I have come to the point in my nutrition practice that the first dietary change I recommend to patients is they eliminate wheat from their diets.
At first I recommended it mainly for digestive problems and sinus congestion, because these were the conditions I suffered with before I dropped wheat. But as more and more patients got off wheat, I began to see many other conditions improve: chronic joint and muscle pain, depression, skin problems, headaches, even blood sugar problems. Most patients notice improvements in their health within a few weeks of quitting it, though there are some who don’t notice a change.
Now there is another reason to avoid wheat, even if you don’t feel better right away. In the recent book “Grain Brain,” neurologist and nutritionist David Perlmutter talks about how eating wheat can contribute to brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia and even ALS. These diseases may not show up until after decades of eating wheat, when the damage has already been done.
Wheat causes problems for the brain primarily through inflammation. The gluten molecule — there are actually several, not just one — first inflames the lining of the bowel, which enables it to enter the bloodstream. Once there, it sets off alarms throughout the immune system. The body’s attempts to attack it causes “collateral damage” to the tissues, including the brain. It appears genetics play a role in who is sensitive and in determining which tissues are affected.
We consume so much of it. We eat wheat products at almost every meal, either in the form of bread, pasta, cereal or — one of the major food groups — pizza. There is actually extra gluten in pizza dough, used to thicken it, which allows the chef to twirl the pizza dough in the air to spread it out.
Gluten sensitivity is not just a fad. More and more evidence is accumulating about the downside of this extremely common protein and the fact that celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are on the increase. The reason for this increase is not clear, and the debate continues about its cause.
Is it the “new wheat,” the result of forced hybridization in the 1940s and ’50s?
Perhaps the reason for the increased sensitivity is changes in the bacteria in our intestines. Celiac patients tend to have different species of bacteria in their gut from those who are not allergic to gluten. Several lifestyle factors affect this important balance, such as the use of antibiotics, a diet low in unprocessed fiber and high in processed foods and even artificial sweeteners.
It also has been shown that Roundup, an herbicide used on wheat, also alters our bacterial balance.
Or it may be because of the fact that our diets overall are more “proinflammatory” and filled with chemicals and additives.
To me, it is likely all these contribute to the recent increase in problems with gluten. But just because there is no one “smoking gun,” it certainly does not stop me from making the recommendation to my patients that they stop eating it. According to Dr. Perlmutter, there may be benefits from avoiding wheat that are not apparent for decades.
Avoiding wheat is getting easier all the time. More gluten-free products are available, and we now have a gluten-free bakery called Raegamuffin in Veazie. For great wheat-free recipes, I recommend the “Wheat Belly 30-Minutes (or Less!) Cookbook.”
Whatever means you use to drop wheat from your diet, you may get benefits that will not be obvious for many years.
Dr. Michael Noonan practices chiropractic, chiropractic acupuncture and other wellness therapies in Old Town. He can be reached at noonanchiropractic@gmail.com.