Gluten Free Benefits

About 10 years ago, I started having chronic hives. They would be on my legs and arms in the morning after I woke up. For the most part, they would go away during the day, but would sometimes have an eyelid or lip swell. I would also sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with swelling. It was weird and a bit scary. I didn't know what was going on. Benadryl would help some, but make me really tired. Magnesium seem to be the most effective and didn't have the drowsy side effect. At the same time, all of this was happening, I was reading Wheat Belly by William Davis. It talks about how today's wheat is not the same as our ancestors wheat. Today it's also covered in glyphosate, which is a chemical herbicide and is not good for anyone's health. The book talked about how different illnesses can be due to wheat consumption. I decided to cut out all wheat. I was still eating other grains like rye, barley, oats, quinoa, rice, etc. I was making sure anything was gluten free, just that it didn't have wheat. Surprisingly, the hives greatly improved. I would have a few here and there, but nothing like I had been having. The swelling also stopped. A few months later, after telling my doctor about it, it was recommended to avoid all gluten. Doing that helped get rid of the last bit of hives. I also realized that every time I ate pasta, I would feel sluggish and grumpy afterwards. It felt like a switch in my head was flipped and I just felt different. The doctor's I follow online all recommend a gluten free diet. A couple benefits of it include: - The big benefit is reduced inflammation. Gluten contributes to a leaky gut by causing the release of a protein called zonulin. Excess amounts of zonulin creates large gaps in the gut lining, letting particles into the bloodstream and leading to inflammation. - Weight loss - Improved blood sugar provided wheat isn't replaced things like white potato and rice flours - Reduced bloating, headaches, diarrhea, pain, autoimmune disease symptoms, etc that could be caused by gluten - Improved microbiome health - More energy - Improved nutrient absorption as gluten can hinder proper nutrient absorption and breakdown of food Gluten free is all or nothing. Don't go back and forth between eating gluten and not eating gluten. It won't work. When buying packaged gluten free foods, check ingredient lists. Watch out for potato starch and rice flour. Eat those just once in a while if needed. That type of flour will impact your blood sugar. Rice flour may also contain arsenic. Try almond flour, cassava flour, coconut flour, cauliflower flour instead. Substituting King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour is usually a safe bet to use instead of regular flour in most recipes, but use it sparingly as they are made with rice flour and potato starch. Coconut flour absorbs more liquid than regular flour. It's also grainy. Almond flour acts differently than regular flour and cannot be substituted 1 to 1. There are tons of gluten free recipes out there now a days. A couple of sites I sometimes use for variety are thebigmansworld.com, https://butternutbakeryblog.com/ and my baking blog. Paleo and keto recipe sites are also good sources of gluten free recipes. The Genius Kitchen cookbook by Max Lugavere also has great recipes. Chicken, turkey, steak, ground beef, eggs, fruit and vegetables are naturally gluten free! Also, in an interview, Dr. Tom O'Bryan talked about how high liver enzymes could mean asymptomatic celiac disease. If eating gluten free, one thing to be careful of is wheat consumption may provide nutrients that can be missing in a gluten free diet. A good quality multi-vitamin can probably help fill in the gaps. Challenge: If you are having health issues, think about giving gluten free a try for a week or two and see if you notice any improvements. #ads More Gluten Free Resources

References https://drhyman.com/blog/2019/04/09/to-gluten-or-not-to-gluten/ https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/considering-a-gluten-free-diet