I loved hearing from a bunch of you after my post two weeks ago about the thyroid/gluten connection, how you’ve reacted to gluten, and the impact it has had (or not had) on your life.
That makes the article I got in the mail yesterday from Precision Nutrition even more timely. I encourage you to read the entire article, but it turns out that if you are in the 35-40% of the population that has gluten sensitivity, it can affect mood disorders, your metabolism, increase bone loss, increase the likelihood of pregnancy complications, and increase the likelihood of diabetes.
I know a lot of you are either thinking, “I’ve never had a problem” or “we’ve eaten wheat for thousands of years, what gives.” Well, a few things to keep in mind:
- Our bodies change over time, so even if you didn’t have a problem with it before, doesn’t mean you don’t now.
- And as for history on our side, the wheat we grow today has more gluten in it than the wheat of our ancestors, AND wheat is in many, many more of our foods today (much like corn, it’s in much more than you’d imagine) than it was in the food of previous generations.
- Since we often become intolerant of the foods we eat the most, it makes senses that the much higher density of gluten and wheat in our modern food supply is causing more problems and sensitivities.
If you want to test yourself, just know that there is no definitive test for gluten sensitivity. For free, you can try an elimination diet (remember, it HAS to be two weeks, and be SURE to read labels). Or, you can try the test that Precision Nutrition recommends, but they don’t appear to believe that it’s 100% foolproof.
Photo Credit: Kevin Laller
About Jen Waak
this was verrrrry interesting to me. may try the gluten elimination soon. thanks for posting.
I just did a response test with my nutritionist. Gluten didn't seem to be a problem, however Corn is. If you're interested, contact the Vital Energy Center on the north side of cap hill