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Ask Sarah -
Natural Health Advice
What's all the fuss
about gluten?
 It's
seems to be the food
bogeyman of the moment.
Gluten has been around
for centuries so why are
we only now hearing
about gluten causing
health problems for some
people. Is this simply
the latest marketing
ploy by food makers
offering gluten-free
products? Come to think
of it - no one had wheat
or nut allergies either
when I went to school 30
years ago. How come?
- Campbell (Wellington)
Ah, the age-old
question, are we being
hoodwinked? And the
answer is - yes and no.
A better question is:
Were we being hoodwinked
in the first place?
First some background.
As we progress into the
'modern age', Western
health seems to, in some
respects, be taking a
step backwards. With the
over-use of harsh
cleaning products both
in and outside the body,
the immune system is
both battered by the
man-made product and by
a lack of learning to
fight for itself. Plus,
modern farming and
processing techniques
have taken food to a
whole new level.
We have a very delicate
system, yet often we run
a harsh chemical
experiment on it at
every turn and hope that
it will just come back
to normal. The overuse
of antibiotics is now
causing antibiotic
resistant entities. The
overuse of bleach is
destroying naturally
occurring bacteria that
once would have been
part of our everyday
environment. The use of
vaccination is also
suggested as a cause of
mutation in our own
cells and some claim
that while providing us
with a defence against a
specific issue, it
weakens the immune
system overall.
So what about gluten?
When it comes to
allergens in everyday
life, the increase can
initially be traced back
to processing. About 10
years ago I went to a
seminar on electrical
nutrition where it was
suggested that altering
your food to a point
where it can no longer
be recognised from the
plant or animal that it
came from will result in
a lack of recognition
from the body and that
food being treated as a
toxin. Toxins are stored
usually as fat and
pushed as far from the
vital organs as
possible.
Unfortunately, it's not
quite that simple. Your
body actually has an
immune system response
to toxins. Fearing that
this unknown entity
might harm the body, it
releases antibodies. The
result is mucus and
rashes and various other
issues as the body tries
to fight. Not to mention
that as the organs freak
out you'll start to
retain water and bloat.
 Also,
sadly, the food you eat
has now been altered
from the inside out. So
now you might recognise
its origins, but your
body might still see it
as a toxin. Genetic
engineering, hormonal
manipulation, and the
use of antibiotics in
feed - it's all causing
disruptions to the
growth patterns of the
foods we eat. Not only
this, but standard
growing techniques leave
fruit and vegetables
lacking. Bananas - a
tropical fruit - ripen
in the dark in the
fridge, along with
papayas, avocados,
tomatoes etc. This
severely compromises the
phytonutrients and
vitamins that give our
body a fighting chance.
You make a good point
that certain foods have
been around for
centuries, but the
reality is that our body
developed over thousands
of years, recognising
the foods that we eat
and foods such as wheat
are not an original
grain and have not been
around as long as grains
such as spelt and rye.
Not to forget that our
methods of processing
are perfected and
refined on a daily basis
in order to make things
more financially viable.
Also, the real problem
with allergens generally
lies in deformed
proteins. In wheat the
deformed protein is
found in the gluten, in
milk it is often the
lactose protein.
Deformed proteins can
occur for any of the
above reasons, plus
radiation exposure, heat
treatments. Exposure to
such things at a young
age will heighten the
risk of developing an
allergic reaction. I
feel that exposure to
these foods will always
cause an adverse
reaction in the body.
That's why I eat them in
small amounts. Your
question about why some
people and not others
are affected?
Individuality, unique
upbringing, and unique
diet all play a part.
Just because you don't
notice a reaction
doesn't mean you aren't
having one. How tuned in
are you really to your
own body. My partner is
driven nuts by my
'sensitivity' to things.
The truth is I am just
more aware. I notice
when I am tired after
eating.
So what is the solution?
Stick to whole foods,
simple foods and if you
suspect you might be
having an allergic
reaction try an
elimination diet for a
month. Removing all
potential allergens and
then, one by one,
testing them on a
cleaner system will let
you know if you have a
reaction to them. The
reaction might be as
simple as being slightly
sleepy. Also reduce your
general consumption of
these foods and
introduce some good
probiotics and probiotic
food into your diet. All
toxins make the body
more acidic so eat and
drink more alkaline
foods such as apple
cider vinegar (raw);
green and white tea;
vegetable juice; apples
and almost all RAW
vegetables especially
those organically grown
will help to neutralise
an over-acid system.
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