vitamin B12 deficiency with its accompanying neurological disturbances
Gluten sensitivity can be hard to diagnose. It is most important that the patient eats gluten-containing foods right up to the day of the test. Otherwise incorrect results may occur.
There are two big rays of hope on the horizon for the gluten sensitive. One is that avoidance of gluten is a cure – and the other is that a product is being developed to stop the production of zonulin. When taken before a meal it improves intestinal function, and allows sufferers to enjoy foods that would normally cause them strife.
Gluten sensitivity and chronic disease
The symptoms of gluten sensitivity seem to be widening and changing -perhaps because we eat so much bread; because bread contains more gluten - and perhaps because we know so much more about it! A well known Christchurch gastroenterologist estimates that it is a factor in about one-third of all chronic disease.
Problems recognised today as associated with gluten sensitivity include:
- peripheral neuropathy
- shaky gait
- loss of brain power
- bone demineralisation.
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- Migraine
- Iron deficiency
- dental defects
- hair loss
- skin rashes
- Crohn’s Disease
- Irritable Bowel Disease
Gluten is also associated with mental disorders. Prof Klaus Lorenz wrote extensively on the subject in Cereals and Schizophrenia.
The sensitivity spectrum
The spectrum of patients with gluten sensitivity includes:
- those with classical coeliac disease symptoms
- those with atypical symptoms
- those with a single unexplained symptom (.e.g peripheral neuropathy or joint pain)
- those with dermatitis herpetiformis
- those with asymptomatic latent coeliac disease.
If you have health problems which fit into these categories, you can do so much to help yourself by avoiding foods containing gluten. Enjoy a wider choice of foods. Buy a gluten-free cookbook. Look for Gluten-free labels.
You may notice an immediate improvement when you avoid gluten. On the other hand, it may take months before your body starts to heal.
Foods containing gluten
Cakes, breads, biscuits, pastries, batters made from wheat
Bran and wheat germ
Rye
Millet, barley and oats (low levels)
Soups, salad dressings and sauces thickened with flour
Beer and root beer
Prepared mustard
Most soy and tamari sauces
Healthy carbohydrates - for you
Rice, potato, corn, arrowroot, tapioca, kumara, pumpkin, amaranth, quinoa, etc.
Jacqueline Steincamp is author of "Overload: Beating M.E./CFS". She has been associated with research into ME for twenty years and has written numerous health articles, including one on endometriosis. www.nzine.co.nz/views/endometriosis_natural.html
For more information about her go to
www.nzine.co.nz/features/guinz25-50_part7.html
At the end of that article there is a list of her contributions to NZine.
