The answer to this question is simple, yet complex in its details. It is estimated, depending upon what you read, that 60% to 90% of all Americans suffer from undetected food allergies.
When my patients complain of allergy symptoms, I run a food and environmental allergy panel, which is commercially available and covered by all insurance companies. However, this allergy panel only gives me the IgE response of the body, an immunoglobulin measurement which indicates a hypersensitivity to allergic triggers like pollen, molds, and dander that typically cause a rash and shortness of breath. Most food allergies are found by an IgG panel, which reveals antibodies to infections. Symptoms include headaches, gastrointestinal disturbances, weight gain,n and psychiatric reactions like brain fog, acute mania (Psychiatry RES. 2012; March 2), schizophrenia (Schizophr RES. 2010 May: 118 [1-3]: 248-55), and psychosis, as well as skin problems.
Gluten is a protein composite found in wheat, barley, rye, and related grains. Corn and rice, although often classified as glutens, have a different protein structure. Naturally, bread products and pasta contain gluten, but it is also present in products like beer and soy sauce, and it may be added to foods like ice cream and ketchup, which might not be expected to contain gluten. You should know that gluten sensitivity is as yet an "unproven" condition, however, it may be linked to a substantial number of idiopathic axonal neuropathies, symptoms such as asthma, anemia and joint pain (including tingling and numbness of the extremities) that often afflict the elderly (Journal Neurol NEUROS Psychiatry 2006 77:1262-1266). The ultimate form of gluten sensitivity is a condition known as celiac disease. However, it is impossible to distinguish between gluten sensitivity and celiac disease on the basis of symptoms alone. Once again, not all physicians agree that gluten sensitivity is a real condition, especially since the laboratory tests that they are running are the tests that determine allergies that cause rashes or shortness of breath. They are not running the IgG tests, which are for weight gain. There are laboratory tests that are more accurate for food sensitivities, however, insurance companies do not cover them, and those tests cost from $300 to $400 for an entire panel.
Unfortunately, for those of us who wish to determine whether or not we are sensitive to gluten, symptoms may occur hours or even days after consuming these foods, making it difficult to attribute the symp- toms to the consumption of these foods. The most common signs of food sensitivity are irritable bowel symptoms including diarrhea, bloating, stomachache and even- tual weight gain. However, any symptoms related to the gastrointestinal spectrum, including heartburn and constipation, can be attributed to food sensitivities, the most common being gluten.
One way to know if you are gluten sen- sitive is to try going gluten-free for two weeks to see if your symptoms subside. Oddly, you may then find you have an immense craving for gluten. I know that this is counterintuitive based upon all the horrible symptoms listed above, but if you don't eat a food that you are sensitive to, you won't get the the inflammatory "high" that occurs when the body releases cortisol. Cortisol causes our bodies to store food and fat, and a cortisol reaction can last for up to one week. Eating gluten will satisfy your carbohydrate craving, how- ever these cravings can be diminished by eating fat and protein-not by giving the body what it craves.
Even if we are eating organic whole grains and chicken, we can still be storing copious amounts of fat. You see, the wheat that we currently eat, organic or not, is not the same wheat that our mothers and fathers ate. Somewhere along the line, through genetic engineering, many of us have become sensitive and/or allergic to the multiple proteins within the wheat.
What about weight loss? There are mul- tiple claims from celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Miley Cyrus that they have lost weight on a gluten-free diet. Does this really work? If you ask the Academy of Nutrition and Diabetics (for- mally known as the American Diabetic Association), the answer is a firm "No." They say, "There's nothing special about a gluten-free diet that can help a person lose weight." However, Dr. William Davis, cardiologist, the author of Wheat Belly, notes that he has typically seen a 15 to 20- lb. weight loss in the first month when his patients drop wheat from their diets. In another study, in 100 patients on a "sensi- tivity diet" versus a diet of choice, 80% lowered their body fat versus 34% of con- trols, and 78% on the sensitivity diet improved their body composition versus 29% of controls. Notably, the American Diabetic Association does not point to any studies that support their position that a gluten-free diet causes no more weight loss than any other diet.
Another study which looked at 369 peo- ple found that weight tends to normalize with a gluten-free diet. In other words, if you are overweight, you will tend to lose weight; however, if you are underweight. you will tend to gain weight once you go on a gluten-free diet.
Always remember that how much weight you gain is a direct function of how high your insulin level goes after a meal. High insulin levels cause our bodies to accumulate fat around our abdomens.. High insulin in the bloodstream can le low blood sugar, which makes us bung for sugary snacks (the type obtained from a vending machine). By removing wheat from your diet, you will modulate the insulin response so the level does not go ws high. However, you should be warned: a lot of "gluten-free" snacks contain sin:- ple rice sugar or potato sugar that drive insulin levels higher, thus causing fat accumulation but not causing the above- noted neurological, psychological and gastrointestinal disturbances. From a purely weight standpoint, going gluten- free is good, but lowering simple carbohy- drates is necessary as well.
It should be noted that there are other food allergies that a person can have, such as allergies to eggs, citrus, coffee, nuts, seafood, tomatoes, dairy products, etc. In the book The China Study, written by T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Mingr took the data in the book (not the book itself) and calcu- lated the numbers on wheat and body size. His detailed analysis of the data found that wheat consumption is the strongest posi- tive predictor for body weight and one that is also highly correlated with body mass index. In other words, the more wheat somebody ate, the heavier they were.
So what can we eat? We need to base our diets on fresh vegetables, lean meats, eggs, cheese, fish, nuts and even fruits.
Even though gluten sensitivity is con troversial in the medical community, my experience with my patients leads me to believe that it will be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt in the near future, and a gluten-free diet will become the stan- dard of proper nutrition.
Hetas uffices 10 Santaiat has been in private practice for 19 yors, owns three motorcycles and did his intern- ship and residency at USC in Los Angeles.