Gluten Intolerance is....FAKE?!

I'm sure you've seen them.  Recent articles like this one in Forbes magazine detailing a recent study of thirty-something participants and their implied psychosomatic reaction to gluten consumption.  The initial findings by this same organization found that participants with IBS indeed experienced a negative digestive reaction after consuming gluten in their food.  The most recent study (the one detailed in Forbes), now supposedly defeats those findings, opting instead to say that gluten intolerance may be nonsense.  Do you know what is nonsense?  The fact that the articles (and many others like it) did not detail that during the study, participants were limited to a no-FODMAP diet.  Do you know what is included in the list of FODMAPs?  Wheat.  Do you know where gluten is found?  WHEAT.




I don't know about you, but for me, this article really got my feathers ruffled.  Even more so, the backlash of gluten lovers everywhere on social media had a field day posting about why people with "gluten sensitivity" and "gluten intolerance" are simply, and I'm quoting, "people looking for something to be wrong."  One guy even went as far as to say that all gluten intolerant people he knew of were "rich white women."  I love armchair physicians, don't you?  Here is a great response article by the fabulous Mark Sisson.


The funny thing is, a few short years ago, I may have been one of those people that didn't really think it existed.  And I was probably not much different than these people.  Before my Hashimoto's diagnosis in 2011, I had already begun to experience strange digestion issues when I ate pizza, drank beer, or indulged in many other processed foods.  By January of 2013, I could no longer even eat pasta or eat an kind of bread without having severe digestion upset, low fever, joint pain and inflammation, skin rashes, and migraine headaches, beginning immediately after consumption and lasting for days.  So I gave up gluten.  Fast forward to now, and I cannot have ANYTHING with gluten it without feeling the wrath.  So what about Celiac?  Yep, I was tested.  I went to the doctor, demanded to be tested, and they sent for a blood panel.  Do you know what they DIDN'T tell me?  That the blood test for Celiac is only a positive indicator IF you are still actively consuming gluten, and sometimes even that takes years to accurately identify.  By the time I was tested, gluten had not touched my lips in over six months.  All these factors combined, my test came back negative. 

Since my own realization that my body could no longer digest gluten, soy, or dairy well, I have had three doctors tell me "the jury is still out on gluten intolerance" and "there's no substantial proof" that these issues exist.  However, the ONE THING that has helped me recover from all of those debilitating symptoms is implementing dietary changes.  I have a theory about why doctors and Big Pharma do not want to acknowledge that these problems exist, and even more so as to why they do not advise their patients to implement dietary changes.  Wanna hear it?  It's quite simple, actually.  Why would they tell you that you could relieve nearly every single issue you're complaining about by changing your diet?  That would cut them out of the profit they receive from putting you on anti-depressants for your brain fog, RA meds for your joint pain, and prescription antacids for your digestion discomfort.  After complaining to my ex-endocrinologist about the issues I was facing every time I ate, these were the meds he prescribed.  I left his office with a clenched fist of prescriptions and a death wish.





So, that old adage about "you can't believe everything you read"?  It may or may not be true.  But something that is true is...YOU know your body the best.  Listen to it.  Make time to sit quietly and reflect on what it's telling you.  If, every time you eat, your body hates you, and the next day (or hour) you feel horrible, reevaluate your food choices.  I rarely have any food reactions anymore, because I have eliminated the things that make me sick.  Sure, I miss biscuits and cereal in the mornings, but I don't miss feeling miserable every time I eat.

Healthy.  Happy.  Hashi's.