Monday, September 26, 2011

Top 12 Reasons Gluten, if sensitive to it, Should Be ELIMINATED From Your Diet: Part 1

Here Charles Poliquin writes about the serious reasons one should avoid gluten/gliadin if one is sensitive to it.


Gluten is a protein found in most grains eaten in America and all over Europe. Most of your customers gluten intake will come from wheat products, but as well from barley, triticale, rye, oats, spelt. Oats are supposed by nature to be gluten free, however, they get cross-contaminated by being carried in trucks that also carry wheat. You should also know that American strands of wheat have the highest content of gluten in the World.

Gluten has been isolated as a risk factor is so many diseases, that is almost impossible to count them all. At the time of writing this blog, the functional medicine circle has isolated at least 55 diseases linked to it.
 
I have to pick 12 main reasons to eliminate gluten from your diet:
 
1. Gluten inflames the brain. The auto-immune response to ingesting inflames the brain. It deposits a type of plaque that interferes with proper communication between cells. Gluten is so bad for brain function that I know of at least one Formula One stable who bans their pilots from eating it.

2. The glutamate content in gluten kills brain cells. Glutamate is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites brain cells, which either damages or kills them. Its docking station in the brain is called the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor). Excessive excitation of this receptor is linked to many psychiatric disorders.

3. Gluten has been linked to autism. EVERY single client who came in for a consult to help their autistic child, have seen that the removal of gluten that the most influential factor to heal their child. They can also how reintroducing by accident, such as birthday cake consumption at a friend’s place immediately flares up all behavioral changes associated with autism.
 
If this is intriguing to you, read more here...... 

Gluten-Free Friendly Travel in Venice

Glutenfreegelatoitaly_2 
I would like to share how easy it is to eat out, if you are gluten free,  in other countries. Today I am highlighting Italy, in particular Venice.
Since 1999, in Italy, all children are tested for gluten sensitivity and celiac disease and as a consequence the general culture of Italy is very knowledgeable about the serious consequences of undiagnosed celiac disease, including the high rates of complications and death.They appreciate celiacs need good gluten free food and need to be treated like every one else.

And so the GF food is wonderful in Italy. 

Well, thanks to Maria Roglieri, author of The Gluten-Free Guide To New York and The Gluten-Free Guide To Italy we can all relax and enjoy the gondola ride. Maria is going to share with us today some extremely helpful tips about how to fearlessly eat gluten-free in Italy.


Italy is gluten-free heaven (although some Italians beg to differ since you can't get a gluten-free hamburger bun at McDonald's) in large part because everyone in Italy knows about celiac disease.  When you ask restaurant staff about gluten-free food (il cibo senza glutine), they automatically respond with the question "Do you have celiac disease?"
All Italians are tested for celiac disease at an early age.  The many who test positive receive great services:  a monthly stipend from the government for gluten-free food plus extra vacation time to shop for and prepare gluten-free food!  Also, the companies that sell gluten-free products have all worked to promote awareness and understanding of celiac disease.  It is a law that gluten-free food must be made available in schools, hospitals, and public places and that all pharmacy products and food labels must indicate the presence of gluten if present.  In Italy, you can even study for a Master's degree in "Celiac Disease:  From Diagnosis to Management."
When I ask restaurant owners, managers, and chefs if they can provide a gluten-free meal, sometimes they say "no" but much more often they respond positively with comments such as,
- "Come no?" (effectively, "Why not?  Why do you even ask?"),

To read all of the article follow it at Celiac chicks....

To find more listings of restaurants and food stores in Venice, read another blog written by Anna...

Venice      -Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Venice can be a lonely place for anyone GF.  I have been on a GF diet for close to ten years and have been pretty successful at it (or so I say), however, for me personally, Venice served as a cold reminder of how much I miss freshly baked non-GF bread.  With all the advances in GFF cuisine, the bread has come miles from where we started, how ever it is one of the items that still has a way to go.  So, walking through the beautiful little streets of Venice I could not escape the smells coming out of the little pizza joints, stores and restaurants, but the most difficult for me was the smell of freshly baked bread (pastries and croissants as well).  With that said, I was very lucky to stumble upon a small store (MEA LIBERA TUTTI) that caters to us GF divas.  The owner was not only very friendly and approachable, but she is a wealth of knowledge of anything GF.  She deals with non-GFF Venice every day and is more than willing to share the lessons that she has learned.  She became my guide to GFF Venice - for which I am eternally grateful. 

MEA LIBERA TUTTI (check out the store on Facebook)
CANNAREGIO 3803 (but when looking for it, ask for Calle Racchetta / Priuli street to find it since Cannaregio is the area the store is located in, not the actual street name)
TEL. 041 5210454
mealiberatutti@gmail.com 

The places below are not the only places that are supposedly GFF in Venice.  I came across some that have a limited GFF menu (such as Osteria Anticopolo on Ruga Realto 778), but such places are not necessarily 100% GF, because of the possibility of cross-contamination.  However, all the places below are guaranteed GF and are constantly inspected to make sure that they stay that way.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Virgin Coconut Oil Halts Severe Dementia in 35 Days




Steve Newport, who had severe dementia only 5 years after MRI diagnosis with Alzheimer’s, is happy his wife decided to pursue unorthodox treatment of his condition with virgin coconut oil instead of the expensive drug called Axona.
Dr. Mary Newport, a neonatal pediatrician at Spring Hill Regional Hospital in Florida, learned through research that the active ingredient in Axona is MCT, also known as Medium Chain Triglycerides, a saturated fat used to treat epilepsy as well as in neonatal feeding programs. Since Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is loaded with MCTs, Dr. Newport began an intensive feeding program for her husband. The diet consisted of a mixture of 2 TBps virgin coconut oil and the MCT pharmaceutical isolate with every meal.

 Here is a report by  Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist on September 23, 2011
Within 35 days, Steve Newport’s rapid neurological decline was arrested and 18 months later he had recovered enough brain function and normal behavior to test as only a mild case of Alzheimer’s – the same tests which before starting the VCO feeding program had indicated that he was borderline severe dementia.

Coconut Oil Provides Super Fuel to the Brain
Dr. Bruce Fife, author of Stop Alzheimer’s Now, recommends VCO instead of MCT drugs such as Axona because the drugs become ineffective over time, wear off quickly, have side effects and cause free radical damage to the cells.
When the MCTs in virgin coconut oil are converted into ketones they act as a super fuel for the brain.  This super fuel provides energy to the brain as well as stimulates healing and repair.
It is the chemical structure of  the MCTs in coconut oil that allows them to pass the blood-brain barrier which ordinary food or oils cannot.
How to Source Quality Virgin Coconut Oil
If someone you love is suffering from a neurodegenerative illness, help them by adding virgin coconut oil to their diet!  The research is showing what Traditional Cultures such as those in the Pacific Islands have known for centuries – coconut oil helps keep you healthy!
To source, please refer to my Resources page which identifies companies that offer only the finest organic Virgin Coconut Oil from sustainable sources.


 Does Your Brain Need Coconut Oil?

Thursday, September 15, 2011

A Baby “Inherits” Gut Dysbiosis from Mom and How “The Pill” Can Harm Your Future Child’s Health

There are a number of identified triggers of celiac disease including abnormal organisms living in the bowel, sometimes called dysbiosis, low vitamin D status, bottle-fed  infant formula, and being birthed by cesarean section.
What they all have in common is the tendency for dysbiosis. 
Many women already know they get "yeast" when they take the "Pill". Now we have evidence that a baby "inherits" gut dysbiosis from their Mom, if she was on the "pill"

Well, Sarah, The healthy Home economist quotes Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's concerns about the effect of the "Pill" on a woman's body, an effect that can be past on to future children.

According, to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, use of other drugs such as the Pill also cause severe gut dysbiosis.   What’s worse, drug induced gut imbalance is especially intractable and resistant to treatment either with probiotics or diet change.
What does this mean for your future child’s health?   A lot, as it turns out!

Gut Imbalance Reduces Absorption of Nutrients

First of all, gut imbalance brought on through use of The Pill negatively impacts the ability to digest food and absorb nutrients.   As a result, even if a women eats spectacularly well during pregnancy, if she has been taking oral contraceptives for a period of time beforehand, it is highly likely that she and her baby are not reaping the full benefits of all this healthy food as the lack of beneficial flora in her gut preclude this from occurring.
In addition, beneficial flora actively synthesize nutrients including vitamin K, pantothenic acid, folic acid, thiamin (B1), cyanocobalamin (B12), amino acids and others.  In an imbalanced gut, a woman is missing out on the “natural supplementation” that these good flora provide to her and her growing baby.
Not well known is the fact that use of The Pill depletes zinc in the body.  Zinc is called “the intelligence mineral” as it is intimately involved in mental development.   As a result, it is very important for women who have been using oral contraceptives to wait at least 6 months before becoming pregnant to ensure that zinc levels return to normal as low zinc is associated with lowered IQ and birth defects.
It really is quite disturbing to fully realize the very real potential that use of oral contraceptives have to result in nutritional deficiencies!

Read the whole article....to get to the part about gut dysbiosis being past on to the child.
There is hope. Most cases of "Dysbiosis" can be cured with the GAPS diet.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Dr. Fasano recently demonstrated gluten-sensitivity without CD does exist.

Dr. Fasano recently completed a research study that demonstrated gluten-sensitivity without the presence of celiac disease does exist.Dr. Ludvigsson and others did so three years ago.

Read a well written piece that helps to sort through the maze of traditional testing. People who are sick and turn out to have gluten sensitivity need to learn more from their doctors than 'they don't have' celiac.
People  with gluten sensitivity need to learn how to prevent the shortening of their life expectancy by 15 -20 years with a diet and some supplements.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033502_celiac_disease_gulten_intolerance.html#ixzz1XDcqveRf.