By DK Weamer M.S., C.N.

It has recently been suggested that the new development and marketing of gluten-free products is just another in a long line of dietary crazes like the low fat craze or the no sugar added, artificially-sweetened food craze, both of which have proven to be less than healthy choices to make. I personally do not agree that marketing gluten free products is a bad thing.

First, grain cultivation only began about 10,000 years ago. On the evolutionary and adaptation scale, that makes grains a relatively new food choice for humans.

Second, gluten is not an easy molecule to digest. There is a portion of the population that is highly reactive to gluten, a condition called Celiac disease. Though Celiac disease was once thought to be fairly rare – 1 in 5,000 – it is now suggested that the number may be closer to 1 in 100 individuals. Certainly these numbers have increased partially because of better understanding and screening techniques, but gluten is in almost everything that we consume. Read your labels; wheat, barley (malt), oats and rye are often ingredients in most pre-packaged, processed foods.

Individuals often develop allergies or sensitivities to foods that are eaten frequently or over-consumed. One indicator of food sensitivity is a food that you crave, eat every day and think you can’t live without. You may have a sensitivity to that food. Food sensitivities are most likely due to digestive stress, which results in inadequate digestion and malabsorption.

Digestive stress occurs when the foods that we eat have been processed. Raw foods contain their own digestive enzymes. When raw foods are eaten their enzymes are released and mixed with salivary digestive enzymes to begin the digestive process while the food is being held in the stomach. When these partially digested foods move from the stomach to the small intestine, your body identifies the types of food present and the level of digestion that has occurred and based on this information, releases the appropriate type and amount of pancreatic digestive enzymes into the small intestine to complete the process. When foods are heat treated during processing, enzymes are destroyed, leaving your body with the task of producing all the digestive enzymes required to digest your foods. Each time this occurs, your body must take energy and resources away from immune function, tissue repair and other metabolic activities and direct them towards producing adequate levels of digestive enzymes. Over time, digestive stress begins to bankrupt the body of energy and resources and can lead to a number of chronic, debilitating disorders.

“If a food is not properly digested, it will eventually trigger a sensitivity reaction in the body.” Dr. Ellen Cutler, 2007. Live Free from Asthma and Allergies.

One study that analyzed the role of gastric digestion in the development of food allergies found that “twenty-five percent of all patients developed a boost in the IgE formation toward regular constituents of the daily diet when gastric digestion is inhibited…and that the allergenicity of allergens were reduced up to 10,000 fold” when gastric digestion was supported (1).

This may be one of the main reasons why allergies and food sensitivities are on the rise. By taking a good broad spectrum digestive enzyme* to replace the food enzymes that have been lost in processing, you can support gastric digestion and reduce allergic response.

One result of poor digestion is leaky gut syndrome, a common medical condition where the intestinal lining becomes more porous than usual. This allows partially digested and hard to digest molecules, like gluten, to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Once in the blood these partially digested molecules are seen as foreign and dangerous, triggering an allergic response. If leaky gut syndrome goes untreated, individuals can become increasingly reactive to more and more foods, ultimately limiting their food choices. This is called the “Cascading Effect” of food sensitivity. Once good digestive and colon health is re-established, most, if not all, of these sensitivities can completely disappear.

Leaky gut syndrome can be caused by one or more of the following factors:
· Antibiotics
· Diets high in refined carbohydrates and sugar
· Use of prescription drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, oral contraceptives, or corticosteroids
· Protein, vitamin or mineral deficiencies
· Lack of digestive enzymes
· Alcohol

If you feel you may be gluten sensitive there are a number of things you can do.

1. Add a good broad spectrum digestive enzyme* to your supplemental regime, whether you have food allergies or not as they reduce digestive stress and support good digestive health. But if you already have allergies or sensitivities of any kind, digestive enzymes are a must.

2. Likewise, taking a good probiotic to maintain healthy intestinal flora is important to prevent the development of leaky gut syndrome and maintain a strong immune system, but especially important for anyone who is trying to reverse and repair intestinal damage.

3. It is important to avoid gluten containing foods or any other foods that you react to for at least three months to allow your body to begin to stabilize and heal. After that you may want to add each food in one at a time, along with a digestive enzyme, to see if you are still reacting to them. If you do not notice a reaction in 24 – 48 hours, you can try adding those foods back into your diet on a rotational basis every 4 – 6 days and observe how you handle them. It is always best to try not to over consume any food that you have had a reaction to in the past, though as your body heals you should experience decreasing sensitivity.

4. Go to www.bioset.net to locate a BioSet practitioner in your area. BioSet is a desensitization technique for the often permanent elimination of allergies and sensitivities.

5. Other nutrients that can be beneficial in the treatment of leaky gut syndrome include:
· Glutamine is a primary fuel for intestinal cell function and provides energy to heal the intestinal lining.
· Essential Fatty acids (EFAs) have been shown to decrease intestinal permeability.
· Gamma oryzanol has been shown to be effective in healing the intestinal wall.

While crazes come and go usually because of a popular idea, which is eventually either proven effective or not; creating variety in our dietary choices can only be beneficial.

*What’s a broad spectrum digestive enzyme? It includes not only Amylase, Lipase, Protease, and Cellulase, but additional enzymes to assist in the digestion of typically troublesome bonds and harder to digest foods. These include:

· Glucoamylase: Breaks down the ends of starch molecules.
· alpha-galactosidase: Digests the raffinose sugars found in beans and some vegetables.
· Malt Diastase: Breaks down malt sugar.
· Pectinase: Acts on the pectins found in fruits.
· Invertase: Breaks down sucrose and augments the function of villous enzymes. This enzyme is helpful for those with lactose intolerance, which can indicate lower secretions of both amylases and invertases.
· Lactase: Digests lactose sugar, typically found in milk and milk products.
· CereCalase and Xylanase: Digest polysaccharides and breaks down fiber, enhancing the release of nutrients from grains, fruits, vegetables and herbs.

1) Untersmayr E. et al. The effect of gastric digestion on food allergy. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006 Jun;6(3):214-9. PMID 16670517.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Enzymes Inc., Digestion.

Tags: gluten, celiac disease, dietary