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Home » Diets that Work » Health Care Mythologies – ChicagoNow (blog)

Over the course of my life, I have come up with great ideas for novels, only to see them published as I prepare to put pen to paper.

Game of Thrones, 2001, War and Peace, The Bible (King James Version), and now I find it happening again as I sat to write about gluten.

It just so happens that CNN came out with a very detailed article (found here) which does a truly excellent job of going through the whole history of the discovery of its role in celiac sprue, to todays toxin du jour.

I nearly gave up until I realized that most of my readers have fairly short attention spans, meaning that theyd much rather read a few paragraphs here, than an entire article.

So, without further ado, let me explain gluten.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

Patients with celiac sprue are now recognized to have an autoimmune disorder. Yes, they are allergic to gluten, but thats not the issue. The issue is that when their body is exposed to gluten, it attacks their intestines as well.

Our intestines are covered in villi which is where all of the absorption of liquids and nutrients occur. People with sprue attack that lining leaving the intestine unable to absorb. This will produce severe diarrhea.

Theres no cure, but, by simply avoiding gluten, these individuals can lead completely normal lives.

Now, Americans are usually loathe to let only a small group of individuals enjoy the notoriety of an uncommon disease. So gluten sensitivity evolved.

Which has created an entirely new line of foods at the grocery store, which proudly display the gluten free sign.

It is literally on everything, including things that one would never have imagined to have gluten anyway, like popcorn, which is made of corn (this is true).

Im waiting to see these labels on things like bleach soon.

It also allows them to be picky at dinner parties, without having to rely on the vegetarian excuse. (Which is a choice, as opposed to having a condition.)

But the real question is how did this come about?

The CNN article says it was started in the 1980s when a paper describing gluten sensitivity emerged. This meant some people suffered GI distress, like bloating, when they ate gluten, but did not have sprue.

I have another theory.

In the 80s and especially the 90s, the Atkins diet was all the rage.

Now, in this particular diet, which I will confess I tried, and lost 20 pounds, you avoid all carbs.

The good news is it really does work. The bad news is that you are constantly in a state of ketosis, meaning you have foul breath, are cranky and have no energy. Its a bad diet.

However, I believe that partly due to its success, variants arose, like the paleo diet, that didnt exclude good carbs, like fruits and vegetables, but left out things like bread.

These diets also work, and you dont have the side effects of the Atkins diet.

Once again, things like bread, were vilified, but now it was because of the fact it contains gluten.

Finally, as alluded to in the CNN article, gluten has now been associated with numerous diseases including schizophrenia and autism.

Because, why not.

After all, those societies that for millennia used wheat as a major component of their diet were all schizophrenic and autistic.

The bottom line is this.

Bread is not a bad food. Gluten, for the overwhelming majority of people, is not bad for you.

Too much bread is bad, because it will make your ass look big in those jeans.

And thats not glutens fault.

So, until next time: Stay Skeptical!

Please sign up for my blog, comment, and like!! Also, dont hesitate to send me ideas for future topics you might like to see.

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Health Care Mythologies - ChicagoNow (blog)

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Home » Diets that Work » Health Care Mythologies – ChicagoNow (blog)