Posted on 03/25/2012 5:36:09 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
“I had no sense of well being till I went gluten free.” “I don't use my inhaler anymore.” “My skin rashes disappeared.” The testimonials are startlingly earnest. Although food fads come and go with wearying regularity, perhaps it's time we investigated wheat. Why are a small but steadily increasing number of people going gluten-free, and saying it's changed their lives.
Perceived as a ‘Western disease,' gluten sensitivity has never really been taken seriously in India. Its most extreme form is Celiac disease, caused by acute allergy to gluten, present in wheat and related grains such as barley and rye. A lack of awareness has meant it remains highly under-diagnosed. Last year Dr. B.S. Ramakrishna, Professor and Head, Department of Gastroenterology, CMC Vellore, wrote an editorial in the Indian Journal of Medical Research calling Celiac disease an “impending epidemic,” and stating that “what we see clinically is the tip of an iceberg that threatens to grow bigger”.
Meanwhile, fitness professionals and nutritionists are noticing that many people have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Unlike traditional allergies, which cause immediate reactions, gluten sensitivity is harder to pin down since it's gradual and comes in various forms: headaches, stomach cramps, bloating, anxiety, depression… This is why Chennai-based NCCA-accredited fitness trainers Raj Ganpath and Arvind Ashok, who run The Quad, advise all their clients to go completely gluten-free for six weeks as an experiment, to understand their allergies and heal their guts.
“Hippocrates said ‘all disease begins in the gut,' and gluten can gradually erode the villi in your small intestine, prohibiting your body from absorbing nutrients from food,” says Arvind, adding that almost “everyone suffers from some gluten sensitivity”. Yet, he adds, people resist giving up their chappatis, bread, pizza and pasta. ‘Our grandparents ate this' doesn't hold good any more since we're now consuming new strains of wheat. Dr. B.S. Ramakrishna concurs, stating that unlike ancient diploid wheat varieties, “modern hexaploid wheat has highly antigenic glutens, more capable of inducing celiac disease”.
Raj and Arvind don't stop with restrictions on wheat — they recommend drastically cutting down on grains, replacing them with ‘Real Food,' that is, organic fruits and vegetables, lean meats, wild caught seafood, country eggs, milk and milk products. Raj says he gave up wheat when he discovered it triggered his asthma. Now he advises clients to do the same. Before you cry into your aloo-parathas, here's the kicker. “The key is to heal your gut. To make it stronger.” Once you do that, even if you are gluten sensitive, you can eat pasta occasionally. You'll be fine, as long as wheat doesn't go back to being a diet staple.
Unless of course you're a Celiac. Jeeva George-Abraham was forced to completely give up gluten when diagnosed with Celiac a few years ago. “I've always had a sensitive stomach. Then in 2009, I had a spate of infections, swollen ankles, rashes...” She was consistently misdiagnosed, a result of a lack of awareness of the condition. Next came depression and anxiety so debilitating, she found herself unable to work. “I finally decided to quit my job and find out what was wrong.” She was eventually tested for wheat allergy. “It changed my life.”
Going gluten-free means more than giving up bread and chappatis. “Soya sauce has wheat. Sambar has asafoetida. Cornflakes have malt extract. There was so little information available, so I figured out a lot of things on my own,” says Jeeva. Today, she runs the Facebook page ‘Gluten Free Living in India,' offering advice and recipes. Like others, she says that the Indian diet, particularly the rice-dependent South Indian one, offers more options for a diet low in gluten.
Meanwhile, gluten-free businesses are slowly germinating. In Bangalore Shwetha Muthanna runs the Gluten Free Bread Boutique using a range of approved ingredients to make bread, bagels, pizza dough and cookies: sorghum, rice, millet, tapioca, corn flour, guar gum, flaxmeal, honey and fruit pulp.
Dr. Ramakrisha says more Indians are being diagnosed with celiac disease. He cautions that since “wheat has higher protein content than other cereals we should not restrict it in someone who does not have a problem with it.” While millets are substitutes, he says they do not contain as much protein as wheat.
If you suspect you are gluten sensitive but giving it up for ever seems too hard, try Raj and Arvind's six-week experiment. “Try it honestly. In the end, at the very worst, you've not eaten chappatis for six weeks,” says Raj, adding, “If you want to go somewhere you have never been, you have to do something you have never done.”
What words did I use to make you think I was making fun of gluten free people???? I am clueless.
I made the comment that Novak Djokovich discovered that HE was gluten intolerant, stopped eating gluten and STEPPED UP his tennis game so much that he is now and still the number one tennis player in the world.
How is THAT mocking gluten free people????
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.