Is Quinoa ALWAYS Gluten Free?

Is Quinoa ALWAYS Gluten Free?

Quinoa is grown in the Andes and is typically thought of as a grain. But that is a misnomer. Despite cooking up as a grain-like substance, quinoa is factually a seed from a plant similar to spinach and Swiss chard. Considering how healthy those two vegetables are, it is not then surprising that quinoa has a high protein content and contains all the necessary amino acids – making it one of those ‘near perfect’ foods that is nutritious, economical and easy to make. AND it’s gluten-free… or is it?

Hold on, before you stop reading because you think this is going to be depressing and you’re going to lose another of your ‘go to’ gluten-free staples, let me explain. The data that I’m about to present was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in August 2012. And I think that it’s important that you know.

The researchers, from Kings College in London, designed their study to analyze quinoa since little experimental data existed to support its safety as part of a gluten-free diet.

One of the reasons that quinoa has been on the gluten-free list is based on its protein content. Remember it is the protein in a food that tends to be problematic – gluten, more correctly gliadin, is a protein, as is casein, the problematic portion of dairy products. When someone ‘reacts’ or is allergic to a food, it is typically a reaction to the protein portion.

Wheat, barley, rye as well as non-glutinous corn, sorghum and oats, fall into the category of being high in something called prolamins.

What are prolamins? 

They are storage proteins that contain high amounts of the amino acids proline and glutamine – and are found standard in glutinous grains. It is known that prolamins may induce celiac disease and gluten sensitivity in susceptible individuals.

Quinoa is known to be low in prolamins, therefore it is little wonder that quinoa, with its low prolamin content, seemed a quite safe alternative on a gluten-free diet.

In this study the scientists looked at different cultivars of quinoa, 15 of them in all. A cultivar is a cultivated variety of a plant that is produced from a naturally occurring species and then maintained by cultivation. It turns out that different regions of the Andes produce different cultivars and it was the goal of this research to see if any of these cultivars had varying amounts of prolamin, enough that the immune system of a celiac-prone patient might react to it.

As mentioned, it is the protein portion of foods that can cause reactions to occur. When a substance such as gluten is causing a reaction, it’s called an antigen (think of it as a toxin to the body). The immune system tries to attack the toxin or antigen by making an antibody (it works against the toxin). The region on the antigen where the antibody attaches itself is called an epitope. Okay, done with all the new words!

In this study the researchers’ aim was to determine if any of the 15 cultivars contained prolamin epitopes (so it’s acting as a toxin and the body’s immune system has to attack it) in enough quantity to be deemed on par with a gluten-containing food.

Here are their results:

Of the 15 quinoa cultivars tested, 4 had measurable concentrations of toxic epitopes, but they were below the maximum permitted for a gluten-free food. In other words, the 20 parts per million (ppm) threshold of gluten that by definition allows a food to be deemed ‘gluten-free’, was not exceeded.

However, two cultivars, Ayacuchana and Pasankalla, did stimulate the immune system to react in a way that is comparable to a gluten-containing food.

What’s our take-away from this research?

1.      In the main, quinoa seems to be a safe food, with most of its cultivars not causing the immune system reaction consistent with a gluten-containing food.

2.      Four cultivars fell below the 20 ppm of gluten, but they still did contain enough of the protein to cause a reaction, albeit a mild one.

3.      Two cultivars were downright bad – they causes a gluten response that was above the 20 ppm threshold and unfortunately acted upon the immune system consistent with someone who was eating gluten.

Here is what I tell my patients about quinoa:

First of all, I ensure that they have been gluten-free for long enough that we have mostly healed their gut. Then we do a trial with quinoa to see how they feel. Most people do fine, but not all. If someone has a reaction, we wait until they have ‘healed’ from the assault and then attempt it one more time. If they react again, we deem them sensitive to quinoa and recommend abstinence.

Finally, if someone is very suspicious and wants to know for sure, we can run a cross-reactivity blood test that tests for a quinoa reaction along with many other such foods whose protein structure can mimic gluten. It’s an excellent test and a great tool to be able to take someone to their desired next level of health. 

While writing this piece I was curious to see if one could easily find out what cultivar a quinoa company used. An online search didn't yield any data, but I think it would be worthwhile to contact a company to see if they utilized either of the two cultivars mentioned above that caused a reaction.

It is possible that if those cultivars were avoided, a seemingly reactive individual might be able to tolerate quinoa quite well.

Do you react to quinoa, or do you enjoy it as a part of your gluten-free diet?

If anyone wants to do a little research and find out if any companies are forthcoming regarding the cultivars they use, please let me know. It’s definitely information I’d like to pass along.

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To reclaiming your best health,

Dr. Vikki Petersen DC, CCN

Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic

Author of "The Gluten Effect"

Author of eBook: "Gluten: What You Don't Know May Be Killing You"

Reference:

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012 Aug;96(2):337-44. Variable activation of immune response by quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) prolamins in celiac disease.

Zevallos VF, Ellis HJ, Suligoj T, Herencia LI, Ciclitira PJ.

Two Things About Gluten: Indigestible and Nutritionally Useless!

In the fall of 2013, we enjoyed some wonderful presentations by many of the world’s leading gluten researchers at “The Gluten eSummit”.

If you missed the summit, I wanted to share with you some of the gems that were shared.
 

Dr. Alessio Fasano

In this post I wanted to share with you what Dr. Alessio Fasano had to say when interviewed. I have always called Dr. Fasano “my hero” and nothing has changed in that regard. If anything, I now have him on a higher pedestal!

Did you notice the title of this blog? While it’s not news that gluten is indigestible, it bears repeating—until more of our population understands that it’s not the nutritional “staple” that many believe.

7 Myths and Facts About Gluten

Let’s look at some common arguments leveled against those who avoid gluten, and counter them with the facts as we know them:

Myth 1: Wheat has been around forever. Of course it must be good for us!

FACT: For 99.9% of our evolution, our ancestors have been gluten-free. We did not evolve to digest gluten. It only arrived 10,000 years ago.

Myth 2: Ancient wheat was fine and didn’t cause any problems. It’s modern wheat that is creating health issues.

FACT: The above statement isn’t completely false, particularly as it refers to problems with modern wheat, but let’s break it down. Gluten as a protein is indigestible due to its odd composition of high amounts of the amino acids proline and glutamine. The composition or sequencing of these amino acids literally is unrecognizable to our enzymes such that we—all humans—(not just those of us who are intolerant to gluten) are unable to digest it properly. The indigestible quality of gluten has always been the case, regardless of how ancient the cultivar.
 
However, what is true is that modern wheat is worse. According to Dr. Fasano, the amount of gluten per dry weight of grain has been increasing over time. It’s doubled in a few centuries. The result is that the indigestible nature of the grain has worsened. Gluten now encompasses 30-40% of the total protein content of wheat, when in the past it was half that.
 
Of course the recent problem of GMO wheat adds yet another health risk, but more on GMO in a future post.

Myth 3: A gluten-free diet can be dangerous because it creates nutritional deficiencies.
 

FACT: According to Dr. Fasano (and this is a direct quote): “Gluten is nutritionally useless. We evolved as a species without gluten.” 

Those who warn that a gluten-free diet is dangerous cite a lack of fiber and vitamins, substances that are readily and more beneficially replaced in a truly healthy diet, regardless of its gluten-free status. The fact that many Americans don’t consume a healthy diet is a different issue. But blaming the lack of gluten as a component in malnutrition, is foolhardy and false.

Myth 4: Genetics dictates what diseases we get. If it’s in your genes and family tree, there’s not much you can do about it.

FACT: According to Dr. Fasano, it’s the environment that influences our genetics to either express a disease or have it remain dormant. And the gut is where genetics and the environment meet. When it comes to the environment, we don’t just mean your diet. In addition to gluten and other food sensitivities, problems also arise from antibiotic overuse, pollutants, chemicals, GMO foods and infectious organisms.

Yet none of these things would create problems if we didn’t have permeability issues in our gut—leaky gut. The health problems that ensue from a leaky gut include:

• food allergies
• autoimmune disease
• inflammation (known to initiate ALL degenerative diseases)
• stroke
• cancer
• Alzheimer’s disease
• and more!

Yes, Dr Fasano agrees with me that autoimmune disease often begins from a leaky gut. He considers that we are in the midst of an epidemic of autoimmune diseases such as asthma, diabetes, M.S., rheumatoid arthritis and celiac disease. This epidemic, he says, has been taking shape over the past 40 to 50 years as our lifestyle has gotten less and less healthy, resulting in compromised gut health.
 
Can genetic change be held responsible for this ‘epidemic’? No, the rapid increase of autoimmune disease sits squarely on the shoulder of our environment. The facts are that genetic change takes centuries, not years. It is our environment that is changing and challenging us with substances with which we cannot maintain a proper equilibrium.

Myth 5: Autoimmune disease is an immune system disorder where the immune system gets "out of control" and begins attacking the body. There is no cure for these disorders; the only possible treatment is drugs to suppress the immune system.
 
FACT: While Preventional Medicine (steps that prevent the manifestation of the disease) far surpasses Interventional Medicine (treatment once the disease has already occurred), Dr. Fasano stated that you can arrest the development of autoimmune disease by addressing gut health, specifically leaky gut. 

Research has shown that the genes for a disease can be present along with the instigator of the disease (e.g. gluten in celiac disease) and yet the disease won’t manifest in the presence of a healthy gut.
 
The immune system only gets out of control in the presence of an unhealthy gut that allows the passage of "bad guys" from within the gut, where they should be annihilated and excreted out into the bloodstream where they can begin their destruction of various parts of the body.
 
It is the loss of the tightly controlled barrier function that initiates these illnesses by allowing unsafe passage of various molecules and substances.

Myth 6: Celiac affects 1% of the population. That’s significant perhaps, but certainly doesn’t explain the vast amounts of people (40% of population) who choose to follow a gluten-free diet and likely are just following a fad. There is no medical reason for the rest of the population, meaning 99% of them, to eat gluten-free.
 
FACT: According to Dr. Fasano, gluten creates a leaky gut in everyone who eats it. Gluten is ingested, it’s not completely digestible as we mentioned earlier, a substance called zonulin is released, and the result is a leaky gut. The consequence of gluten leaking into the bloodstream is inconsequential—for 70 to 80% of the population—those not reacting to gluten. But for 20 to 30% of the population, the consequences are quite severe—disease and earlier death, per research findings.
 
The point is that if 1% of the population has celiac (this percentage does increase with age at a rate of doubling every 15 years, according to Fasano’s research) then up to 29% has gluten sensitivity if you do the math. Personally I think the percentage is easily 30% of the population if not more, but this is the first time I’ve heard Dr. Fasano make a statement that went that high.

Myth 7: Gluten creates gut problems. If your digestion seems fine, you don’t need to worry about a gluten reaction.
 
FACT: Dr. Fasano cited that calling gluten a GI related disorder was “reductive”. The GI tract is where the immune system first encounters gluten, an enemy, but whether the reaction against gluten occurs there—or in the brain, the joints, the skin, the nerves, the thyroid, etc.—depends on the genetic makeup of the individual.
 
Gluten causes a wide variety of symptoms and conditions. Therefore if your doctor cites the myth above that gluten is solely gut-related, or he/she refuses to test you for a gluten reaction because you DON’T have any digestive symptoms, feel free to show him this article.

I hope you found this helpful. There exist many myths about gluten and hopefully this served to shine the light of truth on some of them. Feel free to share this with your doctor, friends and family, especially anyone who gives you a hard time about your gluten-free lifestyle.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,
Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

Why Do So Many Celiacs Take Drugs?

I was reading a position statement from a national celiac organization regarding making it law that all gluten is removed from medications. While I completely concur, the issue I’d like to discuss involves a statistic that this organization gathered after surveying its members.

They found that according to survey, those with celiac disease take an average of eight oral medications per day. Eight! 

Potential gluten contamination aside, when someone takes that amount of medication it is known that an adverse drug reactions is definitely occurring – the likelihood is considered 100%.

What I would like to discuss is why celiacs would be, on average, consuming so many medications. They should be following a gluten-free diet that would, theoretically, improve their health dramatically. But apparently that is not the case.

Here are my thoughts as to what might be contributing to this problem:

       1. Some celiacs are a bit ‘sloppy’ on their gluten-free diets because they haven’t been well educated or they simply don’t notice a difference in their health when they knowingly cheat. Whether you 'feel' it or not, consuming gluten when you are gluten intolerant is increasing your risk of dying from all causes, especially heart disease, cancer and autoimmune disease, our three leading causes of death.

       2. Due to our poor ability to diagnose celiac disease (95% remain undiagnosed in this country), even those who now have the diagnosis often waited about a decade to find out. During that time their health was so compromised that autoimmune and other diseases developed that are now being ‘managed’ by drugs. While those in this position may feel that drugs are their only option, I disagree. We have seen nice improvements in the diseases caused by gluten, even in those who have suffered for many decades. See #3 below for more information on how we treat this.

       3. Generally speaking the treatment for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity is a life-long gluten-free diet – period. Unfortunately, eating gluten-free alone is usually insufficient to restore health. What I like to call the ‘secondary effects’ of gluten must also be addressed, to truly restore optimal health. Such things as ‘hidden’ infections in the intestines, nutritional deficiencies, probiotic imbalance, enzyme insufficiency, the presence of cross-reactive foods, toxic overload and hormonal imbalance must all be evaluated and addressed if found to be lacking. Neglecting this type of follow-up, in my opinion, diminishes the chances of a full recovery and is currently one of our largest problems in treating the gluten intolerant population.

      4.  Those who do follow the diet, often happily replace all the gluten-containing foods they used to eat with a gluten-free option, but don’t take steps to really eat a healthy diet. The bad news is that a gluten-free diet doesn’t necessarily equate to a healthy one. Too often, in order to appease the feeling of deprivation, gluten intolerant individuals throw themselves into overeating the vast array of cookies, cakes, breads and other goodies offered by the gluten-free manufacturers. While we are all delighted that such an abundance of gluten-free food is available, it doesn’t make that cookie or cake any healthier for you. These ‘goodies’ should be relegated to special occasions and, instead, the bulk of the diet should be made up of healthy vegetables, fruits, beans, good fat and a small amount of healthy animal protein.

Please pass this post along to others whom you know suffer from gluten intolerance. It’s hard enough to get diagnosed. Once you do and you’re following a gluten-free diet, you deserve to be enjoying excellent health.

What are your thoughts on this? 

Do you take more medications than you’d like?

I would love to hear from you.

Need Help? We're Here for You! 

If you felt as if I was describing you above, you are not alone. As I mentioned earlier, adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is almost epidemic. If you would like assistance and don’t have a clinician whom you feel can assist you, consider contacting us for a FREE Health Analysis. We are a Destination Clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally. We would be delighted to help you as we have been doing so for over two decades.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

How Exactly Gluten Creates Neurological Disease

If you follow this blog or any major research into the field of gluten sensitivity, you likely know that neurological symptoms such as neuropathy, ataxia, migraines, schizophrenia and more, are quite commonly seen as associated with gluten. While you may know this if you’re a ‘seasoned veteran’ on the topic, if you’re brand new to the field it likely comes as a great surprise.

Gluten is, after all, something we eat, so how could it possibly cause problems with the nervous system? The stomach, yes, that’s understandable. The nervous system sounds like a bit of a stretch. I’ll be the first to agree that gluten’s reactions, that factually number about 200, are not intuitive. Why would a food damage your liver or your heart or your reproductive system? But indeed it does, and considering that neurological problems tend to head the list of THE most common reactions, I think it’s time that more people knew and understood the mechanism.

Such an understanding by lay persons and doctors alike will hopefully open the door to quicker diagnoses and better health.

I was very pleased to be introduced to the work of Sayer Ji, an author of several books and founder and director of GreenMedInfo.com.

After exploring 60 years of research on gluten, he asks the important question of whether gluten-containing grains contribute to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. The question isn't a new one and research into the connection between gluten and schizophrenia is strong. In fact it’s a discussion we've had on this blog as well as my blog on the healthnowmedical.com site. What’s perhaps more important is how wide a net can be cast as it relates to gluten and psychiatric problems in general, not just schizophrenia.

Beginning in the 1950s there is literature to support the link between a gluten-free diet and resolution of emotional disturbances. It is interesting to note that during that same time period in history, the disease schizophrenia was known as ‘bread madness’.

Also in the mid-fifties a link was made between those with celiac and schizophrenia. There was seen to be a higher prevalence of the diseases together than when a normal non-celiac patient was evaluated for the condition.

A study published in 1966 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition entitled “Wheat “consumption” and Hospital Admissions for Schizophrenia During World War II” confirmed a suspicion that less wheat and rye ingestion equaled less first-time hospital admissions for schizophrenia. The results were not only confirmed in the United States, but also in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Canada.

Another interesting correlation was found in remote parts of the world where grains aren't consumed. Specifically Papau New Guinea, Malaita, Solomon Islands and Yap, Micronesia inhabitants had an extremely low incidence of schizophrenia. Yet when these same populations became partially westernized and foods such as wheat, barley and beer were introduced, their incidence of schizophrenia quickly reached European levels.

In 1976, Science published a study that showed schizophrenics who maintained a gluten-free, dairy-free diet, when challenged with gluten, experienced an interruption of their progress therapeutically. As soon as gluten was removed from the diet, improvement was again seen.

As we have discussed before, recent research from 2010 and 2011 has shown a specific association with gluten sensitivity, more prominent than even that seen with celiac disease, and schizophrenia. A full 20% of those with schizophrenia were found to be positive for anti-gliadin antibodies, a test that can reveal celiac disease but is less specific for the disease and more commonly seen in those with gluten sensitivity.

Finally, the most recent research from this year, published in World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, compared a large group of schizophrenics (950) to healthy control subjects (1,000) and discovered that the odds of being positive for anti-gliadin antibodies in the blood was over two times higher in schizophrenics.

It seems pretty clear, does it not, that the correlation is strong? Yet does every psychiatrist diagnosing someone with schizophrenia test them for gluten sensitivity? Sadly I doubt it, not to mention the other neurological diseases that could be caused by gluten.

But let’s get back to the mechanism: HOW does gluten create neurological problems.

1.     It’s important to realize that wheat gliadin is just one of over 20,000 different proteins found in wheat. The proteins present in glutinous grains are not readily digestible in man - in fact they are not at all digestible.

Really? Yes. We may eat these grains, but we are not able to digest them more than partially.

Haven’t we been eating them ‘forever’? Why would we continue eating them if we can’t digest them?

Historically speaking, human evolution is 2.5 million years old. For 99.9% of that time, man has NOT eaten gluten. Therefore, it’s actually a rather new food for man and not one he can completely digest.

The pieces or peptides of the partially digested protein are can be inflammatory and disease producing in those sensitive to them. According the Dr Fasano, one such peptide induces cell death. Another causes the secretion of zonulin, the protein that causes leaky gut.

2.     The incomplete protein digestion stimulates the immune system to make antibodies (these are defensive proteins made by the immune system to destroy foreign, toxic invaders) to attack the pieces of protein. The poor digestion, compounded by a leaky gut, results in these segments migrating out of the small intestine and into the general circulation. The proof of this is antibodies to gliadin being found in the blood.

3.     It is these antibodies, now present in the bloodstream, that have been seen to react with neurological structures in the human body, in addition to the gliadin they were originally made to attack. A study published in Journal of Immunology  discovered that the antibodies made against gliadin could bind to a protein found with the nerve fibers, resulting in, the authors believed, complications such as neuropathy, seizures, ataxia and behavioral changes.

Nutritional Neuroscience in 2004 found that the same gliadin antibodies were more prevalent in children with autism, causing, they posited, the neurological damage seen with the condition.

What percentage of the population has these pesky anti-gliadin antibodies? It is estimated that 27 percent of the general population but a whopping 57 percent of those individuals suffering from neurological issues has an immune system that make antibodies against gliadin.

Sayer Ji posed this question: “Is it possible that gluten-containing grains are adversely affecting the mental health of the world at large, perhaps mostly on a subclinical basis?” What he means by ‘subclinical’ are those suffering with symptoms but who have no formal diagnosis of a disease state.

Based on our clinical experience here at HealthNOW, I would say that is a very likely scenario. While no one is saying that a gluten reaction is the sole cause of every neurological problem faced by mankind, the link is a strong one and should not, in my opinion, be ignored.

What can you do?

First of all consider sharing this information with friends and family. I have seen so many individuals enjoy marked changes in their mood, behavior and neurological health as a result of eliminating gluten from their diet. While it’s frightening to consider the sheer number of people that could be suffering needlessly with serious conditions, on the same note it is exciting to think that if we got this information out widely to the general public, we could be doing a tremendous service for their health.

If you are wondering if gluten is affecting your mental or neurological health, do consider getting tested for both celiac and gluten sensitivity. If the test is negative (remember, these tests aren't perfect and they often miss those with a problem) still engage in a 30 day gluten elimination diet. You must be strict and aim for perfection when you do this. Please get armed with all the information you need such that you can avoid mistakes. Consider visiting this page on my website. It contains all the most common places that gluten can hide. Read it thoroughly, prepare your pantry and then start.

If you cannot get a lab test, definitely ‘test’ yourself with the 30 day elimination diet. Some people notice a difference in how they feel relatively quickly. Others require several weeks before noticing a change. Regardless, stick with it for 30 days and monitor if you feel better physically or mentally.

But don’t, please, negate your own experience when changing your diet. Feeling an improvement is a valid test in and of itself, and is perhaps all you really need to perhaps make a huge change in your health.

I hope you found this informative. Please share it with those you know and contact me with any questions or comments you may have. Here at HealthNOW we are a destination clinic. Patients come from across the country and internationally to receive care here. Therefore, you don’t need to live locally to be helped.

Need Help? We're Here for You! 

If you felt as if I was describing you above, you are not alone. As I mentioned earlier, adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is almost epidemic. If you would like assistance and don’t have a clinician whom you feel can assist you, consider contacting us for a FREE Health Analysis. We are a Destination Clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally. We would be delighted to help you as we have been doing so for over two decades.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

Gluten Sensitive? Meet a Leaky Gut’s Best Friend

Do you have celiac disease? Do you have, or suspect that you have, gluten sensitivity? If so it is likely that you have a leaky gut secondary to that condition. Unfortunately a leaky gut makes it more possible to develop autoimmune diseases, obesity and a host of other degenerative diseases including fatty liver.

It is therefore quite important that we learn what steps we can take to heal up our leaky gut.

In a study published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, a paper entitled ‘Gut Microbiota, Intestinal Permeability, Obesity-Induced Inflammation, and Liver Injury’ was published in 2011. Authors Frazier, DiBaise and McClain, all MDs, sought to understand more about a critical part of the body’s small intestine that has far reaching effects on health.

Specifically their focus was on the body’s microbiota, that group of 100 trillion organisms with 100 times the number of genes possessed by the human body, responsible for nutrient absorption, energy balance (storing and burning calories) and controlling body weight. Alterations in this microbiome also cause increased intestinal permeability, a leaky gut. The microbiome is so critical to health that many are considering it an ‘organ’ in its own right.

Because the microbiome is housed with trillions of good bacteria, those with a weakened immune system often ‘house’ instead, bad bacteria, amoeba, parasites and the like. The ‘overgrowth’ of these bad guys can also destabilize the microbiome and prevent it from its health promoting functions.

In fact, such bad organisms create an inflammatory profile in the gut that causes obesity, fatty liver, heart disease, insulin resistance and diabetes, to name a few. Add to the inflammation a leaky gut, and now these organisms are leaving and circulating in the general bloodstream, creating havoc throughout the body, often in the form of autoimmune disease.

What can you do to strengthen your microbiome, and thereby your leaky gut?

First of if you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity you are predisposed to a leaky gut, but it doesn’t mean that you are destined to keep it.

Steps you can take:

1.     Ensure you have eliminated ALL gluten from your diet. Don’t cheat and ensure that you haven’t missed any gluten sneaking into your diet inadvertently.

2.     Consider eliminating dairy products. They are pro-inflammatory in their own right and a potential irritant to the microbiome and gut.

3.     The standard American diet laden with high fat and high fructose was found by many researchers to weaken the microbiome, therefore it is critical for you to make those changes in your diet as well.

4.     The best thing to eat to support your probiotic population is organic fruits and vegetables. Nine servings per day are highly recommended.

5.     Try to find out if you are deficient in any important vitamins and minerals such as Bs, D, magnesium, zinc and calcium.

6.     Take a probiotic that is of a human strain and has a mix of several organisms such as lactobacillus, bifidus, etc. Each capsule should contain about 20 billion organisms.

7.     Try to find a clinician who will run a test to find out if you have any inhospitable organisms in your gut. This is a comprehensive stool test and evaluates for the presence of bacteria, amoeba, parasites, worms, etc. Most stool tests only look for a couple of parasites, so make sure that you get a true comprehensive one.

8.     Get the balance of your good bacteria in your microbiome evaluated. The stool test I use for #4 above does this as part of the testing.

9.     Once you have cleaned up your diet, eliminated any bad bacteria and have been supporting your good bacteria, consider getting a lab test for a leaky gut performed. This will let you know if your efforts are proving successful.

Need Help? We're Here for You! 

If you felt as if I was describing you above, you are not alone. As I mentioned earlier, adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is almost epidemic. If you would like assistance and don’t have a clinician whom you feel can assist you, consider contacting us for a FREE Health Analysis. We are a Destination Clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally. We would be delighted to help you as we have been doing so for over two decades.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

Reference:

Gut Microbiota, Intestinal Permeability, Obesity-Induced Inflammation, and Liver Injury

Thomas H. Frazier, MD1; John K. DiBaise, MD2; and Craig J. McClain, MD1,3,4

Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Volume XX Number X Month XXXX 1-7