Why Should You Reduce Wheat or Gluten In Your Diet?
03/16/2011
When the suggestion is made that people ought to at least explore a reduction in wheat and gluten in their diets, it often triggers a sense of panic as people start to make a mental note of all the foods they commonly eat that have wheat and gluten in them.
The reality is that in the US and in the West, we eat a diet very high in wheat. The other reality is that something has gone horribly wrong with the wheat itself. Doctors, scientists and researchers are just starting to get a handle on why.
What we do know is that gluten-free foods are a rapidly growing market. Different people react to gluten in different ways. Some people put on extra weight in the gut, others develop intestinal discomfort, and others suffer from skin reactions.
A key component of the new PEERtrainer Cheat System is that we provide a structure to help you reduce wheat and gluten levels in your body. People are reporting that they are feeling better and have more energy on this (free) system. We also direct you to foods which help to serve as a replacement for the gluten.
What Is Gluten And Why Is It A Problem?
According to Alan Pressman, PhD: "Gluten is a protein, and it can be found in wheat, rye, and barley. Many people are allergic to it, and millions of people are sensitive to it. It can trigger all sorts of inflammatory responses in your intestinal track and entire body. It creates chronic inflammation throughout the body, and if you are sensitive or allergic to it can cause a 72 percent increased risk of death. That's pretty serious business."
As we have written before, inflammation is a serious issue and has implications for both your health and your weight loss. As you reduce levels of inflammation in your body, you become healthier and it is usually easier to lose weight.
Can You Lose Weight On A Gluten Free Diet?
A side effect of a gluten free or gluten reduced diet is often weight loss. The exact reason this happens is unclear, but would observe that most people who adopt a gluten free diet, tend to do so in the context of overall improvement in their diet. When people increase the nutrient density of their diet, they tend to feel more full and have fewer hunger cravings.
Does A Gluten Free Diet Give You More Energy?
From our own personal experience, a gluten free diet can lead to a dramatic increase in energy. Again, we are not sure if it is the absence of wheat or the presence of better overall nutrition, but when you start to remove breads, grains and pasta from the diet, you tend to replace it with higher nutrient foods. Which will increase your energy.
Can A Gluten Free Diet Target Belly Fat Or Beer Bellies?
It is very common to hear that one loses weight everywhere at once, at that you cannot "target belly fat." Lets pick apart that assertion by asking this question. Have you ever heard the term "wine belly?" According to Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist, consumption of large quantities of wheat can lead to what he calls a "Wheat Belly."
In his patients, reduction in wheat consumption has helped them. He advises people to go wheat free for a 4 week period to see what happens. He states that you will have more energy, you'll be less hungry, and you will have more stamina during the day. As a cardiologist, he also points out that your risk for heart disease will lower.
What Are The Downsides Of A Gluten Free Diet?
According to Alan Pressman, if you do reduce gluten in your diet, you need to make sure to eat foods that help to feed the "good bacteria" in your stomach. He states that "It just so happens your probiotics - the ProDophilus that live in your body absolutely love gluten. it's a great source of food for those good bacteria. It can be considered a prebiotic. Removing gluten from your diet is a good thing do, but you are starving out your Bifidobacterium and basilis, which is not good at all. Make sure that as you eliminate gluten from your diet, you replace the food for your bacteria...... Asparagus, bananas, fruit, green tea, yogurt and kefir, legumes, peas, and whole grains are excellent sources of these prebiotics."
How Do You Start Reducing Gluten In Your Diet?
An excellent way of beginning to reduce gluten and wheat is to find ways of being able to identify ways that you can practically do this. For those of you who have downloaded the PEERtrainer Cheat System, you will see that we have created a very easy framework that gets plenty of high nutrient calories into your diet. But this is in a context where there is plenty of "wiggle room" for you.
It is not restrictive, and lets you move towards your health goal at your pace.
If you have not yet downloaded your free copy of the PEERtrainer Cheat System, you can do so here.
If you are looking for Gluten Free recipes, almost every single one that PEERtrainer has developed is gluten free. We haven't "gone public" with this until now, and wanted to see how easy it was for people to actually do this.
It is, and people are able to to many of our recipes. We got one email recently that said:
"Hey team, prepared the insane man hunger bison recipe this weekend and my husband + I loved it. Brilliant."
More PEERtrainer Recipes Here.
Questions:
How do you get gluten out of your diet?
This can be a long and frustrating process. There is wheat and gluten in so many things, some things that you enjoy very much. Once you do find foods that you enjoy, you'll find the process very easy in your home. At restaurants and on the road, it is more difficult. Avocado is an excellent go to food when you are traveling. It is nutrient dense, has a great mix of protein, fat, carbs and important micronutrients. There are a decent amount of calories in avocado, but this is actually a good thing because it is very difficult to be overweight on a gluten free diet.
Will Getting Rid Of Gluten Help Me Get Rid Of Eczema?
There is no "cure" for eczema, but the symptoms can be controlled. This too can be an extremely long process, but if you totally, 100% eliminate wheat from your diet, you might be very surprised at how your symptoms and discomfort decrease. You also need to make sure to take a high quality fish oil in high doses each day, which will help control your overall immune response.
There are many "internal" things you can do to control the symptoms of eczema. So much treatment focuses on the external. If you do things like eliminate wheat and dairy, increase your greens, start taking a probiotic, make sure to take a fish oil supplement- you are likely to see some improvement.
As an fyi, the PEERtrainer Cheat System was developed by a group of people very familiar with eczema and gluten intolerance. It is an easy way to eliminate gluten from your diet.
"I Have Type 2 Diabetes. Will Reducing Gluten Help Me?"
The answer to this question is that most people will benefit a great deal from a reduction of wheat in their diet. Type 2 Diabetics are no exception. If you are a Type 2 Diabetic having a hard time losing weight, gluten elimination is something to try for sure.
How Do I Cure The Damage That Gluten Has Done To My System?
There is a growing list of reasons you should not have gluten in your diet, or explore eliminating it for a period. Another important question is what to do after the damage has been done. Remember that inflammation is a key symptom among people who have a reaction to gluten. Fish Oil is something that will help to treat inflammation. But you have to focus on the gut itself, and building gut health. This is a tricky area because health experts are JUST starting to get a handle on how this works.
Nothing you read online can treat or diagnose anything. However, there are things you might want to explore. L-Glutamine in supplement form is something that is commonly used to treat the gut by health professionals. Probiotics are also commonly suggested by health professionals to help overall gut health.
Next:
5 Reasons To Remove Gluten From Your Diet
