Is there a relationship between gluten and autoimmune?
Gluten and autoimmune disease is a real concern. It seems to be a buzz word right now – gluten. People are avoiding it, there are gluten free diets and now even gluten free café’s exist.
So what is all the fuss about?
Gluten is a protein that is found in grains and is made up of 2 parts – peptides gliadin and glutenin.
People who are gluten sensitive are intolerant to barley, rye, bulgur, seitan, triticale and mir and wheat. Wheat derivatives are also out and include such things as:
- wheat starch
- wheat bran
- wheat germ
- couscous
- cracked wheat
- durum
- einkorn
- emmer
- farina
- faro
- fu (common in Asian foods)
- gliadin
- graham flour
- kamut
- matzo
- semolina
- spelt
(Source – http://www.healthline.com/health/allergies/gluten-food-list#Outlook6)
Debate rages about whether or not it is ok to eat oats. This is mainly due to how the oats are processed, as often this occurs in a factory that also processes other gluten grains.
For many people, their body is able to easily process gluten and life goes on, but for others this is definitely not the case. Some studies show up to 15% of the Australian population has a gluten intolerance.
For people who are gluten intolerant, eating gluten can be extremely painful. Symptoms include bloating, stomach pains, gas, cramping and even diarrhea. Ouch!
If this isn’t bad enough, we now know that gluten intolerance is a major contributor to the risk of having an autoimmune disease.
What’s an autoimmune disease?
Gluten free food concepts word cloud illustration. Word collage concept.
An autoimmune disease is what happens when your body starts attacking it’s own healthy cells.
Gluten can trigger an autoimmune response in the body. When gluten reaches your gut, your body thinks that the gliadin (one of the elements of gluten) is dangerous and begins to attack it. Sometimes your body will go further and also begin to attack it’s own healthy cells as well as the gliadin.
Autoimmune disease can affect more than just the healthy cells in your gut. This disease can affect your other organs, including your thyroid and brain.
Why is my body attacking itself?
Surely this isn’t right?
Our food today is different from the way it was. Food today is increasingly hybrid and some people can’t cope with this. Our body isn’t designed to cope with these new strains of protein and doesn’t know what to do.
How do I know if I am gluten intolerant?
The best way to determine if gluten isn’t for you is to remove it from your diet for a period of time (around 30 days), then slowly reintroduce it. As you reintroduce it, observe how your body reacts.
If you are not feeling 100% a medical intuitive session could help get to the root of what is causing the problem.
Julie Lewin – a world renowned Medical Intuitive started her journey into the art of intuition in 1984. She appeared in four episodes of the TV show “The Extraordinary” which was syndicated to 22 countries. She’s an Amazon #1 Bestselling author and has a Bachelor in Metaphysical Science. Julie won the Our Internet Secrets Business Builder Award 2013, has founded a charity, and teaches her healing modality.
