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Gluten is a vegetable protein--most commonly known as wheat protein. It is found primarily in wheat, rye and barley. Today, grains (even organic) are genetically engineered to have a high gluten content. With a high gluten content, you can bake wonderful bread that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. But gluten has a dark side. Many people are allergic or sensitive to it.
If you are completely allergic to it, the diagnosis is usually Celiac disease. If you are sensitive to it, you will just be chronically sick and disabled. And if you are like most people, you will go through life never knowing the connection; your doctors will never discover the connection; you will endure endless, useless medical treatments, your life will be impaired in one of a myriad of ways; and no one will ever be able to cure you.
Gluten Specifics
If you have any of the following problems, the cause could very possibly be gluten. And if you do have any of the following problems, you owe it to yourself to eliminate gluten for at least 30 (and preferably 90) days. If your problem improves, eliminate gluten for a year.
Here is what gluten can cause: dermatitus (all types), lupus, psoriasis, irritable bowel and celiac disease, eczema and acne, asthma, hives, epilepsy, weight loss (or gain), anemia, headaches, autism, giardia, ulcers, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, heartburn and reflux, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.
How many people suffer from gluten sensitivity?
Experts feel that the number is approximately 1 out of 150 to 200. And because gluten is used in virtually all boxed, packaged, and canned processed foods, and we live in a processed food nation, it is easy to see the problem.
If medical science can't help because you'll never be tested with a useful test, what can you do? The answer is simple and rather old fashioned: just eliminate gluten for a month and see how you feel.
Gluten is in almost all processed foods. So for 30 days you will have to eat real foods only, with nothing out of a package. You'll actually have to eat meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits nuts and seeds...not exactly starvation. And although it takes some people more than 30 days to overcome the devastating effects of gluten, by the end of this time, you will know if you are on to something.
If you want to learn more about the problems that gluten can cause, get a copy of the book, The Gluten Connection by Shari Lieberman, Ph.D.
Source: HEALTH ALERT, Monterey, CA, August 2007
For more on the lives and times of Baby Boomers, check out Blogging Boomer Carnival #121 hosted this week at ThisMarriageThing.com
