It’s Gluten and Much More

The more research I do, and the more day-to-day life I experience and observe, the more it becomes glaringly clear that, yes, modern gluten is a serious health issue, but health is so much more than avoiding gluten.
For many, just the removal of gluten alone is enough to make a tremendous difference, even to the reversal of a myriad of serious symptoms. But don’t stop there. It’s a journey, with many signposts and continuing milestones, and it takes a lot of determination. We’re all swimming upstream in this modern culture, and most of us have to feel pain — or have our backs against the wall — before we will do what it takes to achieve and maintain genuine healing.
We’re going to continue to address the broad spectrum of finding the right, individualized diet. We’re going to add more about:
- healthy, traditional food preparation
- physical exercise
- Vitamin D levels
- safe detoxification
- mental exercise
- purpose and significance
- and teeth.
There is so much to do and think about, very important issues can get sidelined and ignored. My focus had gone to the gut. And, indeed, the health of our “gut” — our entire digestive system — is the foundation of our health.
But dementia research led me back to what is probably the leading “toxicity” issue — dental health and dental work — mercury fillings, metals, cavitations, root canals, and gum inflammation. When I researched this before, I was never able to find all the answers I needed. Now I know they were there at the time, but I did not know where to look.
If you haven’t already, start thinking about your own mouth — do you have amalgam (mercury & metals) fillings? Do you have any root canals? Have you had wisdom teeth or molars pulled? Are your gums inflamed?
These issues are as crucial to your well being as the health of your gut and the ingestion of gluten. Much more to come!
We think the answer to that question is “No,” and that conditions as serious as Alzheimer’s are avoidable, if we are diligent to eat the foods that are right for us as individuals while avoiding the things that inflame and damage us, such as gluten, soy, toxic chemicals, the wrong sugars, bad fats (good fats are essential) and so on.
Allowing gluten-containing grains to sprout creates enzymatic action that has a partial modifying effect on the gluten. Truly fermented sour dough also modifies gluten-containing grains. Those of us who are merely gluten sensitive may be able to tolerate varying amounts or occasional intake of sprouted or fermented grain products. I seem to be able to tolerate the occasional Ezekiel Bread toast and I use (periodically) the almond version of Ezekiel cereal as a sprinkle on salads (for crunch) and on yogurt, and sometimes eat the cereal in my raw goat milk with wild blueberries.
After three and a half years of running an adult sitting and caregiving service, we have become painfully aware of how many seniors are suffering with Alzheimer’s or some sort of dementia. Basically, something in the body has been damaged — something is not working correctly. The results are varied, but the common problems are memory and confusion. It’s very scary and certainly gets your attention. Several male clients with dementia have been in their 60s!
My daughter and I just recently went in for our allergy checkup. I asked my doctor if they did testing for wheat. I was hoping I could get the testing done there and that it would be covered by insurance. He almost immediately became defensive. Wish I had never opened my mouth. He told me he had already tested me for wheat. (Everyone receives a sheet with everything they are allergic to; however, on the sheet it never mentioned wheat, which didn’t really matter because it was skin testing.)
We went to a church picnic last night. I took at least one thing I could have. Knowing there would be a huge amount of things to choose from, I was feeling pretty confident. They had barbecue meat. Which was in a sauce. Since there was no one to ask what was in the sauce, I thought I would take a risk. I also ate cole slaw, potato salad, a spinach salad and fruit. Probably the only really safe thing was the fruit. Some of the other things probably had a lot of soy and the barbecue sauce may have had wheat in it. So needless to say I am paying for it today. I should have not been so brave. I probably should have not had the meat and took something with me as far as that goes. It is difficult when you go to something like that because not only does everything look amazing, and there is no way of asking what kind of dressing or sauces are on something. The only dessert I could safely have was fruit. Usually I am smarter and will take something, but I was under the impression the meat was going to be smoked or grilled. And I should have remembered from Christmas that too many heavy foods, that may not have wheat but soy in them, treat me the same way. Not thinking got me in trouble, or maybe thinking the wrong thing got me in trouble. Although there were many options (safe for others), very few safe options for me. Next time I am going prepared with some of my favorite things that are safe in a small cooler. Then if I am pleasantly surprised by overwhelming options that are safe for me, I will just save my meal for the next day. Still learning.



