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Is
a gluten free diet just a fad, or could eliminating gluten help thyroid health
and end the bloat, brain fog, and nagging indigestion?
Could
a gluten free diet really help thyroid health?
What is gluten?
Gluten
is the main structural protein found naturally in a variety of grains including
wheat, rye, spelt, barley, oats and triticale. Triticale is a cross between
wheat and rye.
Gluten
is also used as a single ingredient in many processed foods as it makes an
ideal binder or thickener. This means you could be consuming additional gluten
without knowing it.
A gluten free diet
A
gluten free diet strictly excludes all grains and packaged foods containing
gluten. This means cutting the common gluten containing foods such as bread,
pasta, breakfast cereals, desserts and biscuits from the daily diet.
This
may not be as restrictive as it first appears as health food stores and
supermarkets offer gluten free alternatives. In
addition, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, fresh fish and lean organic
animal protein are all naturally gluten free.
However
for most people changing to a gluten free diet plan is a big step and takes
some getting used to. The restrictions can even make you feel downright
deprived. But the payoff can be enormous!
Many
people experience life changing transformation when they cut gluten. They lose
weight, especially around the middle and they notice a dramatic improvement in
their health and vitality.
The modern problem with wheat
These
days highly refined wheat is the most common source of gluten as it is used in
a wide variety of foods found in supermarkets. To meet ongoing demand wheat is
grown on an industrial scale. Along with the development of modern agricultural
methods there has also been selective breeding of wheat.
Wheat
crops now yield a much higher ratio of gluten. This is not good news for those
who are gluten sensitive or have diagnosed gluten-related disorders. If eating
gluten causes digestive discomfort, even weight gain the culprit may actually
be the modern, hybrid wheat varieties.
Dr.
William Davis is a respected cardiologist and author of Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your
Path Back to Health. Dr Davis believes wheat is the single biggest
contributor to the country’s obesity epidemic. In part because aggressive
breeding methods and genetic manipulation have turned wheat into what Davis
describes as a ‘Frankenwheat’.
There
is also evidence the newer high yield wheat strains are less nutritious and
lack important nutrients such as zinc, iron, copper and magnesium.
Gluten sensitivity can result in a broad range of symptoms
Gluten
can easily irritate the lining of the digestive system. Once this happen the
body launches a swift immune response as it reacts to gluten as something
foreign.
This
creates inflammation that spreads like wildfire throughout the whole body.
Gluten
sensitivity symptoms can therefore be linked to specific digestive problems as
well as broader health issues in other parts of the body.
Renowned
neurologist David Perlmutter believes gluten can initiate reactions within the
brain that can spark a range of health problems. This includes headaches,
depression, anxiety and even dementia. Dr Perlumtter is the author of the #1
New York Times bestseller Grain Brain: The
Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar. Your Brain’s Silent Killers.
In his book Dr Perlmutter explains that gluten containing grains can be
extremely destructive within the brain.
Could you be gluten intolerant?
Gluten
sensitivity can result in a broad range of symptoms. Here is a checklist of the
main symptoms:
·
Weight
loss or weight gain, especially abdominal weight gain
·
Fatigue
or feeling tired after eating a meal that contains gluten
·
Digestive
problems: bloating, pain, gas + diarrhoea
·
Weak
+ cracked fingernails
·
Fat
in the stools due to poor breakdown of dietary fat
·
Joint
+ muscle pain
·
Mood
swings + depression
·
Poor
memory + concentration
·
Skin
rashes including dermatitis herpetiformis
·
Osteoporosis
due to lowered mineral absorption
·
Migraine
headaches
Emotional
stress can play a significant role in intensifying the symptoms.
Did
you know it takes around 4 weeks of strictly avoiding gluten to discover if
gluten is a problem for you?
It
takes this long for your system to calm down if gluten has been causing
digestive distress. If you feel far better when you exclude gluten, or feel
worse when you reintroduce gluten then it’s very likely a problem for you.
The
good news is that it’s much easier these days to find healthy gluten free alternatives that help thyroid health,
which I will write about in my next blog post.
Can a gluten free diet help thyroid health and heal hypothyroidism?
Once
gluten is removed from your diet it is very likely you will notice improvements
in your health, especially if you have an autoimmune thyroid disorder.
Minor
symptoms such as bloating, fatigue, brain fog and indigestion can disappear
fairly quickly when gluten is excluded from the diet.
Improvements
in chronic health problems made worse by gluten sensitivity such as arthritis,
eczema and autoimmune diseases including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis usually take
longer.
What is the gluten – thyroid link?
#
Gluten can also cause your immune system to start attacking the thyroid.
The molecular composition of your thyroid tissue is very similar to gluten. So
for those with an autoimmune thyroid disorder it can be a case of mistaken
identity.
Eliminating
gluten from your diet may reduce the ongoing autoimmune attack on your thyroid.
For some individuals, when they strictly eliminate gluten from their diet their
thyroid antibody levels decrease.
#
Gluten is destructive to the lining of the digestive tract. A gluten
intolerance reduces digestive function leading to compromised immune function
and lower absorption of a wide range of vital nutrients. This is not good news
for thyroid health.
Digestive
health is closely linked to optimal immune system function. A large mass of
lymphoid tissue including several types of specialised immune cells are located
in the digestive tract. The lymphoid tissue helps defend your body against
pathogens. An imbalance in digestive function can therefore impair immune
activity.
#
Poor digestive health leads to mal-absorption issues. The thyroid is
particularly sensitive to nutritional deficiencies. For example; iodine, zinc
and selenium are crucial to proper thyroid hormone activity. In addition,
ongoing research confirms individuals with low selenium intake, or poor
absorption of selenium are more likely to develop Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
There
are two factors:
A
selenium deficiency results in lower activity of the selenium dependent enzymes
vital to assist ongoing activity of the thyroid hormones, including activation
of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3). Low T3 is associated with the
symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Selenium
plays a role in protecting the thyroid gland itself as this mineral boosts
glutathione activity. Glutathione is naturally produced by the body using
selenium and a combination of three amino acids sourced from dietary protein –
cysteine, glycine and glutamine. Glutathione acts as a potent antioxidant and
is highly active within the thyroid to help protect this important gland.
To
help thyroid health, watch these 2 videos here - Gluten and Thyroid Health: Is It Safe for Hypothyroidism? And Gluten Sensitivity: Thyroid And Gluten Sensitivity
Coeliac disease
For
people with coeliac disease a strict gluten free diet is advocated for life as
gluten damages the lining of their small intestine and prevents adsorption of
essential nutrients. Even a minute amount of gluten will prompt a noticeable
immune reaction.
Coeliac
disease is one of the most common inflammatory conditions affecting the
digestive system. The abnormal immune response caused by gluten can make a
person susceptible to other autoimmune problems including autoimmune thyroid
disorders. Grave’s disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are frequently diagnosed
along with coeliac disease.
Coeliac
disease is commonly considered to be a genetic disorder however it can be set off
later in life by a stressful event, such as an infection, injury or surgery. A
specific diagnostic test is used to confirm coeliac disease.
The Natural Thyroid Diet.The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly recommends excluding
all gluten foods from your diet. This forms a part of a holistic plan to
recover your thyroid health. If you do not have a copy of this eBook you can
get instant access on the order page.
Read
the following related articles:
Author Bio:
Louise O’ Connor,
the author of The Natural Thyroid Diet –The 4-Week Plan to Living Well, Living Vibrantly, who
is a specialist in Thyroid Health. She is a highly regarded Australian
Naturopath and founder of Wellnesswork.
The Natural Thyroid
Diet goes beyond diet advice and offers practical and effective ways to achieve
healthy thyroid levels within just a short period of time. For more details,
Click on
The-Natural-Thyroid-Diet.com
