Eliminate All Gluten

Gluten is the primary protein found in wheat. In my experience, there is an epidemic of hidden intolerance to wheat products.  There are frequently no obvious symptoms.

Rice, corn, buckwheat and millet have glutens, but the glutens in these foods do not contain the gliadin molecule that can provoke the inflammatory reaction. Therefore, they are usually safe.  Other safe grains include quinoa and amaranth.

Gliadins are molecules that frequently cause toxic reactions that trigger your immune response. When gliadin in gluten becomes water soluble, it is free to bind to cells in your body.  If you are sensitive, your body will make antibodies to gliadin and attack the cells gliadin has attached itself to, treating those cells as an infection. This immune response damages surrounding tissue and has the potential to set off, or exacerbate, MANY other health problems throughout your body, which is why gluten can have such a devastating effect on your overall health.

In some cases people are allergic to rice, corn, buckwheat or millet, independent of the reaction to gluten/gliadin.

Reading labels can be very misleading; don't trust them. Some companies list their products as gluten free, without understanding the scientific basis of the problem with gliadin.  For clarity of communication, sub-clinical gluten intolerance will be used to refer to this sensitivity to gliadin in the rest of this discussion

Unfortunately, most people don't feel better immediately after eliminating gluten from their diets as it may take 30 to 60 days for the inflammation to subside, and up to 9 to 12 months for the lining of your small intestine to heal. 

On rare occasions an individual may experience significant improvement within weeks of eliminating gluten from their diet.  But in other cases people may feel considerably worse upon initially starting a gluten free diet.  This is usually due to other unidentified food allergies and food sensitivities -- a problem that plagues about 75 percent of the population.  In fact, food cravings can often serve as a gauge of food sensitivity. Craving dairy products or breads, for example, can be an indication that you are sensitive to that food, especially if you crave it but then feel worse after eating it.

For most people with gluten intolerance, by around 6 to 9 months of being gluten free, noticeable physical and mental/emotional changes will have taken place.

When you eat a food that you're sensitive to, it causes a series of negative biochemical reactions in your body, especially in your digestive tract and immune system, as I described earlier. However, it also decreases your serotonin levels, which can have a marked negative impact on your mood, and can cause you to turn to simple sugars and carbohydrates for relief. 

Usually, when you remove allergenic foods (such as gluten) from your diet, your cravings for sweets will diminish, your mood will improve, your weight will drop, and your overall health will soar.  

Therefore, your first step is to avoid the following foods. They are all highly allergenic and will frequently keep your immune system in overdrive by continually triggering the inflammatory response:

• Wheat
• White flour products (baked goods, cookies, pastries)
• Barley
• Rye
• Kamut
• Teff
• Spelt
• Couscous
• Soy
• Pasteurized cow's milk products