In the part 1 of the story I told you about the impact of Gluten on your intestine. Moreover, I also told that if you have AITD and you eat foods containing gluten, your immune system will attack your thyroid.
Heading forward, according to the researches, the immune response to gluten can last up to 6 months each time you eat it. This explains why it is critical to eliminate gluten completely from your diet if you have AITD. There’s no “80/20″ rule when it comes to gluten. Being “mostly” gluten-free isn’t going to cut it. If you’re gluten intolerant, you have to be 100% gluten-free to prevent immune destruction of your thyroid.
However, current research indicates that you can arrest autoimmune disease by healing your gut. That’s why it’s so critically important to evaluate the intestines when you’re considering, “Do I have a thyroid problem or not?” because you don’t necessarily treat where the symptoms are (thyroid), you treat what’s triggering the symptoms (gut problems).
According to Dr. O’Bryan and many gluten experts he’s consulted with, the answer is no, you can’t have even a little gluten. If someone has quit gluten and their symptoms are greatly reduced or gone, and they choose to have gluten again every day for a month, 75% of celiacs will have elevated antibodies again. The other 25% don’t immediately have elevated antibodies but eventually they go back up for everyone.
Based on the research, this is one food that you can’t just have a little of. The danger is not just stomach issues or brain fog, it’s that weak genetic link that I mentioned earlier. If you had elevated antibodies for your thyroid or your brain, they always come back and your immune system begins attacking your thyroid, your brain or whatever part of your body that is susceptible.
What Foods and Products Have Gluten?
This is a tough one! Especially for those on medication because many medications have gluten in them and their labels don’t indicate that. Most labels will say “starch” as filler. Unfortunately, one of the starch sources is wheat. Even more unfortunate is the fact that most doctors and pharmacists are unaware of this so a lot of people have to do their own research. Even more confusing is the fact that thyroid medications tend to have gluten in them.
Luckily there are websites like: glutenfreedrugs.com and celiac.com which provide lists of medications and vitamins that do and don’t contain gluten. If your vitamins don’t say “gluten free” on the label, then you can assume there is gluten in them or ask and find out.
I eat bread in Europe and I feel fine! Many people say that they go to Europe and eat bread but don’t experience the same symptoms they experience when in America.
Dr. O’Bryan says that you must differentiate between how you feel when we eat something and what type of an autoimmune response you may have triggered. The breads in Europe have a lower FODMAP level – a lower level of the fermentable carbohydrates – than American breads have. This is because of the strains of wheat that are grown in the US. While they are not genetically modified (it is actually not legal to genetically modify wheat), they have been hybridized. They’ve gone through hundreds of hybridizations over the years to get the best strains of wheat that will produce more tonnage per acre and less vulnerability to pests. As a result, American wheat is very different to European wheat in terms of the carbohydrates and the gluten content.
Anyway, what he’s saying is that your immediate reaction to European wheat is different but the underlying immune reaction is the same. Those memory B cells (gluten cells) don’t forget. The symptoms in the gut have very little to do with whether or not you trigger the autoimmune response in your body. You may not get bloated but you are still doing damage.
More Motivation For You
Dr. O’Bryan did a study in his office years ago on 316 patients. He tested them for antibodies to gluten and antibodies to their brains. Of the 316 patients that came back positive to gluten antibodies, 26% of them also had elevated antibodies to their cerebellum. This is the part of the brain that controls your balance and how you walk. Know any 70 year olds who can walk up stairs easily? This is because their cerebellums have likely been under attack for many years.
Is It Just Gluten or All Grains?
There is a group of gluten sensitive people who do much better when they go completely grain free. In Dr. O’Bryan’s practice, 20-35% of people don’t get better on just a gluten free diet they need to remove all grains. He has people go wheat, rye and barley free for about 2-3 weeks and if they aren’t doing better than he will have them remove gluten-free oats. If in 2-3 weeks they’re still not doing better he’ll have them remove the oats. If there is no marked improvement after another 2-3 weeks he’ll have them remove all grains to see how they feel.
Proper Testing To Identify Gluten Sensitivity
Every lab in the US looks at something called Alpha Gliadin to determine gluten sensitivity. If it comes back positive, you have a problem (celiac) but if it comes back negative you still have a problem because there are other parts of gluten that aren’t being tested. Additionally, these tests only show positive if you’re full-on celiac because they aren’t meant to be tested for just sensitivity.
Another quick bombshell from Dr. O’Bryan: 14-28% of schizophrenia sufferers have gluten sensitivity and when gluten is taken out of their diet they do better. People come off their meds and are able to recover and function normally again. This is published in medical journals by the way.
Interestingly, the most common part of gluten that schizophrenics are sensitive to is different to the Alpha Gliadin, so if a doctor doesn’t check for it they won’t find it.
Cyrex Laboratories is the only lab in the US that tests for the top ten gluten peptides that can affect humans and this is the lab that Dr. O’Bryan recommends. Also, many people who have autoimmune disorders don’t have noticeable gut issues so it’s hard to tell if they’re being affected by gluten or other allergens – that’s why Cyrex offers a test that looks for antibodies that are destroying intestinal integrity.
Supplement Recommended by Dr. O’Bryan
Glutenza – this is a new product that helps to digest gluten if someone happens to eat it accidentally. It breaks down 99% of gluten within 30 minutes which means there won’t be chunks of undigested gluten protein going into the small intestine. He highly recommends it.
