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At this point, everyone has an opinion on gluten. Is it good, is it bad, is it slowly killing us? Is it the source of all evil?
I’d bet you’re probably pretty tired of hearing people talk about their gluten sensitivity.
It’s a tough one, because so many doctors and health experts talk about how disruptive eating gluten can be.
Gluten gets blamed for everything from anxiety to chronic fatigue to brain fog to dementia.
But we’ve been eating gluten for thousands of years, so what’s up?
What is gluten?
Gluten is a group of proteins (Gliadin and Glutenin) found in many grains like wheat, barley, rye, and oats. It is what gives bread its springy, doughy texture.
We’re mostly exposed to gluten through what we eat: Bread, pasta, crackers, anything made from a grain, basically.
But gluten is also found in some not so obvious places, like sauces and drinks and even personal care products.
Some folks have an autoimmune condition, Celiac’s Disease, which causes the immune system to attack your own cells when gluten is consumed.
But more people (between 6-15% by some estimates) have a noticeable reaction to gluten, called a gluten sensitivity.
(This is different from an allergy, which is also an immune reaction.)
Those reactions can vary widely, and may not be obviously caused by gluten. But when gluten is removed from the diet, reactions often stop.
But we’ve been eating gluten for thousands of years, right?
It’s true, we’ve been eating foods containing gluten like bread and beer for thousands of years. So what’s changed?
For one, the wheat and grains we use today are wildly different from the grains used by our ancestors. Our modern grains have been hybridized and modified to produce more starch (sugar) and to resist disease and pests.
Those grains are often milled removing the bran (fiber) - one theory is that the imbalanced ratio of fiber:starch:protein is throwing off our ability to properly digest gluten.
Another is that because of our toxic modern environment, our guts are just not as good at digesting gluten, so it stays in our gut and causes a laundry list of issues. In this case, gluten wouldn’t be the cause, just the trigger.
Most grains, unless organic and Non-GMO, have been sprayed with some pesticide or herbicide. (Even organic isn’t 100% chemical free.) These substances can have a negative impact on our gut and ability to digest and absorb proteins, which could be causing a sensitivity.
Is gluten causing my brain fog?
There’s a good chance it could be.
Gluten has been linked to issues in the brain like chronic fatigue and even dementia and Parkinson’s. But it’s tough to connect the dots.
Like so many things, it comes down to metabolic dysfunction in your body and brain.
For some, gluten can cause inflammation that keeps energy from being made in the brain.
That inflammation and the oxidative stress it causes can make it hard for your brain to make and process neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.
So you get minor (but still frustrating) symptoms like brain fog, which can affect your daily quality of life.
Minor, because it could be a sign of larger metabolic issues in your brain, and a precursor to serious issues like dementia or Parkinson’s, to name a couple.
How do you know?
Well, you can ask your doctor for a gluten sensitivity test, which could be expensive, if they even agree to give you one.
The best DIY test you can do to see if you are sensitive to gluten is to stop eating gluten for 30 days and see if you notice a difference in how you feel.
Do you have more energy and focus?
Has your brain fog cleared up?
Have you noticed an improvement in your mood?
Has your digestion improved?
There are effects of gluten, like interfering with neurotransmitters, that you don’t always notice or show up on a cognitive test.
But if you remove gluten and your brain fog does not improve, then it’s a good chance it wasn’t gluten, or wasn’t only gluten.
You can remain off gluten for longer while you work on other metabolic levers that could be causing your brain fog.
The other major culprit for your brain fog would be insulin resistance.
This means that your body has to produce more insulin just to get glucose into your cells, meaning it is harder for your cells to make energy and do what they do.
So in your brain, it means this VERY energetic organ is being starved of energy, making you think and react slower, memory recall is sluggish, and decision making is impaired.
Are you dealing with daily brain fog, but don’t know what to do about it?
Along with considering gluten sensitivity, we can work on many of the triggers that cause brain fog, as well as high blood sugar and high blood pressure.
We’ll figure out what’s really going on with you, and come up with a personalized plan to get back your focus, energy and drive.
If that sounds like something you need, we should talk.
Ready? Let’s go!
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