Why going gluten-free doesn’t work…

Have you tried going gluten-free and it didn’t help you feel better?

It didn’t banish your bloating, solve your digestive upset, clear up skin rashes, help you shed pounds, or do any of the other things a gluten-free lifestyle promises.

You’re not the only one.

I hear this all the time from clients who have tried a gluten-free lifestyle with little to no results.  When I first went gluten-free, it didn’t free me of all my health issues either.

So what gives when going gluten-free doesn’t work?

That’s exactly what I’m here to reveal – the top 3 reasons why a gluten-free diet doesn’t work.

Let’s first explore what the deal is with gluten in the first place and why it could be a big contributor to whatever health issue is ailing you.

FACT: Everyone is negatively impacted by gluten, regardless if you have been diagnosed with sensitivity or not.  Gluten molecules are larger than most food particles making them harder to digest.  This increased stress on the digestive system can lead to inflammation and eventually destruction of the intestinal lining.

These larger, inflammatory gluten food particles increase something called intestinal permeability for up to 5 hours, meaning elements such as toxins or undigested food pieces that aren’t supposed to cross the intestinal barrier into the bloodstream can.  When these foreigners cross the gut barrier, the body goes on attack, increasing inflammation, even more, resulting in food sensitivities and toxic overload.

Wheat, the most popular gluten-containing product, is also one of the most pesticide-contaminated and genetically modified foods.  Milling of wheat actually embeds pesticides in small fractions of the food particles, making it more contaminated than most other food sources!

These toxic pesticides come with a variety of health side effects which can also lead to bloating, weight gain, skin issues, hormone imbalances, digestive upset and so much more.

These are just a few of the ways that gluten directly impacts your health every time you come across it.

One bite of gluten is the same as eating the whole slice of bread.  There’s really no such thing as being “gluten-reduced.”

On average, it can take 3-6 months for the intestinal lining to heal from a gluten encounter; whether it was one bite or one slice.  And this healing process can take even longer for individuals who are experiencing stress…but aren’t we all under some level of stress all of the time in this modern-day world?

Eating gluten certainly isn’t going to help you reach your health goals, so let’s explore why you may not be getting great results when cutting it out.

In this week’s video and blog, I’ll reveal the top 3 reasons why a gluten-free diet might not be working for you and what you can do to get the results you’re looking for.

First, I want to applaud you on your efforts to go gluten-free in pursuit of resolving your health issues, and also say that if it didn’t work, it’s not your fault.

Going gluten-free isn’t as clear-cut as avoiding wheat, barley and rye as it appears to be; there’s just more to truly being gluten-free.

Here are the top 3 reasons why going gluten-free probably didn’t work for you.

#1 – Sneaky Ingredients
Gluten is a sneaky little ingredient hidden in soy sauce, other condiments, medications, and even your personal care products such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and makeup.  Why is gluten added to these things?  Because it’s used as a thickening agent, binder, or filler. So when you thought you were gluten-free, you probably weren’t.

You may have been eating gluten-free and still being exposed to it in the most unlikely of places.  Give going gluten-free a go again and this time double check food labels for “contains wheat”, medication formulas for fillers, and personal-care products for “hydrolyzed wheat protein.”

To learn more about hidden gluten, check out this Sneaky Little Ingredient blog I wrote.

#2 – Cross-Reactive Foods
You could be eating gluten imposters that are tricking your body into thinking you’re eating gluten when you’re really not.  These foods are called gluten cross-reactive foods.  They have similar protein structures as gluten, so when your body sees them it responds as if you ate gluten!

The top gluten cross-reactive foods are:

• Dairy
• Corn
• Oats
• Millet 
• Rice
• Quinoa

Often these are the exact foods found in all of those alternative gluten-free products you were so excited to find!

If you tried going gluten-free but didn’t cut these guys out too, your body was likely still reacting as if you were eating gluten and therefore tricking you into thinking going gluten-free didn’t work.

Try taking your gluten-free approach to the next level by going grain-free to really see if gluten and its cross-reactive friends are part of the problem for you.

#3 – Deeper Dysfunction
As I’ve said many times before, if the diet isn’t working, there’s likely something going on underneath the hood rendering it ineffective. Going gluten-free is a right step in the right direction, and if you pay close attention, I’m sure you’ll probably see some improvements even if it doesn’t completely resolve your primary health issue.

And if it doesn’t completely solve your health problems, that means it’s time to dig deeper.  Symptoms can be far removed from the root cause.

Bloating, weight gain, skin issues, digestive upset, or whatever else you’re dealing with can also be related to hormone imbalances, liver congestion, food sensitivities, parasites, bacteria, yeast overgrowth, or a combo of other physiological aspects.

Testing is the best way to stop guessing, get to the bottom of your health issues once and for all, and heal them for good.  And not just any tests, but functional lab tests that will look in-depth at the hormones, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy, and nervous system to give you the full picture of what is going on with your body.

Going gluten-free helped me take a positive step forward toward feeling better, and using functional lab testing to uncover other hidden healing opportunities is what finally helped me get back to feeling like myself again, and it’s the key to helping my clients do the same thing.

So don’t give up on being gluten-free, dig deeper, take the next step and uncover more healing opportunities!

If you want to explore the missing pieces of your health puzzle on a deeper level so you can actually fix what is wrong and feel your best, then click here to get on my waiting list for an Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me (and get an awesome list of practitioner referrals if you want to take action now)!