Gluten Part 2

Gluten, the sticky protein found in wheat, barley, rye, oats and kamut, has become a household word in recent years. More and more brands are offering gluten-free alternatives as an increasing number of American’s claim an adverse reaction to it. But why are so many suddenly realizing its evils when we’ve been eating grains for millennia?

I’ve heard many people say they believe gluten-free is just another fad diet and many of those who claim to have an intolerance or allergy are just joining the hysteria surrounding it. This is perhaps the case for a very small minority. But I think most people were like me and had never realized the health woes they had been suffering, whether gastrointestinal or not, were caused by the gluten they’ve been eating everyday of their lives.

Dr. David Perlmutter, M.D., in his book, “Grain Brain,” says this growing intolerance is very real and the reasons are two fold. One, he says not only are most Americans’ diets carb-centric, but food manufacturers also are adding gluten to foods, including those already containing the protein, like bread, to make the food more appetizing and more addicting, so Americans are consuming more gluten than ever. The second reason is genetically modified organisms (GMO).

“The grains we eat today bear little resemblance to the grains that entered our diet about ten thousand years ago,” Perlmutter writes. “Ever since the nineteenth century, when Gregor Mendel described his famous studies of crossing different plants to arrive at new varieties, we’ve gotten good at mixing and matching strains to create some wild progeny in the grain department. And while our genetic makeup and physiology haven’t changed much since the time of our ancestors, our food chain has had a rapid makeover during the past fifty years.”

The modern strains, Perlmutter says, have been modified to the point of being far less tolerable to the human body than they were even just a few decades ago. The gastrointestinal tract, for the vast majority of people, has not evolved to be able to handle these new strains of gluten. These proteins are too rough on the GI tract, actually damaging the lining and leading to leaky gut.

“The body also mounts an inflammatory response when damage to the intestines, often from consuming gluten or dairy or grains (more on dairy and grain in general in future posts), causes ‘leaky gut.’ In this condition, the gastrointestinal tract develops microscopic holes, allowing fragments of food or bacteria into the bloodstream,” Dr. Dale Bredesen, M.D., writes in “The End of Alzheimer’s.” “That too triggers inflammation: the immune system recognizes these fragments of food, thinks they’re foreign invaders, and attacks.”

While gluten intolerance apparently has increased in recent decades, Dr. Christiane Northrup, OB-GYN, writes in her book, “The Wisdom of Menopause,” that new discoveries suggest the chronic diseases we know today first appeared when agrarian societies replaced hunter-gatherers.

“A fascinating line of research now suggests that the degenerative diseases that currently plague the human race didn’t arrive on the scene until agriculture became widespread,” she writes. “Paleoarcheological studies show that many of the ancient Egyptians were fat and had dental caries — diseases associated with a grain-based diet and virtually absent in hunter-gatherers.”

So these non-GMO early grains, though perhaps not as harmful as today’s varieties, were by no means harmless.

Gluten ingestion also has been proven to produce a euphoric pleasure, giving it the same addictive qualities as sugar and alcohol. So despite being harmful to the body, people often can’t fathom living the rest of their lives without it and find the temptation far too difficult to resist. I’ve had many people tell me they could never give up gluten, even when they know of its potentially harmful qualities, because they love these foods too much.

“We’ve known since the late 1970s that gluten breaks down in the stomach to become a mix of polypeptides that can cross the blood-brain barrier,” Perlmutter writes in “Grain Brain.” “Once they gain entry, they can then bind to the brain’s morphine receptors to produce a sensorial high. This is the same receptor to which opiate drugs bind, creating their pleasurable, albeit addicting, effect.”

These polypeptides have been named exorphins, short for exogenous morphine-like compounds, and are distinguished from endorphins, which are pain-killers naturally produced by the body.

“What’s most interesting about these exorphins, and further confirms their impact on the brain, is that we know they can be stopped by opiate-blocking drugs like naloxone and naltrexone — the same drugs used to reverse the addiction of opiate drugs, such as heroin, morphine, and Oxycodone,” Perlmutter writes.

Dr. William Davis in his book, “Wheat Belly,” writes, “When the affect is blocked or no exorphin-yielding foods are consumed, some people experience a distinctly unpleasant withdrawal.” Could this withdrawal cause the symptoms of anxiety, depression, brain fog and lethargy I always overwhelmingly feel the day after consuming any measurable amount of gluten? Another eureka moment.

“The idea that gluten can change our biochemistry down to our brain’s pleasure and addiction center is remarkable. And Scary. It means we need to rethink how we categorize these foods if they are indeed the mind-altering agents that science proves they are,” Perlmutter writes.

Just when I thought gluten couldn’t get any worse, I learned it had one more deadly weapon in its arsenal. Gluten-containing grains are high on the glycemic index, meaning they’ve been proven to spike blood sugar even more so than pure sugar does. Regular consumption of grains/gluten (yes, even “healthy” whole grains and whole wheat) will keep blood sugar levels at dangerously high levels, frequently leading to diabetes, according to Perlmutter. It’s no surprise, then, that diabetes is ubiquitous in this country. I describe my own issues with blood sugar here and will continue that discussion another time.

I had given up gluten in 2013 and then slipped back into its clutches in 2014. But with a far better understanding of just how much gluten was adversely affecting me, I entered 2015 ready for battle once again. Only this time, my battle would be far greater. I would re-give up gluten, but I also had an equally addictive and deadly foe to vanquish. I knew I was addicted to sugar and knew it was doing terrible things to me, including greatly contributing to my 195-pound obesity. Gluten was relatively easy for me to cut, but sugar? I simply couldn’t resist it. I honestly didn’t believe I had the willpower to succeed, but I knew I must try or accept a fate of diabetes, heart disease and maybe even Alzheimer’s disease. I told myself I would just take it one day at a time and not beat myself up if I caved to the temptation.

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