| class="bottom-link"> | | | | flour, add the convenience of packaged food with |
| | | | increased grains products, the rise of cereal |
| Most people don’t know what celiac | | | | breakfasts and our overload was well under way. |
| disease is. If you have this allergic’ | | | | Consider that even since 1967 the US per capita |
| reaction to gluten found in wheat and many other | | | | gluten grains consumption has increased from 115 |
| grains you probably know that It can cause early | | | | pounds to 139 pounds. "Gluten is used in the |
| death and the end of normal’ life as | | | | manufacturing of virtually all boxed, packaged and |
| you know it. Humans seem to be the cause of | | | | canned processed foods to created textures that |
| this modern day disease. This article may help you | | | | are more palatable to our taste buds, or it is used |
| avoid acquiring this disease. | | | | as binders, thickeners, and coatings. It is even |
| The information at the end of this article relates | | | | used as glue on envelopes and stamps." So |
| to the current known physiology of how people | | | | maybe there is more to the George Costanza |
| 'acquire' the celiac disease (CD). The two sources | | | | story than meets the eye ... but I digress. |
| clearly indicate that while specialists know that | | | | WHAT you really need to think about is the next |
| gluten causes the disease and the effects of the | | | | paragraph: |
| disease, there is no consensus on WHY celiac | | | | " ... bioengineers continually work to improve gluten |
| diseases exists in the first place. | | | | and make it a larger and more potent part of |
| One of the best speculation that I have found is | | | | edible grains. It is estimated that today's wheat |
| from a book called The Gluten Connection by Dr | | | | contains nearly 90 percent more gluten than |
| Shari Lieberman. While this book is a fantastic | | | | wheat did from a century ago!" |
| source of technical medical information it also | | | | In my general diet readings I have seen how |
| bravely attempts to uncover the origins of the | | | | many experts believe the increased use of |
| disease. Although the statistics are often US | | | | processed food components such as refined |
| based, they translate well to other countries. The | | | | sugars and even the overuse of salt has cause |
| book states that: "In general populations of | | | | many health issues. Imagine if over refined grains |
| Western Europe CD ranges from 0.5 to 1.26%. A | | | | were removed from the majority of |
| 2001 report showed that in the UK the rate of | | | | manufactured foods and wild seed banks were |
| CD was 1 in 112 people, in Finland 1 in 130, in Italy | | | | used to grow grains with their original levels of |
| 1 in 184 and the Sahara had 1 in 70!" | | | | gluten. Imagine if wholemeal flours were used |
| Dr Shari talks of a time before celiac disease | | | | more often and a non toxic replacement for |
| (symptoms of) seemed to exist. A time when | | | | gluten (with glutens binding properties) was found |
| meat, vegetables and grain were predominantly | | | | and used in our foods? Would we then see a fall |
| free from man-made toxins, preservatives and | | | | in CD rates amongst our youth? |
| the like. She discusses how many of our foods | | | | The point is that conspiracy theories aside, large |
| have been modified with the result that while the | | | | food corporations are profit driven and look for |
| general population has a CD rate of 1%, that up | | | | the most cost effective solution. This is often at |
| to 29% may be gluten sensitive. The genetic | | | | the expense of long term health effects, |
| predisposition of the disease is such that having a | | | | assuming they have this knowledge in the first |
| first degree relative with CD increases your odds | | | | place. If you are reading this and you have celiac |
| of having CD to 1 out of 22, and a second | | | | disease, it probably means that you were |
| degree relative to 1 in 39. | | | | predisposed towards it, have acquired it and can't |
| Essentially it is suggested that while the human | | | | go back to eating any form of gluten. But at least |
| genome has remained unchanged for hundreds of | | | | now maybe you have one possible view as to |
| thousands of years, the Industrial Revolution | | | | how and why you got it. While the conclusions |
| massively accelerated the amount of grain in our | | | | drawn above are completely speculative it makes |
| diet (as opposed to the traditional carbohydrate | | | | intuitive sense that too much of anything, |
| load from nuts and berries). Of course this was | | | | particularly things you don't know you are |
| necessary to feed to rapidly increasing population | | | | ingesting, can be a bad thing. Natural is almost |
| that were gathering in high density cities, but we | | | | always better and if you have CD but your child |
| did not evolve as swiftly to cope with the gluten | | | | doesn't have it yet, perhaps you could consider |
| overload. | | | | letting them eat low gluten grains rather than |
| Add to the change in lifestyle the change in grain | | | | 'eating just anything or abstaining completely'. Its |
| 'roller milling' process (invented in 1873) which | | | | worth a try? |
| changed our diet from whole grains to refined | | | | |