Gluten. No Big Deal or Silent Killer?
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Is the gluten-free diet just a fad or are there real dangers of gluten?
It seems that everyone is going gluten-free these days. There are gluten-free sections of grocery stores, gluten-free menu options, and even a gluten-free cruise line.
But what is really going on here? This wasn't happening years ago so were people just sick then and didn't know it, or has something changed?
Is gluten freely a bad thing that no one should eat?
Here are some facts about gluten that hopefully will help you understand more about this whole situation.
What is Gluten?
Gluten is a substance in wheat, and some other grains: barley, rye, and spelled.
It gives these grains, and particularly wheat, its stretchiness (and it tastes great in our mouths too :)).
It's made of 2 proteins: gliadin and glutenin.
Regardless of what it's called, this substance is something we Westerners love to eat.
But it seems to not be loving us back.
There is sooo much I would like to write about this, but much will have to wait 'til later.
For now, here are some things to get you introduced to My Story and what the real deal is with gluten.
Gluten and Our Family
We've given up gluten at various times in the past and present. And I've been doing a TON of thinking and reading about this.
I'll write more on these later, but here is our brief history.
1. Me: I went off wheat before I was married when I suffered severe fatigue and brain fog that I traced clearly to excessive wheat consumption. I later started eating wheat again, but in smaller amounts, and mostly whole grains only.
2. My son: About 6 years ago our oldest was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. There is a lot of compelling evidence (anecdotal and otherwise) that autistic people tend to have intolerances to gluten and casein (one of the proteins in milk products). We took our son off gluten a number of years ago. We noticed not complete healing, but a definite improvement in symptoms.
3. My Husband: He went off gluten (for the most part) about 3 years ago after suffering from severely low ferritin. (He was basically almost dead.) Adding iron to his diet didn't do enough but taking gluten out of his diet was one of the things that got his blood results almost back to normal.
4. Me again and “The Whole Fam”: Recently I have been dealing with some new puzzling healthy symptoms. More on the whole deal later (when I have time to put all of my thoughts down) but I am now totally gluten-free. I wasn't eating much–just samples at Costco (which are VERY tempting). I'm working on my youngest and my husband too. Read on to find out why.
Is Gluten-Free Just a Fad?
Some people think that eating gluten-free is just a fad. Or a way to lose weight. There are a lot of folks claiming that going gluten-free helped them lose weight. And you know how that works.
Talk about something helping you lose weight and:
1. People jump on the bandwagon 'cause they want to lose weight too OR
2. When people find out that YOU are gluten-free, they assume you are doing it to lose weight.
Well, I would love to not have to fight a few extra pounds (I am not really overweight, but I do need to watch it), but I assure you that I wouldn't go totally gluten-free just to keep 1-5 pounds off. And I don't think an occasional slice of wheat bread or pizza is going to keep that much weight on me.
Believe me—this is NOT a fad.
Documented Dangers of Gluten
1. Mental Disorders
– Reduction in wheat consumption during WWII led to a reduction of schizophrenia, plus antibodies to gluten are more prevalent in schizophrenics (source)
2. Autoimmune Disease
Gluten is clearly linked to autoimmune disease with correlations up to 40%. (Source)
3. Infertility
Gluten sensitivity is linked to miscarriages and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). (Source)
4. Death
Yes–this might sound a little extreme, but–gluten really could be a silent killer. Rates of mortality are increased up to 75% with gluten sensitivity. We're not even talking celiac here folks! Check this out to see documented data on how bad gluten can be for some people.
So after reading all of this…..do you think gluten-free is “just a fad.”
What do you think? Is Gluten “no big deal” or a silent killer?
I am looking for a Gluten Free Bread that would be suitable for a Communion Bread for my Christian Congregation to share. They DO NOT want wafers & would very much like to have One Bread to share with all members. So far, what I have found is either wafers, OR was WAAAAY to crumbly, (both unacceptable).. Has anyone else gone down this route & been successful?? It sure would be a blessing for many Christians.
Have you tried the brands at Costco? The Udis is very starchy but there is another kind there now.
Sorry, I should have been more clear. I am looking for a RECIPE to bake gluten free Communion Bread.
Sorry I don’t have one – have you done an internet search?
This infirmation is complete [expletive deleted by blog owner]. You are spreading panic among parents without cause.
Hi there. I would appreciate it if you would tell me exactly what you disagree with rather than using expletives. And how exactly am I spreading panic? Gluten has been implicated in many health problems and issues w/ gluten are documented even in mental institutions. Just do an internet search for wheat and schizophrenia and you can see what I mean. Thanks.
Hi Adrienne,
The links you posted lead to pseudoscientific articles and not to actual studies published in peer-reviewed journals. Like most if not all issues that we deal with on a daily basis, the effect that diet has on health is multifactorial. Eliminating gluten from one’s diet and finding that improvement in symptoms results in no way proves that gluten is the offending substance. Simply focusing on making healthy eating choices and introducing a sustainable change in diet tends to result in positive health outcomes. In order to determine that gluten is indeed as bad as it is being made out to be, we need placebo-controlled, double blind studies and, as far as I know, there aren’t any. Perhaps you know of one? The reason I have to harp on this issue is because, yes, for all we know eating gluten may be causing us problems, but spreading information like that contained in the above article is rather sensationalistic and causes panic which is, in itself, a problem. You might say you’re just writing this for personal enjoyment and sharing it friends and loved ones but this site is available to the public. Although each individual reader has the responsibility to think critically and use diligent and thorough analysis, you also have the responsiblity to provide good, sound advice, especially since this site appears to be both popular and interesting. I have no doubt that your intentions are good but but a good tree must bear good fruit too. I realize that this article is already a couple years old so the timing may be off; however, the gluten-hate rages on. Truth is paramount. What good are faith, hope, and love if they aren’t based in truth? And the truth is, as of today, we still don’t know beyond a reasonable doubt that gluten is the enemy.
Hi Joe. Thanks for commenting. There are so many links going off of the articles that I posted that your generalization is not true. I must say that of course, things can be multifactorial but I, for one, am off gluten for good. I didn’t need to wait for a double blind study. My husband had ferritin stores of just about zero and iron pills did almost nothing. When we took him off gluten and added a probiotic his iron stores shot up. Yes, the probiotic for sure did something too but he has had gluten on and off since then and now has taken himself off of it due to how he feels when he eats it. I don’t need a double blind study to tell him he needs to do that.
I don’t think that this is sensationalistic or causing panic at all. I think our food system is a huge mess and all the chemicals they are dumping on foods and in the air and water and all of the overmedication is a huge problem. I am trying to offer my readers help and options that might help them. There is a lot of information that gluten is a problem and causes schizophrenia and to ignore this causes peril to our society.
Yes, this site is available to the public but perhaps you should be more concerned with the filth on TV and movies that is available to the public or the promotion of GMOs and the use of RoundUP that is available to the public even though we now know horrid things about RoundUp.
There are many enemies right now – and yes, stress is one of them. But gluten is certainly causing major issues for many people.
I think I linked to this in the post, but this is a good read. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201103/wheat-and-schizophrenia
Maybe you would wish to contact Psychology Today and ask them about why they published this?
I don’t mean to be harsh, but I am a mom trying to get good information out to people that might help them live a healthier life. Of course I am not a doctor and I can’t say this is medical advice, but I can point them towards things on the internet that make sense to me and things that work for me and/or others.
Finally, perhaps this study on gluten and autism will interest you as well . Thanks again. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/807390
Thank you for the info! I just recently decided to try going gluten-free because I have hypothyroidism and have read many articles about the link between gluten intolerance and thyroid disease. If you have problems with your thyroid or have symptoms of hypo/hyperthyroid, please go get it checked! It is one of the most misdiagnosed diseases there is and can lead to multiple health complications if it is not treated. Or if you know you have thyroid problems, research how it relates to gluten! I am also about to start using the Young Living essential oils.
I can’t wait to start having energy again and stop feeling like I’m 50 when I’m only 24!
I wonder if you’ve seen my series on essential oils. Hope you are doing well!
Just curious…what was your husband’s Ferritin level? I’ve been having a lot of issues lately and my blood work came back with an abnormally low Ferritin level also. I’ve been GF for a month and hope to see some improvement after 3 mos.
3. Horrid, huh? We did probiotics too. Are you on some?
Thanks so much for sharing this informative post! I having been thinking about reducing my family’s wheat consumption. I found your blog at Works for me Wednesday. I would love it if you shared a post at my new linky party.
Wow, so glad you posted this article, Adrienne. I’m definitely going to cut back even more (if not all the way) on gluten consumption. Gluten is so ingrained (no pun intended) in our culture and common foods Americans eat, everyone should read this article to know what it’s actually doing do our bodies! Thanks for sharing.
-molly (from tuesday bible study)
Hi Molly! So nice to hear from you! I’d be happy to help in any way I can with getting off the gluten. I am even learning that for some who don’t even have celiac, even a little bit can kick off immune responses. Hence I am getting it out completely.
Look forward to spending more time :).