Why I Avoid Gluten Even Though I Don’t Have Celiac’s
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This blog post is from the Nurse Kim archives of myth busting. I want to share some "alternative" or maybe just lesser known health and wellness viewpoints for you to chew on.
*These posts are not intended as official medical advice.
They ARE meant to be fun, informative, and thought provoking, hopefully sparking an interest for you to do your own research (you can start with the links I provide!) and discover the marvels of the human body, and how it can function at its optimal performance level if we understand how it works and interacts with our environment and our diet.
I have a passion for health and wellness through lifestyle and nutrition and have done thousands of hours of research in addition to being a registered nurse for 23 years. I have done A LOT of self-experimentation in and around diet, lifestyle, body care, and supplementation and have spent a lot of time looking into the science behind it all (or lack thereof!). Check back weekly for the latest post!
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Amy A
Meet my little friend Amylopectin A. We’ll call her Amy A for
short, and she is reason number one of why I avoid gluten (in the US specifically). Amy A is something
known as a “super starch.” A super starch is a component of starch that has a high molecular weight and
branched structure and does not gel in aqueous solutions, a fancy way of saying,
it does not dissolve in water. This starch molecule has a very similar
structure to glycogen, the stored form of glucose, in fact, Amy A is made up of
thousands of branches of glucose units.
When we talk about “sugar” in the modern western diet, we
often think of candy and confections. In fact, starch IS sugar and is broken
down to glucose (and stored as glycogen) in the body just the same. Glucose is not inherently bad, but consuming it in this ultra processed form causes dysfunction in the body at the molecular level and interferes with our body's ability to process that sugar and turn it into fuel for energy.
Visceral Fat
With Amy A’s molecular structure as a super starch, she in
fact, spikes blood sugar and insulin more than table sugar, raises bad cholesterol,
and increases belly fat. The reason we worry about fat in the midsection more
than other parts of the body is because fat in the midsection on the outside
also means fat on the organs inside (otherwise known as visceral fat). Fat on the organs is much more dangerous than fat on the outside of
the body. The modern western diet full of Amy A (and other forms of ultra processed sugar)
has contributed greatly to fatty liver and fatty pancreas.
Gliadin Proteins
In addition to Amy A, gluten also contains something called gliadin proteins that cause a breakdown in the gastrointestinal (GI) lining (the “gut”).
The lining of the gut is super important for human health. There is a
mucous layer that is supposed to be strong and tight, keeping food, waste, and
microbes inside the GI tract and out of the rest of the body. What
happens when we eat foods that break down that mucous junction is a “leaky gut,”
literally, things that belong in the gut “leaking” out into the bloodstream where
they don’t belong causing systemic inflammation.
Round-Up
By now I am sure many of you have seen the commercials on
TV, “If you or a loved one suffered health concerns related to the use of glyphosate,
the weed killer Round-Up, call us to seek compensation.” While they might seem gimmicky,
these commercials are indeed serving a purpose in helping individuals who have
been harmed by this chemical that is unfortunately still in use in
almost all agricultural and residential gardening today even though it has been proven to cause cancer and Monsanto, the manufacturer, has been successfully sued
for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Very unfortunately the FDA and other government entities upon
a simple Google search will claim that there is no compelling evidence that
glyphosate is harmful to humans [insert cry face].
Oh yeah! And how does this relate to gluten? So glad you asked! We not only slather all our crops in glyphosate in the US, but we also use a process of desiccation with our grain crops specifically, spraying them with "extra" glyphosate to kill them off before they sprout (retaining even more gluten than if sprouted) to speed up the harvesting process. I guess patience is not a virtue after all 😕
Calcium Propionate
But wait! There’s more! Gluten also contains a preservative
called calcium propionate (we’ll call her Cali P) which has been linked to mood, behavioral, and attention disorders. Cali P, although an artificial chemical,
had long been considered benign and compatible with human biology because her
chemical makeup was similar to (and modeled after) propionic acid, which is naturally
produced in the human gut. Turns out, exposure to excessive amounts of Cali P negatively
alters the gut microbiome causing an imbalance in the ratio of propionic acid to
butyric acid. This disproportionate ratio and excessive buildup of propionic
acid causes inflammation in both the gut and brain, as both these acids readily
cross the blood brain barrier, leading to behavioral impulse problems. This
info is becoming so widespread that fast food manufacturers like Mickey D’s are
scrambling to get Cali P out of their products (you know it’s bad if Mickey
D’s is concerned!).
So, let’s see... do we need any more reasons to avoid the breadbasket? I don’t think we do, plus, I don’t know about you, but I am all “scienced” out for today.
I will offer one small caveat for those not
gluten sensitive by allergy test or diagnosed with Celiac’s:
The dose makes the poison.
By that I mean… when I go to my favorite Italian restaurant,
do I have a few slices of their delicious appetizer bread slathered in butter?
Ummm…YEAH!!! But am I downing bread, bagels, chips, cereal, pasta, and crackers
every day? HECK NO!! Not to mention as you may recall from previous posts, I try
to eat a REAL food diet and turns out, loaves of bread, crackers, and
frosted flakes don’t grow on trees… so.
Moral of the story and the main point to ALL my nutrition
blather… you may not even know HOW AMAZING you can feel (and what
ailments might disappear) if you cut some of these modern frankenfoods from your
diet. It might just be worth a bunless burger kinda life! Try it and see 😊
Until next week!
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