Big Food serves up celiac disease

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Gluten-free diets aren’t just a fad.

A lot of people really can (and do) benefit from removing wheat from their diets. Is it an intolerance? An allergy? A sensitivity? Honestly… who cares?

Just as long as you feel better after eliminating it… that’s what really matters…

Unless you have full-blown celiac disease — which is an entirely different story in itself. And that’s one fact — and a very serious one — that mainstream “experts” and I can agree on.

Is industrial baking to blame?    

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “celiac disease” thrown around a time or two. So what is it, exactly?

It’s an autoimmune disorder where gluten consumption causes your body’s own immune system to attack your gut. It affects roughly one out of every 100 people. It’s a lifelong disease. And it can do some major damage to your overall health.

What’s worse is that no one really knows what causes it. Theories abound, leaving a long list of possibilities: Infections, toxins, vaccines, drugs, surgery. And most recently? Food additives. More specifically, an additive called microbial transglutaminase.

Food manufacturers use this bacterial enzyme to process anything from meat and dairy to baked goods. And like most additives, its purpose is to make the final product taste better and last longer.

But here’s the catch: Our bodies produce their own supply of transglutaminase, which the additive perfectly mimics.

Now you might be wondering… if we already make this enzyme, then how could it possibly be dangerous?

Well for starters, our own transglutaminase doesn’t have the same structure as the microbial variety used in food processing. Our own production of it is more tightly controlled, whereas the amounts of microbial transglutaminase in our guts can spike in response to triggers like infection, stress, antibiotics, or processed food.

Here’s why that’s a problem: Your body naturally struggles to break down gluten as it is.

And microbial transglutaminase additives don’t do your body any favors in this process. In fact, this is the exact same reason why it’s so good for baking: It doesn’t break down easily. Hence why gluten helps baked goods rise and binds them together, keeping them from falling apart.

But it can definitely present an issue for your gut, especially since transglutaminase targets any “leftovers” from gluten digestion and then generates all new peptides (groups of bound amino acids).

These peptides are also difficult to break down. And what’s worse, your body treats them as foreign invaders… thus triggering celiac disease. (And likely milder types of gluten intolerance, too.)

An environmental cause of celiac disease

Gluten also widens the spaces between the cells lining your gut, causing a leaky gut, which triggers even more food sensitivities. Microbial transglutaminase has the same effect on intestinal permeability, resulting in a dizzying snowball effect.

That being said, there are any number of reasons why someone might feel better after giving up gluten.

It may be that the wheat protein itself is a problem. It may be that the modern, genetically modified wheat crop is so different from what our ancestors ate that our bodies simply can’t process it.

Or, as I discussed in the March 2016 issue of my Logical Health Alternatives newsletter (“The deadly toxin luring in every town across America”), it may be that glyphosate — the active ingredient in Roundup — has effectively poisoned our food supply for generations to come.

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No one really knows, and the science is only just starting to weigh in on this modern-day health problem. Ultimately, all of these factors might be culprits behind gluten intolerance.

Normally, I’d say that the “why” matters less than the “what” in this case. As I mentioned earlier, gluten-free diets have grown in popularity because they make people feel better — it’s that simple.

But the fact is that, over the last half century, the rising use of these additives in processed baked goods has correlated with a surge in celiac disease diagnoses. So let’s not mince words here. Microbial transglutaminase is an environmental cause of gluten intolerance.

As such, it should get the boot from our food supply altogether. At the very least, it deserves a warning label. But I’ll let you guess how long it’ll take for that to happen.

In the meantime, well… let’s just say I won’t be holding my breath.

P.S. If you’re looking for a way to cut gluten out of your diet without sacrificing flavor or  meals options, take a look at my A-List Diet. With over 100 mouth-watering, easy-to-follow recipes, this diet will have you feeling (and looking) better in as little as two weeks! Click here to learn more, or order your copy today!

Source:

“Could this widely used food additive cause celiac disease?” ScienceDaily, 01/03/2019. (sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190103110713.htm)