by Sean Croxton

You thought it was over, huh?

No. No. No.

Every great show deserves an encore!

By popular demand, our 3 most popular presenters are coming back to the stage one last time.

In Room 1, Dr. Tom O’Bryan eloquently demonstrates the link between gluten, muscle pain, bone loss, autoimmunity, and more.

If you thought gluten was all about the gut, you MUST watch this presentation.

Attend Dr. O’Bryan’s presentation HERE.

In Room 2, Chris Kresser updates us on the latest in cholesterol research. Your cholesterol scores may not be what you think they are!

Attend Chris’s presentation HERE.

In Room 3, our favorite neurosurgeon, Dr.Jack Kruse, uncovers how leptin resistance lies at the root of inflammation, obesity, and chronic disease.

Attend Dr. Kruse’s presentation HERE.

Today is your LAST CHANCE EVER to order your Summit Upgrade Package for the special price of ONLY $67!

Click HERE to learn how you can take the summit home, along with some bonus Paleo goodies.

So sad to see this summit end. You guys have been a great group.

The Underground Wellness train keeps chugging along this week with the following events…

Tuesday — UW Radio LIVE with Brian Johnson, author of A Philosopher’s Notes. All about mindset and living a life you love. Click HERE for details.

Wednesday — How to Become a Health Detective webinar hosted by Reed Davis and yours truly. Learn how you can get certified as a Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist (FDN). This course changed my life! Without FDN, there would be no Paleo Summit! Click HERE for details.

Thursday — UW Radio LIVE with Dr. Jack Kruse. Can’t get enough of the doc! Click HERE for details.

Keep up with me on Facebook and Twitter. I’m a social media addict!

That’s all, folks!

Thanks for attending the UW Paleo Summit.

Sean
Host, The UW Paleo Summit
Author, The Dark Side of Fat Loss

by Sean Croxton & Dr. Tom O’Bryan

I know it’s Sunday, but health takes no days off!!

Check out this interview I did with gluten expert Dr. Tom O’Bryan a few months ago.

There’s some great info in there! Enjoy.

Now, back to the Broncos game…:)

Sean

by Sean Croxton

Last night, I cracked open my copy of Wheat Belly by next Tuesday’s Underground Wellness Radio guest Dr. William Davis. I’ll admit that after reading hundreds of health-related books, I’m becoming quite the book snob. If the author can’t get my attention within the first ten pages, I’m done. Moving on!

Wheat Belly had me hooked from page one. This guy can write! The information is scientifically backed, written in plain English, and absolutely spot-on. I even let out a giggle here and there. Can’t wait for our interview!

You know a book is good when you’re carrying it around the house with you – which is exactly what I was doing around dinner time. While cooking up a lamb burger (no bun), I recommended Dr. Davis’s book to my very fitness-minded roommate Jennifer. She and I have talked about the evils of grains several times before. Despite our discussions, she’s still not sold.

It’s cool. She’ll come around.

To her credit, my roomy brandished what I consider to be the most powerful dogma-defeating weaponry in the entire arsenal: logic.

When confronted with the erroneous misgivings of saturated fat and cholesterol by Real Food skeptics, I routinely respond by wondering aloud how an old school food (or nutrient) can cause brand new diseases. To her credit, Jennifer threw that very same logic right back at me. She wondered how grains – which have been around for at least ten thousand years – can all of a sudden cause so many health problems.

How can something that The Bible refers to as The Staff of Life be the source of so much modern illness? Didn’t God nourish the Israelites with the bread (manna) from Heaven? Well, according to gluten expert Dr. Thomas O’Bryan, seven out of ten people are sensitive to gluten, the toxic protein found in most grains! Were the Israelites somehow exempt from gluten’s wrath? Or was the all-knowing God just a little behind on his research?

The truth is that we are not eating the same grains that Moses may have snacked on as he hiked up Mount Sinai. In fact, we’re not even eating the same grains our grandparents ate! In just a mere 50 years, grains – wheat, in particular – have become a mutant species crafted by the hands of human intervention in the name of increased crop yields, resistance to drought, disease, and heat, as well as an end to world hunger – all of which are honorable causes and tremendous scientific achievements. However, the accelerated evolution of wheat through hybridization – a feat that would make Gregor Mendel proud – has been to the detriment of human health.

To understand how wheat has gone from a comparatively innocent wild grass to what the New England Journal of Medicine recently declared the cause of 55 diseases, we have to go back.

Way back.

Its origins dating back to the year 8500 BC, modern wheat’s eldest ancestor einkorn grew wild in what we now call the Middle East. The Natufians – a semi-nomadic tribe – harvested the wild grain and may have been the first to store its seeds and cultivate it.

This ancient form of wheat was nothing you’d want to bake with, as its genetic makeup was fairly simple with only 14 chromosomes and very poor pliability. In other words, even if the Natufians knew how to bake bran muffins, they would have turned out flat and crumply. Instead, einkorn was ground by hand and served as a porridge.

After a rather long monogamous existence, the now-cultivated einkorn got itself a girlfriend – goatgrass – and made a baby. They named it emmer. According to Dr. Davis, “plants such as wheat have the ability to retain the sum of the genes of their forbears.” The 12 chromosomes of goatgrass combined with einkorn’s dozen, making for a more complex emmer plant containing a total of 24 chromosomes. For thousands of years, einkorn and emmer went unchallenged as the most popular forms of wheat. The latter is likely the grain referred to in biblical texts.

Due to their poor baking characteristics, chances are your lips have never touched either of these ancient crops.

You’re eating something else.

At some point – likely just before Biblical times – emmer wheat hooked up with another grass, Triticum tauschii, and made a 42-chromosome baby named Triticum aestivum, genetically closest to what we call wheat. (Davis, 20) Due to its genetic complexity, this heir to the wheat throne was more bakery-friendly than its predecessors.

For many centuries, Triticum aestivum went fairly unchanged. That is, until science recently caught up to it and elected to exploit its “genetic pliability” to develop literally thousands of varieties – only 5 varieties existed in the mid-18th century.

As mentioned earlier, while the reasons for altering wheat strains through man-made intervention is both understandable and commendable, no studies were ever conducted to confirm their safety when consumed by humans. It was assumed that wheat was, well, just wheat. This, too, is understandable – in my opinion – since the research on gluten-related illness was in its infancy at the time.

To understand just how much wheat has changed in just a mere half-century, I suggest you put your thinking cap on, and let Dr. Davis preach the gluten-free gospel!

“The gluten proteins produced by einkorn wheat, for example, are distinct from the gluten proteins of emmer, which are, in turn, different from the gluten proteins of Triticum aestivum. Because fourteen-chromosome einkorn, containing the so-called A genome (set of genes), has the smallest chromosomal set, it codes for the fewest number and variety of glutens. Twenty-eight chromosome emmer, containing the A genome with the added B genome, codes for a larger variety of gluten. Forty-two-chromosome Triticum aestivum, with the A, B, D genomes, has the greatest gluten variety, even before any human manipulation of its breeding.

“Hybridization efforts of the past fifty years have generated numerous additional changes in gluten-coding genes in Triticum aestivum, most of them purposeful modifications of the D genome that confer baking and aesthetic characteristics of flour. Indeed, genes located in the D genome are those most frequently pinpointed as the source of glutens that trigger celiac disease.

“It is therefore the D genome of modern Triticum aestivum that, having been the focus of all manner of genetic shenanigans by plant geneticists, has accumulated substantial change in genetically determined characteristics of gluten proteins. It is also potentially the source for many of the odd health phenomena experienced by consuming humans.” (emphasis is mine)

In other words, today’s wheat contains more destructive gluten than ever before. We have derailed Mother Nature’s natural order and seemingly created the trans fats of the grain family, trading our health for better baking.

But as Dr. Davis acknowledges, it’s not your fault.

Tune in tomorrow when we’ll discuss how the government’s recommendation to eat more whole grains has been a disaster, and how a slice of whole wheat bread may be worse than consuming table sugar.

I’m out.

Good talk, Jennifer.

Sean Croxton
Author, The Dark Side of Fat Loss

by Sean Croxton & Scott Kustes

I have a weakness.

And it goes by the name of chocolate!

Last month (I’m way behind), my main man Scott Kustes of Naked Food Cooking stopped by the UW Kitchen to show us how we can satisfy our chocolate cravings semi-healthy style with this flourless chocolate cake.

To be totally honest, I thought I was gonna hate this one since it had coffee in it. Coffee disgusts me. Yuck!

But I totally dug it!

It’s reeeeally simple with just a handful of ingredients. And it’s quite tasty, especially the ganache!

Scott put together the directions for you. Here they go!

Try it out and let us know how it turned out.

Stay tuned. Scott and I also made some delicious Pork Belly with Pineapple Salsa. I’ll get it edited and uploaded some time next week.

Click HERE to learn more about Scott’s online cooking course!

Out!

Sean

by Sean Croxton

NOTE: If you have not read yesterday’s blog, this one will likely go over your head. Check it out and come on back!

So now that we’ve met the players in this game, let’s discuss how we can keep them from screwing up team chemistry and resulting in autoimmunity.

Once considered quackery, the role of the gut mucosa, or intestinal barrier, has over the years become a more established factor in triggering autoimmunity. As you learned yesterday, when your gut is inflamed with big holes punched in it (intestinal hyperpermeability), undigested food particles and other not-so-nice stuff can make their way into the circulation (your bloodstream) and trigger an immune response.

But what happens when your immune system gets a little trigger-happy? What happens when that undigested rib-eye steak molecule you’ve been fighting off for years starts to look a lot like your thyroid, or your pancreas, or your adrenal glands?

In a case of mistaken identity, your immune system begins attacking tissues, organ, and glands. It can even attack hormones like estrogen, leaving you infertile. No bueno. This process is called molecular mimicry, confusing one molecule with another.

Environmental toxins, called haptens, can also trigger autoimmune reactions. Haptens include inorganic compounds like the formaldehyde coming out of your carpet, chemicals in your water, as well as heavy metals like mercury, lead, and cadmium.

Here’s where glutathione comes in. As I explained in last week’s Underground Antioxidant blog, one of glutathione’s primary roles is detoxification. It acts like sticky paper grabbing onto toxins and carrying them out of the body for you. In other words, when rogue chemicals and bad guys come into your body, glutathione takes the hit for you, allowing the immune system to rest.

However, when glutathione levels are depleted due to aging, toxicity, stress, and poor diet, YOU take the hit. And you take it right in the immune system! When environmental toxins enter the body with your glutathione defenses down, big bad TH-17 is upregulated, contributing to autoimmune flare-ups.

If you recall, the activity of the TH-17 system determines the severity of the autoimmune flare-up. If you are currently dealing with autoimmunity, or would like to avoid it altogether, downregulating TH-17 by way of maximizing glutathione levels is certainly in your best interest.

Note: If you are a practitioner and suspect toxicity is playing a role in your patient’s or client’s autoimmune condition, you may want to think twice about using heavy detox protocols (like chelation) without increasing glutathione levels first. Heavy metal chelation can be devastating to anyone with autoimmunity if glutathione is not there to take the hit.

Let’s get back to the TH-1 and TH-2 balancing act. Autoimmune conditions typically (but not always) show dominance in one system over the other. The role of the T-regulatory cells is to reduce this polarity. When there is a downregulation of these T-regulatory cells, TH-1 and TH-2 go off kilter, thus triggering the faulty immune process.

Glutathione to the rescue!

Research shows that glutathione plays a critical role in upregulating T-regulatory cells, bringing TH-1 and TH-2 back into balance and calming autoimmunity.

Speaking of research, this study published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Science demonstrated “a significant correlation between plasma glutathione and SLE (lupus) severity exists that may aid evaluation of the disease severity and usefulness of the management of SLE”. (sources: Pubmed & Kharrazian lecture slides)

SLE, or lupus, is the most destructive of all autoimmune conditions. This study showed that those with the most severe symptoms had the lowest glutathione levels.

If its role in the activation of the T-regulatory cells, the balancing of TH-1 and TH-2, downregulation of destructive TH-17, and improved detoxification isn’t enough for you, consider this. Glutathione also reduces intestinal barrier inflammation, promotes healing of the mucosa, and contributes to healthy gut function. In other words, it helps keep the flies out, reducing or eliminating yet another autoimmune trigger.

Glutathione’s ability to enhance tissue healing is critical not only for preventing autoimmunity but also for recovery from autoimmune flare-ups. This likely explains the reduced exercise-induced muscle soreness when taking Protandim, which is proven by peer-reviewed research to increase glutathione by 300%.

An additional therapeutic measure for dampening autoimmunity is to increase levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), another powerful antioxidant enzyme. Coincidentally, the discoverer of SOD is Dr. Joe McCord, the primary formulator of Protandim and winner of the 1997 Elliott Cresson medal for co-discovering the biology of free radical reactions in living organisms. That means he co-discovered the entire field of free radical biology.

I think he’s credible!

This paper from The Ohio State University published in 2011 demonstrates a threefold increase in SOD activity in the Protandim-treated group.

Boom.

I cannot say enough about how vital and imperative it is for you to maintain healthy glutathione levels, not only for preventing or dampening autoimmunity, but also slowing down cellular aging, reducing oxidative stress, and protecting you from chronic degenerative diseases. I hope that this series of blogs has opened up your eyes to the power of this critical antioxidant enzyme.

There are 50 million people in this country with autoimmune disease. One of the most well-known is former talk show host Montel Williams, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1999. MS develops when the immune system attacks the myelin sheaths coating the neurons in the brain. Symptoms include lack of coordination, double vision, jerky eye movements, involuntary leg movements, slurred speech, muscle weakness, and seizures.

In the video below, Montel gives his testimonial regarding the power of Protandim, a supplement that he credits so much for allowing him to live a fairly normal life that he tried to buy the company. However, it was not for sale.

This is not a sales pitch. I’m just sharing what I know can help millions of people boost health and fight disease. No more. No less.

That’s it for me today. It has given me much pleasure to share this life-changing information on nutrigenomics, hittin’ switches, NRF2, glutathione, and autoimmunity this past week.

Tune in tomorrow for another Inspire Millions challenge from Brett Klika and me! If you have low back pain, you won’t want to miss it!

I’m out! Keep hittin’ those switches!! ☺

Source: Lecture notes/slides from Dr. Datis Kharrazian’s Autoimmune Regulation by the Nitric Oxide and Glutathione Systems lecture

Sean
www.undergroundwellness.com

“99.99% of our genes were formed before the development of agriculture.” – Dr. S. Boyd Eaton, MD, Medical Anthropologist

Grains suck.

It’s really that simple. There is zero human dietary requirement for grains. Most (if not all) people would be better off without them. It was their introduction into the human diet by way of the Agricultural Revolution that shifted us away from the healthful animal-based diet that we survived and thrived on for 99.99% of our history. With this change came reductions in stature and brain size, chronic degenerative diseases, and much longer work days. Many anthropologists agree that the advent of agriculture was one of the worst events in human history. Despite the evidence of such agriculturally-induced human decline, we continue to perpetuate this event with our USDA dietary recommendations and our errant fears of animal fats.

Let’s set aside the whole “are grains fit for human consumption?” debate and just focus on the nuts and bolts of what they do within the human body. First of all, grains are living organisms. And like all living organisms, they have defense mechanisms to discourage predators from eating them. One such mechanism is called phytic acid, which binds to the important minerals in the grain such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. So even though the label on the loaf of bread says that it is loaded with these minerals, you’re not really absorbing them. In addition, phytic acid can leach minerals from your body, causing mineral deficiencies. Not good.

You can eliminate or significantly reduce the phytic acid by way of soaking, sprouting, or fermenting the grain. This is cool and all, but it doesn’t take care of the fact that grains are 70-80% starch, which eventually converts to sugar and cranks up your blood glucose and insulin. Last night, I read in Primal Body-Primal Mind that one bagel or two slices of bread contain 5 times more sugar than your bloodstream requires. Any sugar that your bloodstream does not need gets stored away as either glycogen or fat. Imagine how much fat you store when you’re eating multiple servings of the stuff because the USDA told you to. You can’t burn fat when your pancreas is always cranking out insulin to counter your almost hourly grain binges!

Next up, we have goitrogens. These guys are also in grains. They work by suppressing thyroid function. Definitely a no-no. You don’t wanna eff with your metabolism!

If you follow my radio shows, you’re familiar with the damage that gluten can do. Most grains contain gluten, which can not only be damaging to the intestinal tract, but also to almost every other organ, tissue, or gland in your body. According to Dr. Thomas O’Bryan, by next year, autoimmunity will be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized world. One of the predominant triggers for autoimmunity is gluten. Ouch!

But what about the gluten-free grains like corn, rice, or quinoa (not really a grain, but close enough)? Well, they have their own problems. All grains contain lectins, which are proteins that are extremely hard to digest. These lectins like to stick to your intestinal lining and sneak their way into your bloodstream. This causes inflammation and destruction to the intestinal wall. This destruction can lead to a hyper-permeable gut that literally can no longer tell the difference between the good and bad guys. In other words, the gate is wide open for all kinds of bacteria, fungus, toxins, undigested food particles, and poop to cross over into the bloodstream, the last place they should be. The immune system sees lectins (and all of the other crap I just mentioned) as invaders and mounts a response against them. This can lead to multiple food sensitivities and allergies. To make matters worse, the immune system can get a little paranoid and start to have problems with mistaken identity. Since the lectins or undigested food particles can look very similar to your organs, tissues, or glands, it can start to attack them as well. This is how autoimmunity works. Your body is attacking itself. The breakdown of the intestinal wall is a huge player in this process. Don’t you think you’d be better off getting rid of the foods that cause this breakdown in the first place? Adios, grains!

I mentioned quinoa above. Now, I haven’t done as much research on this non-grain as I would like to. But according to Robb Wolf in his book The Paleo Solution, quinoa contains soap-like molecules called saponins. These guys punch holes in your microvillii, which are critical for proper breakdown of peptide and saccharide chains. Believe me, you don’t want to punch holes in your microvilli. Definitely not a good idea. But again, this deserves more research.

So there you have it, the case against grains in a nutshell. I can go on and on, but I’m trying to keep these blogs pretty short. Be sure to listen to UW Radio TONIGHT at 5pm PT/8pm ET. Nora Gedgaudas, CNS, CNT, author of Primal Body-Primal Mind, will be digging deeper into this topic, including why she differs with the Weston A. Price Foundation’s stance on the healthfulness of grains. Gonna be a good one!

Out!

Sean Croxton
Author, The Dark Side of Fat Loss

by Sean Croxton

I used to be the King of Whole Grains.

Indoctrinated to be a processed food salesman by my university-taught nutrition courses, I spent several years drilling the base of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid into the skulls of my personal training clients.

“Six to eleven servings of bread, rice, and pasta a day, you people!! How on Earth do you expect to meet your energy and fiber requirements? Do it! DO IT NOW!”

Fast-forward ten years to present day and I can’t help but wonder how much damage my whole grain zealotry may have caused. Who knows how many of my clients were overweight, fatigued, depressed, and more due to undiagnosed gluten sensitivity.

I honestly didn’t know any better.

And even when I thought I knew the intricacies of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease, I really didn’t. Yeah, I knew more than the average person, but I was still in the Stone Age as far as the research was concerned.

That all changed last week when I had the privilege of attending Dr. Datis Kharrazian’s Understanding the Complexity of Gluten Sensitivity seminar here in San Diego. As always, Dr. K blew my mind with his thorough research and clear presentation on a topic that literally affects millions of people. The doc dropped some monster truth bombs!

I also had the unexpected opportunity to meet Dr. Thomas O’Bryan, the world’s leading expert on gluten. If you missed his appearance on UW Radio, be sure to check it out. It’s definitely one of my all-time favorites.

With new information comes responsibility. So, even though I can’t by any means claim to be an authority on gluten, I feel it is my duty to share what I believe to be a new, promising paradigm in the detection and diagnosis of gluten sensitivity. This is literally information that will not only change lives, but save them as well.

Gluten sensitivity is an immune response to gluten, which is found in commonly consumed grains such as wheat, spelt, kamut, oats (unless designated gluten-free), rye, and barley. In other words, it’s pretty much the bottom of the food pyramid I was at one time enamored with, the very same foods we are advised to eat the most often. I could probably write a short book on how this errant dietary recommendation has caused much pain and suffering by way of inflammation, intestinal destruction, neurological disorders, and autoimmunity, but today we’ll stick to the matter of detection. Again, I direct you to Dr. O’Bryan’s interview to learn more about the repercussions of gluten sensitivity.

In my own Functional Diagnostic Nutrition practice, one of the first recommendations I give to my clients is the removal of all gluten-containing grains. Actually, these days I even go a step further and not only remove gluten, but all grains, legumes (including peanuts), and dairy products. It never ceases to amaze me how the removal of gluten alone can cause such a profound improvement in my clients lives. Energy improves. Bloating disappears. Bowels become regular. Libido returns. Brain fog dissipates. Skin clears up. One simple recommendation can make a world of difference.

Despite their apparent improvements on a gluten-free diet, many of these same people had at one time been tested for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. All had tested negative, giving them no conclusive reason to stop consuming gluten.

But if the tests came up negative, then why do they feel so much better when they stop eating gluten?

The answer is that the tests most commonly used to detect gluten sensitivity are nowhere near as thorough as you’d think.

Let’s start with celiac disease, a genetic autoimmune condition that falls under the umbrella of gluten sensitivity. With celiac, the consumption of gluten causes damage to the small intestine. According to Dr. Kharrazian in his bestselling book Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?, “the disease affects up to one in 100 Americans, although only 1 in 8 are expected to be aware of their condition, as symptoms are silent.”

Dr. O’Bryan describes celiac as one of the most common lifelong disorders in the United States and Europe. In fact, autoimmune disease (when your immune system attacks your own glands, tissues, and organs) is ten times more common in those with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity than the general population (1). Coincidence? I think not. When we consider that autoimmune disease is the number three cause of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized world, you can understand why detecting sensitivity to gluten is of critical importance. At the same time, we must also wonder why it is so seldom diagnosed.

The gold standard for celiac diagnosis is a small intestinal biopsy, which requires a sample of the cells in the intestinal wall to detect gluten-induced injury. An extremely uncomfortable procedure to begin with, intestinal biopsy commonly results in false negatives since intestinal damage can vary from one location to the next. Also, since the intestinal cells are replaced every few days, the biopsied area may have healed prior to the procedure. In fact, the intestine will appear perfectly normal after just a week or two of strict compliance with a gluten-free diet (2). Hardly a definitive test by any stretch, many true celiacs slip through the cracks. Told that gluten is not the cause of their health challenges, many spend the rest of their lives seeking help for “unexplained illnesses”. Meanwhile, they are eating themselves sick.

Another marker for celiac disease is tissue transglutaminase and endomysial antibodies. This blood test is said to be 97% accurate, an extremely impressive statistic when taken at face value. However, it only exhibits such pinpoint accuracy when there is total villous atrophy, or when the small intestinal lining has been worn all the way down! With only partial villous atrophy the test’s accuracy plummets to 32%. What this means is that the test is wrong 7 times out of 10 and that in order to be diagnosed with celiac the intestinal wall has to be demolished beyond recognition! In other words, you may in fact have celiac disease, but your gut just isn’t bad enough yet for the doctor to diagnose it. So you just continue eating gluten until sufficient damage accumulates for standard diagnosis. Silly, I know!

Speaking of silliness, gluten sensitivity (which may or may not be celiac) is often detected by what are called gliadin antibodies. Gluten is actually made up of two components, gliadin (the protein part) and glutenin (the sticky part). The gliadin protein is believed to be the immune-reactive component (more on this later). A positive gliadin antibodies test indicates the immune system is mounting a defense against the protein.

The big problem with the gliadin antibody test is that there are four components of gliadin: alpha, beta, gamma, and omega. However, this test only measures the alpha portion, since it is most commonly associated with celiac disease. The test ignores the remaining three potentially reactive gliadin components! You can test negative for alpha, but may still be positive for beta, gamma, or omega. Unfortunately, you’d never know since you were not tested for them! This is the “state-of-the-art” testing we’ve relied upon for the detection of a potentially debilitating condition.

But wait, there’s more.

Glutenin: Gliadin’s Other Half
As mentioned above, gluten is composed of gliadin and glutenin. It has long been believed that only the gliadin portion is responsible for gluten sensitivity. According to a study published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2006), “it is highly probable that the glutenin proteins are toxic.” In other words, laboratories are only testing for half of the potentially immune-reactive components of gluten. And for the half that they do test (gliadin), only one-quarter of it is being measured (alpha gliadin).

Traditional gluten testing does not look for glutenin antibodies.

Deamidated Gliadin
We have yet another reason to avoid processed foods. By way of a process called deamidation, food manufacturers alter the gliadin protein in order to make it more water soluble and easier to mix with other foods and liquids. This deamidation process also occurs naturally in the intestines, which can be a problem within itself. But the use of deamidated wheat isolates in our food supply has become a hidden source of food allergy. In fact, immune T-cells respond more readily to deamidated gliadin than non-deamidated gliadin.

What all this means is that an individual can have no sensitivities to any other forms of gliadin but its deamidated form in processed foods. And the immune system’s response to it will be far more aggressive.

Traditional gluten testing does not look for deamidated gliadin antibodies.

Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA): Rethinking Sprouted Wheat
WGA is the lectin component of wheat. As I mentioned in my previous blog, lectins are present in all grains and can pass through the gut wall in their intact form, causing the immune system to recognize them as foreign invaders and mount a defense against them. WGA, the most studied of the lectin family, is found in high concentrations in whole-wheat products, especially sprouted wheat. Maybe that Ezekiel bread isn’t so good for you after all.

WGA reactions can cause red blood cells to clump together. Not good. It can also break down the blood-brain barrier and inhibit nerve growth factor (just as bad as it sounds). Common WGA-induced symptoms are poor circulation, cold hands and feet, reduced learning capacity, and brain fog.

Traditional gluten testing does not look for wheat germ agglutinin antibodies.

Gluteomorphins: Are You an Addict?
Many people who go gluten-free claim that the diet actually makes them feel worse. This can be quite baffling if one is unfamiliar with gluteomorphins. Common in autistic children, gluteomorphins are opiod peptides formed during the digestion of the gliadin component of the gluten protein (3). For these folks, getting off of gluten can be like kicking a cocaine habit!

The discontinuance of any addictive substance will result in a period of withdrawal lasting a few days to several weeks. In the case of gluteomorphin withdrawal, symptoms can include neurochemical imbalances, altered mood, and gastrointestinal distress. Yes, gluten can be a drug.

An individual whose immune system is making antibodies to gluteomorphins will have a much tougher time in the early phases of a gluten-free diet.

Traditional gluten testing does not look for gluteomorphin antibodies.

Wrapping It Up
Ugh! I hate when my blogs turn out this long. Another antibody to look for is prodynorphin. A basic building block of endorphins, the manufacturing of prodynorphin can become depleted in gluten sensitive individuals, leading to vulnerability to drug addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and a form of epilepsy (3).

Lastly, many gluten sensitive individuals go off of gluten and continue to have problems. This can be due to cross-reactivity with other foods, including rice, corn, quinoa, chocolate, cow’s milk, and more. Your best bet is to avoid all grains. And while you’re at it, cut out the legumes and dairy too. If you don’t think you can do this, I highly recommend you get tested for any cross-reactive foods.

So, how do you get tested for what today’s standard lab tests tend to miss? Well, as of today you can’t. Remember, I did say that this is a NEW paradigm of gluten sensitivity detection. After over a year of anticipation, Cyrex Laboratories will finally open its doors on January 11, 2011 and will make the definitive tests for gluten sensitivity available to the millions of people who desperately need them. For more information, please visit www.cyrexlabs.com. This is a very exciting time in the field of immunology and autoimmunity!

Again, I’m no expert on gluten sensitivity. Nor should any of us have to be in order to get the best testing possible for such a potentially debilitating condition. The effects of undiagnosed gluten sensitivity are far-reaching. It can literally affect all parts of the body and be involved in any disease process. You can be gluten sensitive and have absolutely no gastrointestinal symptoms. In fact, more people will have gluten disruption against the brain than against their intestinal tracts. It can be a silent killer slowly wearing down the body until enough destruction has occurred to warrant an autoimmune disease diagnosis. If the antibodies are present, autoimmunity can’t be far behind.

Get tested. And get the right test.

Hang tight. January 11th is right around the corner.

Disclaimer: The author is in no way affiliated with Cyrex Laboratories. He just thinks this stuff is really cool!

Sources
1. ACAM Podcast: Antibody Array for the Detection of Autoimmune Disease Disorders Associated with Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac Disease presented by Dr. Thomas O’Bryan. Available on iTunes
2. Dangerous Grains by James Braly, M.D., and Ron Hoggan, M.A.
3. Dr. Datis Kharrazian, Understanding the Complexity of Gluten Sensitivity lecture slide notes

Sean Croxton