Tuesday's Q & A in Lafayette LA - 8/05/14

Q: What is Gluten? Where do you find it & why do you recommend limiting it when someone is having "chronic issues"?

Gluten is what gives flour its doughy elastic consistency and what makes it chewy, which is why over the centuries, gluten-containing grains have come to be used so extensively in breads and other baked goods. It is made up of a group of several groups of proteins contained in certain grains, the most common one being wheat.

The problem with gluten is that it is hidden in so many things, ESPECIALLY processed foods, often times being used as an additive. Some hidden sources include soup mixes, sauces, soy sauce, candies, salad dressings, frozen meatballs, cold cuts, low and the famous frozen "no fat foods."

Gluten is disguised as modified food starch, Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), Texturized vegetable protein (TVP) and unfortunately the very fooling "Natural flavoring." Some medications, herbal supplements, and vitamins may contain gluten as a binding agent. And even lipstick, stamps and envelopes you have to lick contain some too.

Gluten grains have specific proteins, more importantly "gliadin" which causes our immune system to react in such a way that it is responding to a foreign body. In my experience most people have a problem digesting gluten grains. It can cause celiac disease (severe), but in a majority of patients who are intolerant to these grains, they have a non-celiac gluten sensitivity which causes an immune reaction which basically just leads to a slow wearing down of one's system.

The reaction to gluten grains creates inflammation throughout the body, with wide-ranging effects across all organ systems including your brain, heart, joints, digestive tract, and more. The majority of people who have gluten sensitivity, suffer chronically from a vague "can-never-get-100%-better" state, which Dr.'s don't know how to diagnose. It can be the single cause behind many different diseases and to correct these diseases, you need to treat the cause-which is often gluten sensitivity. For anyone has any chronic illness, I always recommend removing gluten from the diet initially.

There are so many people who are suffering from gluten intolerance and are not aware of it…it is estimated that 99 percent of people who have a problem with eating gluten don't know it! Their symptoms typically aren't specific, and are often not even related to digestion and the GI tract, so they rarely think about gluten being a cause. The bottom line is that celiac disease and gluten sensitivity masquerade as many other diseases with different names. And because gluten sensitivity won't show up on blood tests for celiac, it isn't looked at as a factor.

Think about it like, this - if you were to eliminate gluten for one week (7 days) your body is expending less energy to deal with this hard-to-digest protein, it has more energy for other processes (which is why people have "a feeling of increased energy." Moreover, the liver, digestive and immune systems are given time to rest and recover, which is why taking gluten out is so important in the process of returning patients to health.

Depending upon your current diet, taking gluten out can be relatively easy - or you may feel like "there's nothing left to eat," as many of the bread/pasta-obsessed patients often say until they learn otherwise. This feeling of gluten loss should only last a few days, until you start trying gluten-free alternatives to replace your habitual grains.

Which inevitably begs the NEXT question… What can I eat if I'm going gluten-free?

There are actually a few options, but triple-check the labels on things! Anything with flour in it, such as cakes, sauces, roux and dough/pastry bases, also contain gluten. Do yourself a favor and go to Vitamins Plus on Bertrand to buy gluten free bread and pasta to help you get through your experiment! A couple of simple rules: remember: a cookie is STILL a cookie - gluten free or not - we shouldn't eat more than a few & you can never go wrong with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables! While at Vitamins Plus, be sure to load up with:

• lentils, rice, quinoa and legumes
• nuts and seeds
• fresh/frozen organic fruit

This week's by Modern Chiropractic in Lafayette recipe is not only gluten-free, but it was actually Sunday night's dinner!

Field Peas & Quinoa

• Dry field peas (or any pea you like!)
• 1 cup Quinoa
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 link of jalapeno chicken sausage (optional)

Soak 2 cups of beans in filtered water over night (or for at least 6 hours). Drain beans and sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Brown sausage. Add beans and enough water to fill the sauté pan and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower to simmer for at least 2 hours (or until the beans are tender). Continue to add ½ - 1 cup water every 30 minutes as the beans absorb the liquid until. Prepare quinoa according to package instructions and serve beans over cooked quinoa.

By Francesca Marino D.C.