After reading the article in The Oregonian yesterday, I thought I should weigh in on my opinion about gluten. The reality is that gluten is not the problem. The harsh reality is that your body’s reaction to gluten is the major issue. You are the problem. Now do not get me wrong, you and those you care about should avoid gluten as much as possible due to its high inflammatory affect.
Lets start with some basic concepts first. Gluten is a protein. Certain proteins cause inflammation in the body. They cause inflammation because the immune system attacks the protein to eliminate it from the body. Every time you eat gluten, it causes inflammation. This is true for every person, not just those who have Celiac or gluten sensitivity. Gluten causes inflammation in everyone. So this brings me back to the point that gluten is not the problem. You can liken gluten to alcohol. Alcohol causes toxicity in everyone just like gluten causes inflammation in everyone. Why it appears that some people are not affected by gluten is either, 1) due to their tolerance (just like alcohol) of gluten, or 2) they have a decreased amount of toxicity in their body.
This is an important concept to pay attention to, there is no true food allergy. It is all about your body’s ability to digest, assimilate and eliminate all the substances that you come in contact with during your life. If you have a greater amount of toxicity in your body (physical and emotional) you are going to have a greater inflammatory response to substances such as gluten. So rather than thinking all you have to do is go “gluten free”, begin understanding that you need to lower your toxicity load. If you do this, all reaction changes, not just your reaction to gluten. This is true preventative thinking. Dr. Buttler
Health tip- gluten free cookies are only slightly better for you than regular cookies. Change things rather than substituting them.