Day Three Hundred and Eight!!

Food Sensitivity


If every single persons system is very different, then  this also means that each person digests different foods differently. What might be good for one person might cause distress and inflammation for another. This difference might be in the form of food sensitivity, food allergies, gluten sensitivity, or lactose intolerance. For example, celiac disease effects about 150 people, it is an autoimmune disease that manifests into severe digestive issues and frequently results in neurological symptoms as well. There is also something called non-celiac gluten sensitivity which is an immune response to gluten, which also leads to both digestive and neurological problems. The difference between the two is that gluten sensitivity does not manifest itself into the severe digestive distress symptoms that celiac does and so therefore, non-celiac gluten sensitivity may go unnoticed or on the other hand may be tolerable enough for the you to continue to eat gluten. 


Gluten is the protein found in certain grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. The word ‘gluten’ reflects the glueing together within the grain. Both gluten and casein contain proteins to which people may be either allergic or sensitive to, and therefor there has been significant clinical evidence that has established that both casein and gluten sensitivity are associated with resulting mood disorders such as; anxiety, depression, and even schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD, autism, ADHD, as well as eating disorders. 


Casein is a protein found in dairy milk products and interestingly enough about fifty percent of people who are sensitive to gluten are also sensitive to casein. There are many tests that you can take in order to be able to see if you are sensitive to gluten or casein, however, the best test and easiest test to take is the rule-out method. My suggestion is to take a week and rule out these foods and therefor if you have these functional symptoms you will start to feel much better right away. This is called an elimination diet.


My suggestion is to spend a week looking through your cupboards in order to see what products you have in your cupboards that you eat that contain gluten and/or casein. When you have identified those products, separate them out, and the start to find replacement products that you can use instead. These products are either going to be gluten free or to just eliminate all grains all together. In regards to casein replacement, to replace casein with non dairy almond milk or coconut milk. Gluten is found in many foods, not just bread products. You will me amazed as to how much wheat you are actually consuming, without even knowing it. 


Let me list a few for you,
-Beer
-Cuscus
-Dry roasted nuts
-Salad dressing
-sauces
-gravy
-hotdogs
-imitation sea food
-malt vinegar 
-imitation bacon
-soups
-processed meats
-Self basting poultry
-coating mixes
-Tortillas 
-Cereal 
-meatballs
-marinades 


So for your elimination diet, set aside one good month in order to be able to experience the effects of eliminating those gluten containing foods. Then for the next month, after following the gluten elimination diet, follow the casein elimination diet, in order to determine your food/ mood digestive response. If you love using flour in baking or cooking, test out some other forms of it that do not contain gluten such as coconut flour, almond flour, or flaxseed.