Seven Steps for Taming America's Newest Health Epidemic -- Gluten Sensitivity
An interview with Dr. Janet Angel
Some experts are calling it America’s newest health epidemic.
According to a recent study by the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research, about 20 million Americans presently suffer from gluten intolerance – an adverse reaction to the protein gluten found in wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye.
Symptoms of gluten intolerance, also called gluten sensitivity, can be mild to severe and include weight loss or gain, fatigue, bloating, pain, gas, constipation, diarrhea, aching joints, depression, headaches, irritability, amnesia, osteoporosis, leg numbness and dozens more disease-like conditions.
In addition to the physical burden, gluten intolerance also places a financial burden upon those it affects – the cost of gluten-free foods is two-to-three times higher than their non-gluten-free counterparts.
“The gluten-free industry is booming, but living a gluten-free lifestyle is really not the solution for optimal health,” said nutritional biochemist Dr. Janet Angel. “Optimal health means that we should be able to eat whatever we want to eat, and this becomes possible only when we ensure our bodies have all of the proper enzymes required to break down the food molecules we ingest, including hard-to-digest gluten molecules.”
Gluten intolerance is a problem that many people acquire mid-life because their pancreases have slowed the production of protease and amylase – two of the several enzymes needed for proper digestion of grains.
“After a lifetime of consuming breads, cereals and baked goods, some people’s bodies become greatly depleted of protease and other essential digestive enzymes, so food molecules begin to enter the bloodstream without being digested and trigger a variety of immune responses including pain and inflammation and a variety of disease-like symptoms,” Dr. Janet said.
Insufficient enzyme supply is not only caused by excessive consumption of grains and other inappropriate dietary choices (like eating heated, processed and preservative-laden foods), enzyme depletion and the inability to digest gluten can also be affected by genetic predisposition and pancreatic weakness.
Fortunately, gluten sensitivity can be successfully addressed with dietary and lifestyle changes.
“Making these changes will produce an added benefit -- when you correct your gluten intolerance you will also improve the way that your body absorbs nutrients, and this will result in a resurgence of energy and vibrant, head-to-toe health,” she said.
Here are Dr. Janet’s seven steps for taming gluten sensitivity:
Step 1 – Remove wheat and grains from your diet for a period of time to allow your body to repair.
Step 2 – Make sure you drink adequate amounts of purified water daily.
Step 3 – Eat plenty of greens; they will soak up toxicities and balance your digestive pH levels.
Step 4 – Use a plant-based enzyme complex supplement with a strong protease blend to replenish your own missing digestive enzymes. The human body cannot produce all of the enzymes it needs so it depends on the presence of natural enzymes in the food supply. When natural enzymes are destroyed through cooking or processing, enzyme supplements are needed.
Step 5 – Exercise to boost circulation which will move nutrients to where they need to go.
Step 6 – Take probiotics to fortify your immune system.
Step 7 – Re-introduce small amounts of grains into your diet, being sure to rotate your foods and not eat the same dishes every day.
“The road to rebuilding your tolerance for gluten will vary, person-to-person, but by using the above as a general guide and by being sure to consume a supplement of plant-based enzymes each day, individuals should start seeing improvements within 14 to 30 days,” says Dr. Janet.
SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Can you tell us what gluten sensitivity is and what causes it?
2. You suggest that living a gluten-free lifestyle is not the best route to optimal health for those with gluten sensitivity. Tell us about the program that you recommend.
3. Can you explain why enzymes are so essential for health?
4. What factors cause our bodies to stop producing enzymes?
5. Which enzymes determine how well we digest gluten, and what is the best way to ensure that we have plenty of those enzymes available?
6. Your regimen for correcting gluten intolerance includes the initial step of completely avoiding gluten for a period of time, then reintroducing it to the diet. How long should this “gluten-free period” be?
7. In addition to losing their sensitivity to gluten, what are some of the other health benefits that individuals will experience once they start supplementing their diets with enzymes?
8. You recommend that those who are ill or under stress should eat lightly and take enzymes. Why?
9. You say probiotics are also essential for beating food sensitivities. Why?
10. How can listeners learn more about beating their food sensitivities using the digestive enzyme formulas you’ve mentioned today? (AbsorbAid®, AbsorbAid® Platinum, AbsorbAid® Chews)
ABOUT DR. JANET ANGEL, PhD. (Dr. Janet)
Janet Angel, PhD, is a nutritional biochemist and wellness expert with more than twenty years of professional experience in the natural health care industry. A popular lecturer and frequently invited guest on radio and TV programs around the country, Dr. Janet currently serves as product formulator, executive Vice Present, and media spokesperson for dietary supplement maker Nature’s Sources, LLC.
###
