Have you been experiencing gas and bloating, irritable bowel behavior (constipation or diarrhea), irritability,  and even insomnia? It might be stress, but you might have gluten intolerance. As part of our nutrition evaluation services for both new and current patients here at Chiropractic Health & Acupuncture (Rochester, NY),  we look at sensitivities for gluten tolerance.
Gluten is a protein composite in foods that have been processed from wheat and related species of grain, such as barley and rye. It makes dough more elastic and can make final products more chewy in texture.  The name comes from the Latin for glue.
Gluten sensitivity can cause a variety of health problems, primarily as a result of celiac disease, a condition that prevents people from digesting foods that contain gluten. The incidence of celiac disease is increasing in the United States – one person in 133 in developed nations can’t tolerate gluten and, according to a recent study, as many as five times more people have the disease today than in the 1950s.
Those common symptoms of gluten intolerance cover a lot of territory. This is why you need to rule it out; a lot of times, there’s nothing to measure. The etiology or cause of gluten intolerance can be quite enigmatic, because the symptoms are familiar and often mistaken for other conditions. You could have gluten intolerance for several years, see a doctor often because of the unpleasant symptoms and still not get appropriate treatment.
Since gluten is used in products such as beer and soy sauce, and as a stabilizing agent in ice cream or ketchup, it can cause problems even with people trying to follow a gluten-free diet.
Being allergic to wheat is not the same as having celiac disease. There is no cure for celiac disease, but it can be managed with a gluten-free diet.
Some pet foods include gluten because it enhances protein content.
Increased awareness about gluten sensitivity has led to more labels about gluten on packaged foods in grocery and health-food stores, and more information about a gluten-free diet.
That’s where Steven Sadlon and Chiropractic Health & Acupuncture come in. We use specialty evaluation methods to determine whether gluten intolerance is the cause of your problems with digestive enzymes. It’s important to figure this out because you can eat a pristine diet and still feel sick; the problem isn’t necessarily eating a “Big Mac/Ding-Dong” diet, but the fact that you can’t digest the items in a poor diet. It’s not that “you are what you eat”; it’s that you are what your body processes.
Every time you eat something, your white blood cell goes up; if you eat junk food, it goes up a lot. When you eat something your system can’t handle, your immune system has to pick up the slack. That’s when you get liver/kidney overload, or something like gout – your body has nowhere to put the crystals that develop, and the result is pain, discomfort and other more-serious conditions.
At Chiropractic Health & Acupuncture, part of our treatment for gluten intolerance is to help you avoid dietary stressors and look at other sources for relieving your discomfort. We can provide digestive enzymes that can help heal inflamed tissue. Some are Chinese herbs and other Western approaches with more familiar names; some we carry in our practice.
In any case, you need a program tailored to you individually, and that requires a careful evaluation. Contact Chiropractic Health & Acupuncture today for an appointment to have your symptoms evaluated so we can provide suggestions for you. As part of our chiropractic approach to your better health, we can help you identify whether your symptoms are due to gluten intolerance, and provide some of the digestive enzymes and herbs you may need.