It’s that time of the year again.   Allergies are running rampant, especially in the part of the country where I live, and with that come all the associated sinus infections, runny eyes and perpetual “colds”.   Allergies are big business and between all the pharmaceuticals, skin testing and allergy shots, there is not a real impetus to illuminate the public as to what is causing these allergies.  I am here to put the “beat down” on their profits and help your pocket book.

It is essential to understand allergies in their simplest form.   Modern allergies to pollen, dogs, dust mites etc. are really nothing more than the immune systems over reaction to elements that have been in our environment since the dawning of man.   Sure, if cavemen ran through a field of pollen (think “Sound of Music” with a loincloth), they may start sneezing to clear the excess pollen, but today’s over sensitization is extreme.  A “normal” exposure to the elements causes an immune system melt down and people become snot factories.    So what has changed to make us so susceptible to our environment and why are our immune systems overreacting and creating allergies?

Surprise, surprise, it is our gut.   Yep, you heard me-its our gut.   This is where 60-70 percent of our immune system resides and where over 99% of our daily immune response occurs.  Healthy gut equals healthy immune system and fewer allergies.   If the gut is not healthy and is “leaky”, this allows the immune system to feel like it is under attack all the time then it becomes over active and attacks everything including pollen, dander and mites.   What contributes to a “leaky gut” and eventually an allergic over response?    Well, it’s the things that make our gut healthy or unhealthy and there are over 100 trillion reasons in our first example.

My first question to a lot of allergy sufferers is whether they were C-section babies and the second is whether they were breastfed.    Why is this important?  Well this determines your gut’s bacterial health and this is extremely important.   We are hotels for bacteria.   They are 100 trillion of them and 10 trillion of us (cells of the body).   They have more to do with our health and our immune system than any other thing in our environment.   Passing through the vaginal canal is a great start in life (insert joke of choice here) because of the bacteria we “inherit” and then the breast milk keeps these bacteria healthy and happy and these bacteria then in turn modulate the immune system.

When we are products of C-sections or are formula fed, these bacteria get off on the wrong foot and we are much more likely to have asthma and eczema.    Another question is the amount of antibiotics a person has been exposed to.   More than 5 antibiotics in a lifetime is usually a good indicator that a person has predisposition to allergies, as it tends to kill good bacteria and allows bad bacteria and fungus to overgrow and this sends the wrong signal to the immune system.  A good analogy is spraying roundup on your grass and expecting more beautiful grass.   What you end up with is an overgrowth of weeds after the Roundup has worn off and the same applies to your guts with antibiotics.

Well, now you have done it and unintentionally been the victim of one or all of these three things (as most Americans have) and you’ve got bedlam in your gut, and are feeling guilty so you eat some milk and cookies to assuage that guilt.   Well, one hour of pleasure is worth 48-72 hours of misery right?   If you’ve already got a leaky gut, then the gluten and dairy from the milk and cookies are the last things you want to introduce to this immune system meltdown.    Gluten, followed by dairy are the two most common food items leading to overactive immune system and allergies.

100 percent of people have an immune response to gluten.   Severity depends a lot on things we have already discussed such as birth history, breastfeeding and antibiotic exposure, but in every one of us, regardless of previous exposure, it opens gaps in the gut allowing large food particles to pass through and stimulate the immune system and causes it to become over reactive and allergies are part of this overreaction.

Dairy is a homogenized, pasteurized mess.   The type of milk we are drinking now is not the same as in the past.   The A1 protein type of milk, which is the vast majority of our milk, along with the homogenization, pasteurization process exposes our immune system to very inflammatory proteins (Raw milk and goats milk is usually A2 and much more immune friendly).   These new proteins, evolutionarily, are not recognized by our immune system, and our immune system feels like it is under attack and this “alert” immune system then overcompensates when exposed to other things in the environment, viola, allergies.

Well, we can’t technically be born twice and get bacteria that way.   We can’t  go back and breastfeed (you could but not looked highly upon by society), or reverse time and not take the antibiotics.    So what are the interventions that we can make now to calm our allergies?   To start, make a better environment for the immune system so that it is calm.  Healing the gut will accomplish this.

Probiotics are temporary bacteria that we introduce into our intestine that act as immune messengers.   The type of probiotics matter as certain bacteria send different messages so not just any probiotic will do.   My two favorite are Jarrow’s “EPS” and Pure Caps’ “Probiotic G.I.”    and there are others as well for immune function and it is good to rotate every 2-3 months.

Glutamine is an amino acid that the small intestine needs for energy.  I use 2 to 3 grams per day to help the gut heal.   I combine this with aloe vera juice and curcumin and this speeds healing.  A gut with no holes in it is no longer leaky and the immune system is calmed down.

Finally, eat the right foods.   Avoid gluten and dairy.   Eat fermented foods (miso, sauerkraut, etc).   Eat whole foods and avoid processed foods (stuff that comes in a package).

So often with disease, as I am often apt to point out, we can prevent it.   Once again here is a disease process that has its connection to your diet, even though a lot of doctors claim there is no connection to food, the data does not bear this out.    Its interesting something so commonplace and insufferable as acne is treatable without meds and is so readily responsive to changes in lifestyle.   Puberty does not have to be the “Time of the Pimple”.

Testosterone increases the size of sebaceous (sweat) glands and this is why puberty brings about increased incidence of acne. We cannot get rid of the testosterone, although most parents of teenagers would love to, but we can defuse the powder keg this hormone presents to the sebaceous glands by addressing the “fuses”.

Acne is a response to inflammation.   This inflammation and  hormonal changes affect how your sweat glands react.  With increased swelling your sebaceous glands get clogged, infected and viola’ you have acne.   No amount of face washing will rid you of this problem.   You have to get to the bottom of it and it starts with your fork-let me explain why.

Pimples are a symptom of disease just like water on the floor is a sign of a broken sink.   We need to fix the sink if we are going to get rid of the problem and not just mop up the floor.   There are several underlying factors in acne and I will explain how by addressing these we are going to fix the “sink”.

Acne is one of the signs of the body having insulin overload.   That is why eating lots of sugar and processed food predispose you to this problem.     Insulin is responsible for building up tissues and growth.   It makes sense that sebaceous glands (sweat glands) also would grow from its stimulation and we get acne.    To solve this aspect of acne it becomes simple-stop eating or drinking crap with high sugar content and foods that are highly processed.   This is simple in theory but becomes hard when we think about all the things we eat that fit this description, but it is a place to start.   With the demise of Hostess this all becomes a little easier.

Milk is another hidden acne contributor.   Although the marketing for milk suggests it does a body “good”,  I have to disagree.   This food has insulin growth factor 1 in it, and increases insulin resistance in the long run.   Research Link   With this molecule the sweat glands are more primed for overgrowth and a “bad” diet, greatly increases our predisposition to acne and eventually,  when one looks at its mechanism of action, diabetes.   No society that lives without milk as a staple suffers from bad health or weak bones.   We will be just fine without it and our skin will thank us.   Additional Research Link.::

“Warning:  Broken record to commence….”   Inflammation is caused by diet.   Gluten is a very inflammatory molecule in our diet.   Keeping gluten out of our diet, or at least to a minimum, will decrease inflammation.    Inflammation causes acne so gluten elimination is another factor to consider as treatment.

Supplements are helpful in acne and zinc is a must.   This simple element in one study reduced acne from 100% to 15%.   This has to do with anti-inflammatory processes and improvement in insulin receptors.   This needs to be elemental zinc and 30 mg a day is very helpful (Zinc Piconilate is my favorite because of increased absorption).    Other supplements that should be considered include Chromium at 200 mg a day (improves insulin resistance) as well as Selenium (400 mcg) and a very good omega 3 fatty acid (fish oil-decreases inflammation along with good diet).

Acne is not inevitable for teenagers or adults.   We have to change our lifestyle and make better choices in our diets and make sure our deficiencies are addressed.   Testosterone increase for young adults is inevitable, but with lifestyle changes this plague on teenage dating is easily treatable and can help those adults who are suffering as well from diseases of increased testosterone such as Polycystic Ovary Disease.

I am often amazed at the number of patients who feel that due to family history they are doomed to a particular disease. One of the most frightening of these “inevitable” diseases is Alzheimer’s disease.

I have some skepticism with “cures” as they suggest we are powerless until the medical industrial complex saves us. I do sincerely hope that we find a “cure” for Alzheimer’s, but in the meantime let’s go with what we have, and boy do we have a lot to go on, especially in the area of prevention. That this disease is preventable and even treatable, yes it is treatable, is welcome news and I’m glad to give it.

As so often occurs in life, you don’t get something for nothing, so let’s explore what you should be doing now to not only prevent Alzheimer’s but other diseases such as diabetes and what kind of changes it will require.

They are now calling Alzheimer’s, Type 3 Diabetes, because of its intimate connection with the brain cells inability to move sugar into the brain cells secondary to insulin resistance. Studies are now showing the Alzheimer’s and insulin resistance go hand in hand. This is relatively new science as it was long thought that the brain did not need insulin for uptake of sugar but that is not true, especially in the area of the brain needed for memory. With insulin resistance your brain basically starves, as it can no longer move sugar into the brain to create energy to stay alive.

So the solution seems easy right? Pass you another Ho-Ho you say? Yeah, if only that were the case…but that just makes it worse, unfortunately for you and your Ho-Ho addiction, despite what Marie Antoinette would have to say about your brain and what it should eat. It’s like dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean. To understand this we need to understand that sugar is a two edged sword.

Sugar is our preferred energy source but too much of a good thing, is well, too much. Our cells start protecting us from it because it causes damage to cells when there is too much of it. In this way sugar actually prevents energy production, and stunts the body’s ability to clean up toxins as it should.

Much like Lucy and Ethel in the famous candy factory episode, there is so much excess sugar and nowhere else to store it, that it ends up back in the blood stream (stays on the conveyor belt) continuing to circulate, raising blood sugar and ultimately causing insulin resistance in the cells.

Insulin resistance causes cells to “starve”, brain cells need sugar, so insulin resistance/diabetes causes brain cells to “starve” to death. As studies have shown its hard to have Alzheimer’s without insulin resistance.

We consumed 4 lbs of sugar a year 100 years ago and since then some estimates have us consuming over 140 lbs per year! “Holy Crap” is what you should be thinking right now and rightly so, that is a lot! Where does all this sugar come from? Most patients I talk to invariably tell me that they don’t eat much sugar, but as I pull apart their diet I start pointing out the numerous sources we don’t think of as being loaded with sugar and without realizing it, their diet is loaded with sugar.

Every thing that comes in a package should be considered refined (broken down from a whole food and made into a processed food) which in and of itself is creating simple sugars that enter the bloodstream very quickly and cause sugar overload. Then there is the hidden sugar in such “great” nutritious foods like yogurt. Most of it is full of sugar. Soda, diet or not, is too blame for a great deal of our sugar pounds (diet soda increases appetite and in some studies causes more weight gain than regular soda).

Avoiding this is simple. Eat food without modification, i.e. whole foods. Here is a great place to start http://www.drweil.com/drw/ecs/pyramid/press-foodpyramid.html . I find it to be quite helpful in understanding healthy foods.

Every time we smoke, eat char-grilled foods, get exposed to mercury, eat chemically modified foods, or get exposed to pesticides, to name a few examples, the body cleaning system has to be diverted to clear these toxins and cellular clean up is slowed and insulin resistance is brought on as cells shut down energy production until “wastes” can be removed. We are on are way to Alzheimer’s, cancer, or diabetes by choosing increased toxic exposure through non- organic foods or inflammatory foods such as “fast food” and other environmental pollutants such as BPAs from plastic bottles etc.

What are we to do? Even if we have already started on the path of Alzheimer’s we can help delay these processes with changing lifestyle , and with well chosen foods and supplements we can even reverse the damage or least stop the decline.

     Coconut Oil

One of the most fascinating food substances that helps with Alzheimer’s is coconut oil. This food remedy is starting to show up more and more in mainstream media and Alzheimer’s groups due to in large part from the efforts of Dr. Mary Newport, who wrote a fascinating book, “Alzheimer’s Disease: What if There Was a Cure” about how her husband was brought back from the brink of dementia with the use of medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil.

This is an unfairly disparaged food source, which is very healthy and bypasses the brain’s dependence on sugar. Our brain loves the energy provided by coconut oil and will use this instead of sugar when it can no longer utilize sugar effectively. Not everyone responds to this but a majority of Alzheimer’s patients have noticeable improvement with 1-2 tablespoons twice a day in shakes, used like butter, or used for cooking. It does not cause heart disease and may actually help, so give it a try and read up on it in books such as the “The Coconut Oil Miracle.” What a wonderful energy source it is for the brain that bypasses the brains need for sugar.

     Supplements

• The use of Co Enzyme Q10 is a great place to start at 100-200 mg a day  and is very potent anti-inflammatory.

• Magnesium is another essential element at 600-900 mg a day and would use Magnesium Taurate for the calming effect of Taurine on excitable neurons. Magnesium is also important for insulin resistance.

• Green Tea Extract, from high quality supplement manufacturer such as Thorne, is extremely potent anti-inflammatory and helps with insulin resistance.

• Vitamin D3 at 2000-4000 IU per day with a high quality Curcumin supplement at 1000 mg a day has actually in studies been shown to remove plaques of Alzheimer’s from the brain and is also a very good combination for diabetics (noticing a pattern yet?).

• Omega 3 is a potent anti-inflammatory as well, and in studies has been shown to be beneficial in diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Invest in high quality products to avoid an increase of inflammation. Poor quality fish oils are oxidized (exposed to oxygen) during processing, and therefore cause more damage to cells.

• A good multivitamin oriented toward diabetics such as Pure Lean Nutrients from Pure Encapsulation (one of my favorite multivitamins) that contains some of the previously mentioned nutrients plus diabetic nutrients such as chromium, zinc, and cinnamon all in one bottle.

So are we cursed to follow our family history? Not at all, and most importantly we are in charge of our destiny as we combat so called inevitable diseases such as Alzheimer’s/Type 3 Diabetes. As Mark Hyman MD** puts it so succinctly- the greatest tool for treating these diseases is our fork.

** Great new book by Dr. Hyman which explores the sugar problem in America is Blood Sugar Solution- a must read if you want to understand this better

Alzheimer PDF

What is the most common elemental deficiency in my practice?   Magnesium.   This is probably the most underutilized “medicine” out there for restless legs, constipation, kidney stones, leg cramps, menstrual cramps, asthma and many other  medical conditions including treatment resistant depression.    It has tons of research available to support its use in these and many other medical conditions but often it is overlooked because I personally feel we as doctors have not been educated on its benefits except for “emergency” cases.   It is not a drug so there are no people sitting in tubs on a cliff holding hands and talking about its benefits on TV and there is no Magnesium Lobby group to push its cause so I will try to champion the miracle mineral here.

Magnesium is the most utilized mineral in the body and is responsible for actions ranging from relaxation and decalcification of the arteries to utilizing sugar in the cell all the way to improving mood.   We cannot survive without it.     In my practice it plays an essential role.   After first addressing inflammation in the gut(see my post on gluten sensitivity) I then address magnesium status as the second step in almost all treatment plans especially for those patients with depression and anxiety.  Matter of fact, this mineral is essential for relaxation and mood.   Magnesium is better than the anti depressants in studies with postpartum depression and treatment resistant depression.    Interestingly, treatment resistant depression is not a Zoloft deficiency to start with but more likely is a magnesium deficiency.  Treatment resistant depression is largely due to magnesium deficiency and there is quite a bit of data to back this up.    By adding magnesium to their current regimens almost 80 percent had resolution of their symptoms of depression.  Not only good for mood disorders, it also has amazing effects on the brain in general.  Magnesium repairs the brain following stroke.   One study showed a 50% improvement on mental functioning with administering magnesium one year after the stroke!   Another brain issue is migraines and you guessed it, magnesium is an effective cure.   It is always my first and most effective intervention for migraine.   “Wow, magnesium is awesome” you say,” and I will have my doctor check my levels right away.”   As the sports announcer Lee Corsco says “Not so fast my friend…”

It is hard to measure total body stores since 99% is in the tissues and only 1% is in the blood, where our testing is performed.   We can be depleted of magnesium in our body compartments but our blood shows we are normal which is only 1% of our total stores.    We will use that 99% to keep the 1% in the normal range and our brain tissue may be very low and our blood levels be normal.    So what to do?   Assume you are magnesium deficient as most of us are (over 80%) and this can be explained by our diet and exposures.

Back in the days of clubbing our women over their head and dragging them back to our cave (not cool now except in Arkansas where this is still very vogue)*, we had a lot more magnesium in our diet.   In fact the ratio of magnesium to calcium was 1:1.   It is now near 1:6.    This ratio has worsened with the introduction of row crop farming on a large scale.   We have mineral depleted soil and it has very little organic matter so the food we grow in it is less than complete in nutrition.   One of the major minerals we are missing in our processed food is magnesium.  We are also wasting it with stress, caffeine intake and not able to replace it with our processed food.    Another unseen cause of depletion of magnesium is ironically  diuretic meds (hydrochlorothiazide is one of the most common) used to treat high blood pressure which causes long term magnesium depletion which causes high blood pressure.    We doctors be jeanusisses.   So long story short-we are a generally magnesium depleted society and we need to get some now at some “Superstore.”   Once again, not so fast my friend.

Ok, so I’ve got nothing against a certain conglomerate chain of stores where you can buy anything except maybe crack pipes, (except the way it treats its employees and runs small business out of business so maybe I do), but in regards to magnesium this is not your best source to buy it.   Magnesium comes in a lot of different forms and if you want to actually absorb it you will need the right kind.   Your doctors office (nutritional oriented doctors office that is) or higher end health food store or specialty pharmacy is the place to start.    Magnesium Taurate is probably my favorite but is the hardest to find.   The taurate portion of the magnesium chelate is very calming to the brain and works in synergy with magnesium to help with mood.   My next favorite is Magnesium Glycinate and is a little easier to find and is cheaper than Taurate.   It does little to create GI upset like Mag Oxide and is very effective in higher doses without side effects of diarrhea.    Next there is Magnesium Citrate which is good for constipation and but still allows absorption of magnesium, unlike Mag Oxide, but can cause loose stools in high doses.   Magnesium citrate is cheaper than the previously mentioned magnesium chelates and overall is good all around magnesium.   Finally there is magnesium oxide which is what the cheaper magnesium brands are made of.   You get a lot of concentrated magnesium in one pill but only absorb about 4% of it.   This should only be really used for constipation and not replacement.   If cheap is more important than whether it works effectively, then you should choose this one  (see you at the crapper).  When choosing your magnesium be careful is not combined with mag oxide which is used to decrease costs and lessens efficacy of the good magnesium.

Another way to get magnesium is topically with magnesium chloride oil or Epsom salts baths.   Topical magnesium replaces magnesium faster than if taken by mouth and gets body back to normal levels in 1-2 months instead of 6-12 months like oral magnesium does.   ” Oh wow, you mean I have to keep taking pills for more than one day”.   Yes, and you have to take quite a few pills a day for many months to get where you need to be in total body load if you are depleted.

Now we have the kinds of magnesium, although the above is not a complete list, how much should we take?   The best way to go is start by taking Epsom Salt baths-2 cups in hot tub x 30 mins.   This is cheap and you can get at any store.     Topical magnesium oil is easily found at health food stores and can be applied daily or twice a day.    The chelated magnesiums (taurate, glycinate, and citrate) are usually in 100-150 mg per capsule dosages so I recommend 600-900 mg a day and if you can tolerate it you can go even higher (loose stool is a tip off you need to back down a pill or two).    The obvious question is whether you can take too much?  The answer, not really, unless you have chronic kidney disease then would go with much smaller doses and you would want to be monitored by a physician.   If you do not have kidney disease you will be able to excrete any excess magnesium in urine or your stool.   Other instances where you would want to be careful is excessively slow heart rate (works to slow down heart which is usually good and works well for atrial fibrillation), myasthenia gravis, or bowel obstruction (can’t eliminate excess).

Long article made even longer, magnesium is the first place to start for depression.   It is a long undervalued mineral missing in our diet due to years of depletion in our soil.   It is easily replaced inexpensively.   Magnesium does a body good.

* Being from Louisiana it is my job to make fun of Arkansas, so if anyone there is reading this please know I am proud of you for reading this

(Disclaimer-I am looking to start a Magesium Lobby Group-so send money)

The Missing Element in Depression-PDF

More and more “gluten free” is showing up in our food markets, advertising and in daily conversation. This could easily be written off as another food fad much like low fat, low carb, and numerous other recycled food crazes. We may have someone we know that is trying to convince us that “gluten free” is the lifestyle “you just have to try.” Our doctors often tell us that if you do not have celiac disease there is no need to subscribe to this trend and that it is too radical to remove gluten from the diet. So why is this “fad” gaining momentum?

1. This is not a fad. 

Gluten free is a lifestyle change and the reason for the momentum is because it works for numerous medical conditions and not just gut-based symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain and heartburn.

In my practice, I recommend that most patients eliminate gluten immediately. Why?

Simply because 80-90% of my patient population responds to this therapy. Patients with seizures, migraines, anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, multiple types of arthritis, fatigue and many other non- gastrointestinal related conditions are feeling better than they ever have before.

First, let’s define gluten. Gluten is the protein portion of the wheat kernel. It is also the hardest protein to digest and process.

Gluten now makes up about 26% of the kernel compared to 3% just 30 years ago, due to the hybridization of wheat. So, when you eat two slices of bread today, it yields about the same gluten equivalent as 17 slices did back in 1980.

Gluten is also found in barley, rye, spelt and often in oats due to cross contamination from wheat in harvesting and processing. It is also found in numerous other processed foods.

2. Gluten sensitivity is not celiac disease.  

The gluten sensitivity disease classification is brand new, although it has been a term utilized by functional medicine practitioners for years. Gluten sensitivity as a “medical diagnosis” has just appeared in the medical literature as of March 2011 and that article strongly advocates that gluten sensitivity is a separate disease from celiac.

Celiac disease is mainly oriented to small intestine destruction/dysfunction. This is present in about 1% of the population and increasing. Celiac disease is the only autoimmune disease of the small intestine completely initiated by a food protein – gluten.

Celiac disease destroys the villi (the absorption “fingers” of the small intestine) resulting in poor absorption of food and nutrients.

Gluten sensitivity, unlike celiac disease, is not an autoimmune disease, but rather it is a generalized immune reaction. This is much like the flu virus, where symptoms present because of the bodies response to the irritant.

In the case of gluten sensitivity, it is gluten, and not the flu virus you are reacting to, but with a lot of similar symptoms such as joint pain, headache, fatigue, brain fog etc which all starts in the small intestine where 60-70% of your immune tissue resides.

3. Gluten sensitivity is not diagnosed with blood tests but rather a trial of elimination of gluten from your diet for at least 4-6 weeks.

Celiac disease can be diagnosed with blood tests or the gold standard, intestinal biopsy, but even negative test results do not rule it out. Celiac disease, however, is still easier to diagnose and confirm than gluten sensitivity.

The test for gluten sensitivity is this: if your symptoms get better when you avoid gluten, then you are sensitive.

It takes about a 4-6 week trial of being off gluten and then reintroducing it to see if you are sensitive. If symptoms go away with removing it and then reappear with reintroducing gluten after 4-6 weeks, viola you are gluten sensitive.

There are stool tests and saliva test for this from specialty labs but they are still considered experimental.

Gluten sensitivity affects about 10% of the population, but I would say from clinical experience, the more subtle presentations of this disease make this percentage much higher. Under this conservative percentage, it means 30 million Americans are gluten sensitive.

4. Gluten sensitivity is not an allergy to wheat. 

Wheat allergy is different than gluten sensitivity. Wheat allergy causes immediate symptoms, as it is a histamine driven reaction, much like other food allergies or bee stings, which cause quick onset of swelling, airway problems, rashes and redness. This reaction is much like a peanut allergy.

In gluten sensitivity it is a more delayed response driven by a different immune pathway in the small intestine. When the small intestine is inflamed by gluten then the whole immune system is inflamed (Note: 99% of our immune response is due to our interaction with food in the small intestine.). When the immune system feels it is under attack, it sends out the signal to the body to defend itself.

This defense to certain foods causes an overreaction of the immune system to normal stimuli such as dust, pollen, pet hair, etc. In my experience, this is where we get a lot allergy symptoms-runny nose, sinusitis, sneezing etc., although this is not “wheat allergy” technically.

The same thing happens with imperfect areas of the body such as joints to name another.   Our immune system then attacks that which is not “perfect” due to this up regulation of the immune system and a lot of arthritis sufferers joints are being assaulted because of what they eat. The same thing occurs with the brain as it is exquisitely sensitive to ramping up of immune function through cytokines  (chemicals released by the immune system which can cause inflammation and regulation of other pathways) which are why you feel like crap when you have the flu.

Depression and anxiety are severe in a lot of patients with gluten sensitivity due to the cytokines which block production of serotonin and other neurotransmitters which are essential in upregulation of mood.   With the elimination of gluten and often dairy, many patients (myself included) have been freed from allergies, arthritis, and numerous other medical conditions due to overactive immune function.

5. Gluten free is a lifestyle.

When going gluten free you are choosing to eat a majority of whole foods. This is the same diet that prevents diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, just to name a few.  Whole foods are best described as foods that are not processed.

Processed foods are those that are manually changed from their original structure. This is done by grinding, adding sugar, preservatives and dyes.

BONUS: Gluten free grocery tips:

*Shop on the outside of the grocery store and avoid the middle.

* When shopping in the middle, read every label and choose products with 5 ingredients or less in them (most of these should be spices or things that you can pronounce).  “If you can’t read it, don’t eat it!”

*You should try not to spend hard earned money on gluten free items such as bread, cookies, and pasta. These foods as a whole have little to 0 nutritional value. They are still processed and/or refined gluten free grain products.

Google the Internet for ingredient and product lists to help you avoid gluten.  Living Without.com and Celiac.com are good places to start.

5 Things You Must Know about Gluten Sensitivity-PDF