Is gluten really bad for everyone?

Nicole Ceil is not a medical doctor, and nothing herein constitutes medical advice or a patient-provider relationship. Please consult your healthcare provider before undertaking a healthcare regimen. Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking treatment. 

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This weekend I had the pleasure of participating in a Healing Arts Fair in Southeastern, CT. While there, I spoke with many people about the benefits of adopting a whole foods eating style to support their health goals. Most people have an intuitive sense that eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and proteins is a good idea, but one question spurred a lot of lively debate.

What about gluten?

These days you can’t throw a stone without hitting a health practitioner urging clients/patients to give up gluten. In addition to that, media related messaging about gluten is downright perplexing. Consider the following gluten-related headlines from just the last month of so.

Gluten-free just for the health of it? You may have been misled.
Diabetes and gluten free diets: What you need to know.
Child’s gluten intake during infancy, rather than mother's during pregnancy, linked to an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
Perdue recalls nearly 500 pounds of gluten-free chicken tenders due to misbranding

Clearly, we’re confused about gluten.

Fueling the confusion, are all of the competing theories regarding why gluten is so harmful to the human body. Some sources will say the massive rise in gluten allergy is due to general over consumption, especially in processed foods. Others point to the high levels of agricultural chemicals (pesticides and herbicides) used in wheat production that could be sensitizing our systems. Still others note that the most common forms of wheat available in the United States are genetically hybridized (not genetically modified) to an extreme that changes their nutritive qualities. And finally, there are sources that point out that being “gluten free” is somewhat of a health trend right now, comparable perhaps to the “fat free” movement of the 80s and 90s. 

So what’s the deal?

First, I’ll say that the jury is still out on gluten and the nuances of gluten sensitivity, and what I assert in the rest of this post is simply observation born of clinical experience, not ironclad scientific fact. Still, I hope you find it useful.

Let’s start by acknowledging a key fact: as a society, our digestion is terrible. Most of us experience some type of digestive symptoms on a regular basis, and PPIs (medications that manage acid reflux) are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs, not to mention their over the counter analogues. 

Why are we suffering digestively? Well it’s likely the combined result of several factors, including stress, increased chemical exposure, and consumption of inflammatory foods. Gluten, and wheat more generally are known to be irritating to the GI tract, and removing them can lessen the inflammatory burden even if they are not the only culprits.

But I don’t feel sick after eating gluten!

It’s true! You may not notice a change in symptoms after consuming gluten, but with food sensitivities manifesting anywhere from a few minutes to 72 hours after the consumption of the food in question, it can be very difficult to map any specific symptoms to gluten, especially if you are eating it daily. What’s more, gluten sensitivity related symptoms can affect any part of the body. Some people feel it in the gut, while others may notice joint pain or brain fog. 

To clear the nutritional air and learn about your body’s individual reaction to gluten, the gold standard is an elimination diet. The principal of an elimination diet is simple, you eliminate (or remove) the most inflammatory foods from your diet for about a month, and then strategically reintroduce them one-by-one and observe your symptoms.

There are many variations on elimination diets that have been popularized, and different nutritionists recommend removing different foods. I recommend removing “The Big Three” gluten, dairy, and soy, as these three foods are the ones most likely to cause inflammatory reactions in the body. Because removing these foods means you’ll be ditching most processed foods anyway, I recommend my clients remove added sugar and processed oils while they’re at it.

Note, you’re not eliminating added sugars and processed oils with the hope of later reintroducing them. These foods are bad for you no matter what way you slice them, and we should all be doing our best to avoid them at all times anyway.

As you might imagine, this is often a tricky month. You’ll likely be making a lot of changes,and  it can get overwhelming. My advice, pick a quiet month for your first elimination diet. The holidays can be hard, vacations or extended periods of travel can make it challenging to find the foods you need. Allow yourself to cook simple meals. There’s no need to stress out about  getting gourmet. And find yourself some accountability. Friends and family can be great support, and may even complete the elimination with you. Alternatively, a practitioner such as a nutritionist or health coach, can help you stay on track. In the end, most people report the health benefits to be well worth the extra work.

So can a lab test or a practitioner predict with perfect certainty whether your you’re sensitive to gluten, and if you are, why? No. 

But through an elimination diet you have the power to determine if you are and make an educated decision about whether or not you’ll choose to continue consuming it.

Perhaps you owe it to yourself to find out. 

If you’d like some help getting started, enter your email below to download my free elimination diet food list and shopping guide to learn which foods to avoid and which to enjoy on your elimination diet.