Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight- (and most of your other symptoms too)
There is an epidemic of hidden intolerance to wheat products. Not just for to the Celiac disease patients or the gluten-sensitive, but everyone. Gluten is the primary protein found in wheat but there are other components to the wheat grain that are also be causing major problems. White flour is no exception. You may be surprised to hear that:
Two slices of whole wheat bread spike your blood sugar more than two tablespoons of sugar!
Gliadins are molecules that frequently cause toxic reactions that trigger your immune response. When gliadin in gluten becomes water soluble, it is free to bind to cells in your body. Then, your body will make antibodies to gliadin and attack the cells that gliadin has attached itself to, treating those cells as an infection. This immune response damages surrounding tissue and has the potential to set off, amplify or exacerbate MANY different health problems throughout your body, devastating your overall health.
Unfortunately, most people don’t feel better immediately after eliminating gluten from their diets as it may take 30 to 60 days for the inflammation to subside, and up to 9 to 12 months for the lining of your small intestine to heal. So it is said, “You must first remove your hand from the hot stove before the healing can begin.” For this analogy, you must remove the continuous supply of wheat from your intestines so that the healing of your digestive system can occur, which takes time.
Food cravings can often serve as a gauge of food sensitivity. Craving dairy products or breads, for example, can be an indication that you are sensitive to that food, especially if you crave it but then feel worse after eating it. Because of this phenomenon, many argue that the body’s biochemical dependence on wheat and dairy products is no different to the addiction to other narcotic substances like cocaine and heroin. We crave it so strongly and we know it harms us but we struggle to avoid it.
For most people, around 6 to 9 months of being strictly gluten free will provide noticeably pleasant physical, mental and emotional changes. When you remove allergenic foods from your diet, your cravings for sweets will diminish, your mood will improve, your weight will drop, and your overall health will soar.
These allergenic foods keep your immune system in overdrive by continually triggering the inflammatory response. The continual consumption of wheat and conventional dairy products are likely responsible for: Fatigue, depression, indigestion, bloating, cramping, swelling, gas, flatulence, mood swings, acne and other skin conditions, brain fog, lethargy, aches and pains, weight gain and belly fat, headaches and migraines, sinus congestion and infection, poor immune system, autoimmune diseases, mood disorders, autism, schizophrenia, dementia, digestive disorders, nutritional deficiencies, diabetes, cancer, and more.
The self induced, slow poisoning from wheat products gets amplified tremendously when patients seek medical care for the before mentioned symptoms. If the patient is prescribed a medication to mask or quiet these body signals, then they are allowed to continue to consume wheat products everyday and make the underlying problem much worse.
It may sound easy to eliminate wheat from your diet at first. Just pass on the bread, cakes, pastries and other carbs, right? But after you do your homework, you may find if to be very difficult because wheat products are hidden in nearly every food in the grocery store. Wheat is one of the most common additives for all different kinds of processed foods including salad dressings, soups, and most packaged and ready to eat items.
I recommend reading more on the topic in books like “Wheat Belly” and “Grain Brain” as well as from all of the leading health and wellness experts at the forefront of functional and preventative medicine.
In good fun, here is a clip from a comedy movie about bread:
