More than two million people in the United States have been diagnosed with the disease, and yet, I believe, millions more are walking around with the disease/sensitivity unknowingly due to common misconceptions, misguided information, and inadequate medical testing. In the United States, it takes an average of 9 to 11 years for a proper diagnosis. If you’ve received a celiac diagnosis or discovered you are gluten intolerant earlier on: consider yourself lucky. If you’ve received a celiac diagnosis or discovered you are gluten intolerant earlier on: consider yourself lucky.
For many individuals, adopting a gluten-free diet can provide almost immediate relief and health improvements. However, for others, there are still underlying, lingering health challenges that seem to be left unaddressed by the mainstream medical community. The obvious—yet often ignored fact -is your body has endured significant damage over years and even decades from gluten, oftentimes leaving behind hidden immune and nutritional consequences.
So, the question remains: will adopting a 100% gluten-free diet repair the damage and imbalances that gluten has left behind? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Removing gluten from your diet is the first step. Without it, your health would continue to deteriorate it. It’s like putting out a blazing fire within your body: the fire is out and the smoke has cleared—preventing future damage—but now you’re left with quite a mess to repair and clean up.
Here is some of the hidden, lingering damage which I have observed that can be linked to gluten intolerance or Celiac disease:
GERD or Acid Reflux
Gluten can interfere with your body’s ability to produce hydrochloric acid, which is the very thing that helps to neutralize and break down food in our stomach in order for our small intestines to absorb it. Optimal levels of stomach acid are VITAL for unlocking perfect digestion.
Over time, low stomach acid can lead to symptoms of constipation, stomach bloating, foul-smelling gas, GERD and acid reflux, and even severe nutrient and vitamin deficiencies, especially B12, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and copper. Low levels of B12 can be the underlying cause of fatigue and even depression. Low mineral levels are linked to poor bone health, elevated blood sugar, and even dehydration. In addition, low stomach acid increases the likelihood of becoming infected with food-borne pathogens like E-coli and even c-Difficile ( think explosive, watery diarrhea) and developing bacterial infections like H pylori and SIBO. SIBO and H pylori
Yeast and Bacterial Overgrowth
Damage in the gut creates a conducive environment for yeast and bacteria to proliferate. Probiotics can help balance out the bacterial imbalance in your gut but will not eliminate the problem. Strategic dietary interventions and anti-microbial herbs will need to be used to help bring your levels back into balance.
Compromised Immunity
Believe it or not, 70% of your immune function, and the first line of immune defense, starts in your small intestines. What are you doing to address or identify how well your mucosal barrier is functioning? It’s the thick lining of mucus that protects the intestine from harmful agents. It can be measured and tested. The lower it measures, the more compromised you are, which eventually leads to loss of oral tolerance/ increased food sensitivities.
Hidden Parasitic Infections
Remember, a compromised immune system and unbalanced gut flora allow invaders to take over the intestines, creating a host of other symptoms and even life-threatening situations. In my experience, mainstream medical stool testing is inadequate and completely misses chronic parasitic infections. If you can recall the specific date that you go sick and your digestion and/or health hasn’t been the same since you most likely have a linguine parasite. Check out state-of-the art Functional Gut Testing here>>
Increased Food Sensitivities
One of the number one symptoms of chronic gut inflammation and damage is the development of multiple food sensitivities. Once the gut is damaged, you lose oral tolerance which means your body will become increasingly sensitive to everyday foods and spices. Minimizing the most common offending foods and working on gut rebuilding are paramount to eating normally again. Food rotation and choosing foods seasonally can be one way to minimize the risk of developing multiple food sensitivities. Before you rush out to get a food sensitivity test, must have your SIgA measured to ensure accurate results. Low SIgA will produce little to no results and high SIgA will cause your results to be skewed showing more food sensitivities than you actually have.
Impaired Liver/Gall Bladder Function
Once the digestive tract has been compromised and its delicate bacterial balance disrupted, the liver and gall bladder are asked to work exponentially harder to break down and eliminate internal toxins. Endotoxins are internal toxins that are given off by bacteria and fungi in your gut like candida. In fact, candida has been shown to release over 150 endotoxins. These toxins can be one of the reasons you have developed an inability to handle wine anymore and experience brain fog. If you’ve had your gall bladder removed, it would be very wise to cut gluten out immediately. Gluten may be the underlying reason why your gall bladder became diseased in the first place.
Imbalanced hormones, low thyroid function, and, lower cortisol production
Chronic inflammation caused by gluten drives a chronic stress response in the body which over time can lead to a host of seemly unrelated symptoms. It is linked to unexplained weight gain, inability to lose weight, poor sleep quality, feeling fatigued or unrested, increased stiffness or joint pain, lack of motivation and drive, and even depression and increased anxiety. Gluten is also a driver behind Hashimoto’s (the main cause of Hypothyroidism). Click here if you want to learn more about this connection and why.
If you’ve been “tested” for Celiac disease and/or had a biopsy done to rule out Celiac disease and it came back negative. Click here to learn why the biopsy and blood testing is completely flawed.
When working with my clients, I’ve found the damage left behind by gluten is as varied as the manner in which celiac disease presents itself. Problems can range from gastrointestinal to neurological. A strategic, scientific approach must be taken to cater to the bio-individuality of each person and help uncover the hidden damage that has been left behind. My goal is to uncover where the problem is rooted and then work to repair it for good.
Keri Brooks Health takes a comprehensive, strategic approach to identify, support, and heal the hidden damage created by gluten. Along with dietary and nutritional recommendations, Keri Brooks Health uses strategic-laboratory assessments to identify underlying dysfunction
Our unique Functional Medicine testing evaluates:
- Gut microbiome and specific probiotic levels
- Gall Bladder function
- Bacterial overgrowth and yeast overgrowth
- Parasitic infection and pathogenetic Bacterial infections
- Immune Function (SigA levels)
- Gluten antibodies ( gluten sensitivity testing)
- Food Sensitivities and Reactivity
- Nutrient and vitamin deficiencies
- Stress hormone levels and Sex hormones ( estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, melatonin, DHEA and cortisol)
- Estrogen metabolism
- Liver detox capacity ( how well your body is detoxing toxins)
Once testing is complete, we will employ several different modalities which includes dietary changes, lifestyle modification, Nervous system calming rituals, natural supplementation and nutritional therapies to improve your body’s function.
Aren’t you ready to experience what true healing actually looks and feels like?
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