Discover why going gluten-free might not be the best choice for everyone. Understand the potential drawbacks and explore balanced alternatives.
Understanding the Myths and Misconceptions of a Gluten-Free Diet
Many individuals with autoimmune diseases consider adopting a gluten-free diet in hopes of reducing inflammation, joint pain, and digestive issues. However, it’s essential to recognize that gluten may not be the primary issue for everyone. Research indicates that while some people genuinely benefit from eliminating gluten, others may not experience significant improvements in their symptoms. Understanding who truly stands to gain from a gluten-free lifestyle is crucial for making informed dietary choices.
Another significant factor often overlooked as a dietary trigger is the presence of fructans, which are found in certain foods and can contribute to digestive discomfort. Exploring the relationship between gluten, autoimmune diseases, and inflammation can shed light on why some individuals continue to experience symptoms even after removing gluten from their diets. A proper approach to dietary experimentation can help individuals identify what works best for them, emphasizing the importance of personalized nutrition in managing autoimmune conditions.
Unpacking the Myths: The Hidden Truths Behind the Gluten-Free Craze
You’re dealing with an autoimmune condition and you’re tired of the flareups the joint pain the unpredictable symptoms and you’ve heard that going gluten-free can help and for some people it can make a world of difference and for others not so much so which one are you and more importantly if going gluten-free isn’t your answer.
What is what if gluten isn’t the actual problem but rather another compound that can go with it there’s another dietary factor that often gets overlooked one that’s also found in wheat and other common foods the good news though is that you may not need to cut out gluten entirely just the real culprit that’s behind your symptoms Stay With Me.
Because by the end of this video I want you to have a clear plan on how to figure out what works for you let’s dive in I’m Dr basali from plant forward MD a rheumatologist and culinary medicine specialist why do people choose to go gluten-free if they have an autoimmune disease if you have an autoimmune disease you should be suspicious of.
Gluten because there is an association with a number of different conditions the amount of gluten sensitivity is higher when you have Crohn’s disease or ulcer of colitis but also with a condition called shog and syndrome which is when you have severe dry eyes and dry mouth but the association with gluten isn’t actually that high if you have.
Autoimmune thyroid disease unless you not only have the thyroid disease but you also have shrin now having both of them yes there is a higher chance of gluten sensitivity what about autoimmune arthritis well some of them are associated with GL gluten sensitivity but not actually all of them celiac disease is an autoimmune disease where.
Gluten can trigger severe gut damage and yes when you have one autoimmune disease you are more likely to have another but actually celiac disease really only affects 1% of the population although a lot of people remain undiagnosed the easiest way to figure it out is actually either a blood test or a better way would be a colonoscopy if you are 45.
Years old or older just get it done yes the age was lowered it used to be 50 years old but now it is 45 for colon cancer screening and if you have any symptoms that could indicate celiac disease you might as well just get it done I’m not going to tell you it’s a comfortable test because it’s not but it can help prevent colon cancer and it can.
Give you an answer now what if you don’t have celiac disease there is another entity which is kind of being more researched right now called ncgs non-celiac gluten sensitivity how often is it how commonly is it found well actually the jury is still out on that because it’s still an emerging entity the numbers are kind of all over.
The place anywhere from 6% to 133% and it kind of depends on the region that you live in for example Australia is pretty high in terms of ncgs and in that case you’re not technically allergic to gluten but you do have a sensitivity to it so it can cause some symptoms for you whether it’s just gut symptoms bloating diarrhea gas or more in the joints it.
Can bother you what about rheumatoid arthritis well it’s not actually that commonly associated with celiac disease yes you could have gluten sensitivity with rheumatoid arthritis but the research right now is showing that it’s not as tight a connection as it is with another arthritis called psoriatic arthritis where they definitely see more.
In terms of gluten sensitivity that being said there are people who feel better with rheumatoid arthritis if they give up gluten so if you want to test it out this is how you do it number one if you’re going to go gluten-free you have to go fully gluten-free you can’t do just one meal here and one meal there I mean if you feel better that’s great but.
If you want to see if that’s what’s bothering you and triggering your symptoms then you really have to cut out everything that is full of gluten and when we think of gluten or at least when I think of it I think of bread I think of a big loaf of bread that you can no longer eat well they do have gluten-free breads now I make breads that have very.
Low gluten or no gluten sometimes so it is possible but there’s actually other things out there that you don’t even realize for example soy sauce ketchup I mean ketchup why would you think of ketchup when you’re thinking of gluten because it has no grainy stuff in it right but it actually they do put it in there also some salad dressings will.
Have gluten in them there are easy fixes for these things for example instead of soy sauce you can use tamari organic tamari or coconut aminos for salad dressings you can make your own olive oil lemon herbs mix it together and it can be pretty tasty so there are swaps that you can do and the second reason one of the most important is when people.
Try to go gluten-free they may switch to these other foods that say in big bold letters gluten-free and yet they’re completely full of additives and preservatives and some of those components can trigger inflammation so you feel like hey I’m eating these gluten-free crackers but there’s like this long list of 100 items in there and.
Your body may not react well to some of those focus more on natural gluten-free foods for example vegetables legumes rice nuts kinoa and lean protein and if you’re going to do this you really won’t know in a week or two you really have to give it about 4 to 6 weeks because it can take take that long for symptoms to really improve over time why do.
Gluten-free diets fail well the most common reason is because it isn’t really gluten-free as we said you can find gluten in condiments but even something like supplements will have gluten in some of them another reason why it could fail is that some symptoms do take longer to resolve usually you need about four to 6 weeks but sometimes it can.
Take a bit longer or the one we want to talk about is that gluten may not be your real issue some people react not to the gluten itself but something else that’s hiding in their diet so don’t give up hope let’s take a look at that have you ever heard of fod maps these are fermentable carbohydrates that some people with autoimmune conditions.
Struggle with because they struggle to digest it fructans which are a type of FODMAP are found in wheat onions and garlic yes this hurts my heart because I love onions and garlic I think they’re a great anti-inflammatory food but unfortunately some people that cannot tolerate these it really does affect their symptoms and you have to see if.
That’s you so if gluten isn’t the culprit it might help to try a low FODMAP diet to see if that helps your symptoms especially if you have a lot of GI symptoms like gas bloating diarrhea nausea definitely check this out there are studies with rheumatoid arthritis and low FODMAP diets that suggest that following the low FODMAP diet could help.
Reduce inflammation and improve symptoms but now this is where people do it wrong because they may follow the low FODMAP diet cut out all these fruct Tans but then forget about reintroduction because a lot of these foods are Prebiotic Foods Probiotic foods foods that are good for you that you may not be able to tolerate at that time or maybe you are able to.
Tolerate some of those fruct Tans and if you are not eating them you may be cutting out a lot of nutritional foods that your body really craves and needs if it’s at all possible work with a dietitian to see how you can cut out fruct Tans and then reintroduce them because it can be very involved okay so how are we going to figure out how to go.
Gluten-free number one follow a very strict gluten-free diet try to aim towards more natural foods so we’re not also worrying about the additives and preservatives and if this works great you’ve got your answer if it doesn’t work step two try a low FODMAP diet see if it’s not just the wheat but it’s also onions garlic fruct tans that are.
Bothering you and see if that helps your symptoms but don’t forget about reintroduction because some of those Foods may actually be beneficial and not bothering you and then just to confuse it all there are people with different leveling of fructans and what I what I mean by that is for example if you eat a meal with a french onion soup that that.
Usually has a lot of caramelized onions can be very delicious but uh it’s a high onion content and then on top of that you have a delicious caramelized onion and leak pastry on the side now this meal might be too much for you too much FODMAP fructans but if you have maybe a chili now even in chili beans have fructans but it’s different amounts like.
For example if you do lentils especially if they’re rinsed lentils like the canned lentils have more fruct tans in them but the rinsed ones have a little bit less so if you made a chili and had some lentils in there maybe even some onions you might be able to tolerate that if it’s kind of a lower volume of it so you may not need to cut out.
Everything you may need to reduce it but it’s going to kind of depend so you’re going to have to play around a little bit and then you try a gluten-free and you try a low fod map and neither of these make a difference in your life it may not be those foods that are causing problems for you so then cancel it off your list move on and see if there’s.
Anything else that’s a trigger for you number three keep a journal so this I’m a really big fan of and if you’ve listened to any of my other videos you can see how important I find it because when you have an autoimmune disease there can be many different triggers whether it’s stress not exercising enough eating certain foods that just.
Don’t work well with you you kind of need to know your triggers because it may be that you’re about to go on this family vacation or a business trip something where you really need to feel good it’s worthwhile to identify your triggers even if you can’t always follow through sometimes you have to go out for that donut with your friends it happens.
But at least you know what could trigger your condition and have more control over this condition because autoimmune diseases are not easy to deal with whatever little bit of control you can get is always a good thing and if you want to know more about other foods that could be bothering you and should be avoided check out this video gluten-free.
Diets aren’t a magic fix for everyone with autoimmune disease but for some people it can really help and if you’ve tried it and it doesn’t help there are other things that you can look at like low FODMAP diets keep track of what’s affecting your symptoms have you ever tried to go gluten-free what happened was it too hard or it just didn’t work.
For you if you found this helpful share with someone else that could benefit from this video I’ll see you next time for more tips on autoimmune health
