| Most detox diets exclude wheat and dairy | | | | the digestive system which produces acids that |
| products. Yet we are always being told that | | | | damage the lining. |
| wheat fiber is good for the bowels and that we | | | | People with many intestinal conditions like |
| need dairy products to supply the calcium for | | | | Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's, diverticulitis, Celiac |
| strong bones. So why do we need to exclude | | | | improve when they avoid gluten. Many people are |
| them when on a detox diet? | | | | surprised to find that they do react to wheat |
| Wheat is probably one of the most consumed | | | | when they start eating it again after being on a |
| foods. Many people eat wheat three times a day. | | | | detox diet. |
| Wheat cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, | | | | What's wrong with dairy? |
| pasta or pizza for dinner with snacks of muffins, | | | | Although we are always being told that a daily |
| cakes and cookies in between. With so much | | | | glass of milk is good for you half the world |
| wheat in our diets it can become a toxin and the | | | | manages quite well without it. According to |
| detox diet aims to reduce toxins. | | | | genetic researchers human adults were not |
| How wheat becomes a toxin. | | | | designed to digest milk. Many southern Europeans, |
| Wheat is a relatively new food for the human | | | | most Asians and many Africans cannot digest |
| race. Ancient man, the hunter-gatherers, lived on | | | | milk products. It is only as a result of genetic |
| meat from the animals they hunted, fish and wild | | | | mutation that some humans tolerate lactose at all. |
| vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds that they | | | | As many as 75% of people naturally lose the |
| gathered. It was not until the agricultural period | | | | ability to digest the lactose, a milk sugar, once |
| that began about 12,000 years ago that wheat | | | | they are weaned. Lactose intolerance can cause |
| and other grains were introduced. | | | | gastric upset which causes irritation and a leaky |
| Wheat contains gluten, a family of proteins, that | | | | intestinal barrier that places a heavy load on the |
| as many as one in three people may be sensitive | | | | liver detox system. |
| to. Gluten is also found in rye, barley and oats. | | | | One of the most common allergies or intolerance |
| The gluten in oats, however, is very different and | | | | is to cow's milk. Again dairy products appear in |
| can be tolerated by many people who react to | | | | many food items as milk protein, whey or casein. |
| the other gluten grains. | | | | Non organic milk can contain traces of |
| Genetic testing has discovered that people have | | | | environmental chemicals and hormones which all |
| simply not adapted to the introduction of wheat | | | | place an extra burden on the detox system. It |
| into the diet. Researchers have detected gliadin, | | | | makes sense to exclude it when on a detox diet. |
| the principle type of wheat gluten, in the blood of | | | | What to eat instead. |
| 15% of people they tested. | | | | As so many people have wheat and dairy allergies |
| Your digestive system provides a barrier | | | | it has become much easier to find products that |
| between the foods you eat and your blood | | | | do not contain them. Manufacturers have |
| stream but if this barrier breaks down gliadin gets | | | | produced cereals, pasta and bread made with |
| into the blood stream. The immune system | | | | non-gluten grains. |
| reacts to it and it becomes a toxin. Your detox | | | | Other grains or grain like seeds that can be eaten |
| system has to deal with this so all gluten grains | | | | include brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, |
| including spelt, an ancient wheat, kamut and | | | | buckwheat, gram flour (garbanzo or chickpea |
| triticale all contain gluten and are best avoided on | | | | flour) and maize. |
| a detox diet. | | | | Dairy alternatives include rice, soy, almond, oat |
| How does the barrier become leaky? | | | | and coconut milks, soy yogurt, pumpkin seed or |
| Many things can cause the intestinal barrier to" | | | | nut butters and cashew cream. Calcium can be |
| leak". Drugs, alcohol, food allergies or sensitivities, | | | | obtained from nuts seeds, leafy vegetables, |
| constipation, gastric infections, aging, nutritional | | | | grains, peas and beans. |
| deficiencies are some of the things that can cause | | | | So although excluding dairy and wheat when on a |
| damage to the sensitive and delicate lining. | | | | detox diet may take some planning you will still be |
| Wheat because of its complex structure is also | | | | able to eat tasty meals. It will be well worth it |
| hard to digest and almost all normal people fail to | | | | when you find that many niggling symptoms |
| absorb a large amount of starch from wheat. | | | | disappear and you feel and look so much better. |
| These starches get fermented by the bacteria in | | | | |