ATI: The New "Gluten": Part 2, Dr. Richard Nahas of the Seeker's Centre Shares

Over at the Seeker's Pain Centre Dr. Richard Nahas writes about his approach. 

Is wheat affecting your brain?

We have supervised hundreds of patients during a trial of a gluten-free diet. What we have seen has been nothing short of amazing. About half of patients report dramatic improvements. This does not just include GI problems like bloating, gas, heartburn, constipation, stomach pain and diarrhea. We see improvement in fatigue, muscle aches and joint pain. Less depression and anxiety. Better sleep. Swelling and edema, blood pressure and blood sugar, and many other problems improve.


In medical school, we are taught that gluten allergy is called celiac disease, and that it affects about 1% of people. Recent studies, and the experiences of millions of ordinary people, point to another problem with wheat and other gluten-containing foods. It is called Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS), and it appears to be a silent epidemic. No one knows exactly how many people suffer from NCGS, but it is one of the most common reasons why some people who suffer a minor injury are not able to ‘bounce back’.


When we suspect NCGS, we recommend a strict, 100% gluten-free diet for three months. This means no wheat, rye, barley, spelt or kamut. This means no bread or beer, pizza or pasta, cookies, pies, cakes, donuts or muffins. It means reading ingredients, talking to servers in restaurants, and sometimes saying ’no thank you’ at social gatherings. But for people with NCGS, these small sacrifices pay huge dividends.


We have blamed all of this on gluten, but this new study points to a new possible cause. Researchers have reported that amylase-trypsin inhibitors can trigger inflammation in tissues. This may help explain why a gluten-free diet can improve symptoms throughout the body. Inflammation is at the root of Alzheimer’s, diabetes, depression and dozens of other chronic diseases. While we know that gluten can disturb the immune system, this new finding suggests that ATIs may cause additional problems, leading to a one-two punch.


If you have any health problems at all, you should definitely consider a trial of a gluten-free diet. If it does not help, then you can try other dietary approaches to see if they make a difference. Avoiding nightshades, going vegetarian, occasional fasting, raw food diets and low-carb ‘Paleo’ diets have also helped many of our patients.


In the words of Hippocrates, the great Greek physician, ‘let food be thy medicine’. And keep seeking.

Those of you who have been reading me faithfully know that I recommend a trial of gluten-free, dairy free, nightshade free, grain-free, sugar-free diet similar to Paleo, called GAPS (www.gaps.me) which has a step wise approach to ensure smooth sailing and success. Why because I have seen remarkable successes with this. 

Avoiding grains ( and more particularly the GAPS way) makes more and more sense as more scientific research comes in. Like the info on the Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity being a new and different immune reaction than Celiac disease and now the Anti Trypsin Inhibitors found in wheat causing inflammation. 

There is more and more reason to go for a trial of GAPS ( or a GAPS/ Paleo version) 

 

To Your Health

Dr. Barbara (TM)

CeliacBrain (TM) is the trademark and copyright of Dr. Barbara Powell. The right of Dr. Barbara Powell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Patent and Designs Act 1988.

“The 7 Day Back Pain Cure”.

Many healthcare practitioners recognize that food sensitivities, but especially gluten sensitivity trigger inflammation and inflammation can sometimes present as pain.  The connection is clear. And so many healthcare practitioners recommend eliminating wheat from the diet with great results.

Today I was asked if a person could cure celiac/gluten sensitivity with a gluten-free diet. Maybe once, but I don’t think it is possible in our environment. The problem is that once the body makes anti-bodies to gliadin, or one’s own tissues, the body doesn’t forget. It’s always ready and watching for a “triggering protein poly peptide”. Candida is very common trigger but so is coffee which can cross react. And, as noted below, 5% of modern wheat polypeptides are completely unique and not like any ancient wheat, and they are responsible for triggering reactions. And the body doesn’t forget, probably from multiple reasons such as toxic overload, chemical exposure, Electromagnetic field exposure, chronic infections, and nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin A deficiencies. One would have a reaction from eating wheat even if you can get a hold of heritage wheat flour (not the hybrid wheat strains).

If you have pain, try a Gut and Psychology syndrome diet with the supplements listed in the book and see if you don’t feel better. And add a supplement called GLA at 600 mg a day .

The following is a quote from Isabel De Los Rios at Beyond Diet, who recommends the book “The 7 Day Back Pain Cure”.

A lot of what I’ve learned about tackling inflammation and pain I learned from Jesse Cannone’s free book, "The 7 Day Back Pain Cure." Particularly, be sure to read Chapter 8: The Diet: How Dietary Imbalances Cause Pain.

"If I had to choose just 1 thing to do right now to help reduce your inflammation it would be to greatly reduce your wheat and gluten intake." Eliminating wheat from your diet can have an astounding impact on how you look and feel.

Wheat wasn’t always so harmful like it is today. In the past, we had many different strains of wheat, but in modern times, in order to increase production, agricultural scientists created two hybrid strains. Right now more than 99% of the wheat grown worldwide comes from those two hybrid crops. Genetically modified foods in any form can have an extremely negative impact on our health and weight.  Dr. William Davis, a Wisconsin based cardiologist, points out that the hybrid wheat strain shows only 95% of the same proteins as its parent wheat strains: the other 5% are completely unique. This unique 5% of proteins is responsible for so many people’s wheat sensitivities.  It’s becoming a huge epidemic and most everyone is allergic or sensitive to wheat in some form. Is that a scary thought or what?

In tomorrow’s newsletter, I will be addressing the easiest ways to eliminate wheat from your eating plan and the easy and delicious substitutions you have to choose from. Until then, make sure to get your free copy of "The 7 Day Back Pain Cure." It is a wonderful book to have on your bookshelf and I use it almost every week as one of my favorite reference books.
Your personal copy of "The 7 Day Back Pain Cure"

Isabel De Los Rios

Certified Nutritionist

Certified Exercise Specialist

* Check out what's happening right now on Beyond Diet