gluten Archives - Dr Andrew Orr

Each day we are seeing more and more gluten free products lining the supermarket shelves. Today you can get everything from gluten-free bread, chips, pizza bases, cookies, cakes and other gluten-free products. But are there benefits to cutting out gluten, which is found in most of our grains such and wheat, oats etc?

While many consume gluten in many of the foods and products they are consuming daily and don’t realise the the affects on their health and digestive system. For many it is also a molecule that can wreak some serious havoc when consumed by the wrong person.

While many people look at gluten free products as now being a health food, the fact is that many of the gluten free products people are consuming, have more additives, have less vitamins and minerals, and contain more sugars than the gluten containing products.

Should we just be going grain free instead of trying to use gluten free products?

Are these gluten free products healthier for you?

With marketing focusing more and more on the sales of gluten free products and the high prices that are charged for these products, we really need to look at what are in these products and ask the question…… Are these products really healthier for us?

I would say no, but let me explain why.

What Are Grains and What Do They Do To Our Health?

The word “Grains” does cover many of the common foods we eat now. Grains include wheat, corn, rye, rice, barley, oats, amaranth, buckwheat, millet and sorghum – and many others. These grains are used in so many products these days and part of the reason we are having so many problems with health issues. Bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, cakes, biscuits, pastries, crackers and so many other refined products consumed by many of us are all made with these inflammatory grains.

Let’s not forget that we give grains to cattle and livestock to fatten them up, make them grow faster (due to the hormone response from insulin) and add more fats into the meat for extra flavour.

The grain is the reproductive part of plant; it therefore needs to protect itself to enable future generations. The big difference with fruit; which is designed to be eaten by humans, is that when digested seeds are consumed, they are then spread further to ensure future generations.

As part of this overall protective mechanism, grains contain anti-nutrients, such as phytates, lectins, and other incomplete proteins. This is our major problem with grains. Even when gluten is removed from food products, these other inflammatory agents remain and most people are complete unaware of this and how much they are causing problems with their health and disruption to their digestive systems.

Phytates bind to minerals, vitamins and enzymes preventing them from being absorbed in your body. The Lectins found in grains have a significant impact in the gut, resulting in inflammation and poor absorption of nutrients – as well as insulin & leptin resistance.

The inflammation that these anti-nutrients cause, is now known to be the cause of many modern diseases. But lets not forget that many of our grains that we consume daily are also genetically modified and this in itself is causing major disruption to our health and bodily functions. This alone could be a major factor in the increase of many disease states we are now seeing.

Refined grains are converted to sugar very quickly, which requires insulin to bring down the blood sugar level in the blood. High insulin levels cause the body to store fats and then stop the burning of fats. The high insulin also causes inflammation and insulin resistance – which is the cause of many of our health conditions.

It can be the underlying cause, or exacerbate chronic disease states such as PCOS, Endometriosis, Depression, Diabetes, Heart Disease and many other health issues in this modern day. Consuming such a high refined carbohydrate load with every meal results in unstable, fluctuating blood sugar levels and this then results in hunger that is satisfied by consuming another high carbohydrate meal.

There is also differences between what we term as “Carbs”. “Good carbs” are fresh fruits and vegetables and naturally growing foods in their normal form. “Bad Carbs” are basically anything that is refined – (Breads, cereals, flour products, sugar and most of our packet based foods)

So what is Gluten and why is it so bad for our health?

Gluten is another protein that causes a lot of problems and is found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, and oats (other grains have similar, troublesome proteins). Gluten is the only protein in food that’s indigestible and those who suffer from celiac disease experience adverse side effects from consuming and — in severe cases — touching gluten. Gluten can slip through the intestinal lining, causing chronic damage, inflammation, nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, and vomiting in these sufferers.

There’s also evidence suggesting that people without coeliac can have a sensitivity to gluten, which still causes complications and forces them to live on a strict gluten-free diet. Whilst a lot of people may test negative for the autoimmune disease Coeliac, there is evidence to suggest most people do not handle this incomplete protein well.

Gluten causes gut irritation and inflammation and many people will not even realise that their problems are caused by gluten. Gluten has been linked to many autoimmune and health conditions.

The problem with Gluten Free products is that they are still highly refined and they still cause inflammation, due to high insulin, even with the gluten removed. The inflammatory lectins and leptins are still there too.

Many gluten free products are also full of additives, fillers, binding agents and lots of sugar. Currently, there are no medications, treatments, or cures to successfully treat any form of gluten intolerance. But so long as they don’t consume any foods containing gluten molecules, both coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity sufferers can live a relatively normal and otherwise healthy life.

But the bottom line is that Gluten-free diets don’t necessarily mean you’ve chosen a healthier route, especially when you run the risk of losing out on essential nutrients.

This is why a grain free, not gluten free, is the best option. If you truly want to be gluten free, just don’t eat the wheat grain, or other gluten containing and inflammatory grains in the first place.

The best thing any person could do for their body, as the first step towards better health, would be to cut wheat grain from their diet completely. You will be much healthier for it in the long run. This is part of my healthy lifestyle and healthy eating called the “PACE diet” (Primal Ancestral Clean Eating Diet)

If you do want to know more about how to follow a wheat free/grain free diet, then give my clinic staff a call and find out how I can assist you.

Take care and stay healthy

Regards

Andrew Orr

-No Stone Left Unturned

-Women’s and Men’s Health Advocate

Many people do not realise that the cause of their daily bloating may in fact start with their daily consumption of bread.

I always used to comment that when I was in travelling through Asia and eating all the great fresh foods over there, that I was feeling really good. I never got that bloated feeling that most people often get each day.

On arriving back home, I would always suddenly start to get stomach cramps and bloating for no reason. I find this quite ironic as most people have a perception that you are going to get food poisoning etc if you go overseas. I have never ever been sick in all the years of travelling there. Actually it is always the opposite, I always feel better when I eat the foods there.

Having ruled out bugs and parasites etc, I was starting to go a bit crazy as to what was going on. Then one day I didn’t get the bloating anymore.

What did I do that day?

Was it a virus just getting out of my system, or was it a food that I missed that day?

Then it all dawned on me that I had not eaten bread that day. I’m not a big bread eater anyway, but the next day I tried out my theory and ate some bread. Bingo!

I had bloating and pains all day again. So much for supposedly being a healthy staple food. While travelling in Asia, I didn’t have bread or many refined foods at all and that is probably why I always feel better when I go there.

Many people suffer bloating caused by bread

Actually many people suffer from bloating each day, caused by bread, and some suffer it quite severely. Some to the point that they actually look pregnant with it. Many people’s bloating and weight issues are caused from over consumption of bread and other refined flour foods. Many people lose weight just by giving up bread alone. The sad fact is many people continue to eat bread even when they know it is causing them bloating and pain etc.

When you look at the average Australian diet, we live on the stuff. Toast in the morning, sandwiches at lunch and sometimes we have bread with our dinner too. In this day and age, there is no reason to eat as much bread as we do. There are so many more healthy food alternatives available to us today, but we all go for the gut filler and bloater every chance we get. It’s quick and it makes you feel full, temporarily anyway.

Bread is just a filler to help you fill full

Actually if you look at the history of bread, it was born through poverty. It was born out of necessity when there was no other foods around and it gave the perception of being full. The trouble is the first breads were semi good for you as they were very dense and full of whole grains. Not this refined rubbish, full of chemicals and additives, that make it last for weeks. These days, weevils won’t even live in it and some kids can even get hyper on it because it can be laced with that many preservatives.

Gluten, yeast and other additives

Besides all the additives in bread today, there are two main ingredients that make many people have digestive issues. One is gluten and the other is yeast. Yeast is a rising agent and it can surely make the stomach bubble and rise too. Then the refined grains containing gluten also causes inflammation in the system. The other disturbing thought about bread it that it is really just flour and water. Flour and water makes glue and that’s why it clogs so many people’s bowels up each day. The gluten can also cause loose bowels for some people too.

Many people also have a misconception about the different types of bread too. Many people choose brown bread over white thinking it is a healthier option. Wrong!

Brown bread is just white bread with a tiny bit of wheat germ added and a splash of colouring to make it brown. Even when you do find a semi decent option, with the many breads out there, it still really isn’t a really healthy option. Again it is just a filler and there are many more foods out there with much more nutrition, and again it won’t make you bloated. We also now know how bad refined grains are for you.

Gluten free does not mean healthier

Don’t think for a moment that Gluten free is a healthier option, because it isn’t. It is still refined grains, minus the gluten. It is still inflammatory due to lectins and leptins and other things in the grains. Many gluten free products also contain a lot more sugars and emulsifiers too. It is best to go grain free than go gluten free.

Eating other foods instead of bread

I must admit that there is nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread, but that doesn’t make it good for you. The other hard thing about it is it is really hard not to give it to our kids, especially if they are going to school.

But I also know that with cooler packs now, there are many other options that we can give our children to take to school. Moderation is the key here. Have a look at some of the health snack options you can use instead of bread and refined flour products.

All of us need to cut back on the stomach glue (bread) and start eating some healthier foods such as salads, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, veggies and fruit. It isn’t all that hard.

Instead of eating that meat and salad sandwich tomorrow, how about just having the meat & salad. It is a much healthier option and it won’t bloat you either. Some nice sliced ham off the bone, or tuna, or chicken, and a lovely Greek salad and hey presto, we have a great healthy lunch option.

Other foods that may cause bloating

There are other may other things in our diet that cause bloating such as alcohol, oats, sugars, chocolate, fermented bean paste (miso) etc that people also need to be aware of. Overindulgence in all of these things can all lead the stomach to overload and cause bloating and pain.

One more thing, “no”, you just can’t take medicines and supplements to make the bloating go away and still eat the foods that cause bloating. It doesn’t work that way. You have to remove the cause, otherwise the problem will continue no matter what you do.

So next time you look like you have added two clothe sizes, with a stomach full of wind, remember that it may just be from the bread that you have just eaten beforehand. If you are getting bloating each day, it is a good idea to talk to your healthcare provider about this and look into the cause of your issues. There are simple testings for food allergens and your healthcare provider is trained to know what to test for and look for in your diet as well. There may also be an underlying disease state being missed as well.

Take care