by Christine Andrew, CNC, CFDM

Ten years ago I never heard about gluten intolerance or celiac disease although it has been in existance for over 100 years. Five years ago after being diagnosed with gluten intolerance, it was difficult to find a gluten- free loaf of bread, let alone any other gluten-free product. Now there are rows and aisles filled with gluten-free products from which to choose.

• Why has there been such a skyrocket in gluten-free products in such a short span of time?
• Has the number of people with gluten intolerances and celiac disease increase that much, or are more people adopting the gluten-free way of life as a healthy choice?
• Is this truly a healthy choice?

First, let’s look at what gluten is. It is the insoluble protein called gliadin in wheat, barley, and rye. It is the “glue” that binds ingredients together and allows flour to rise. Gluten is in all breads, cakes, cookies, crackers, cereals, pie, noodles, and other flour containing food products. Essentially, it is what the standard American diet has flourished on over the past 50-70 years.

Celiac Disease on the other hand is an auto-immune digestive disorder triggered by gluten intake or genetics. It is a disease of malabsorption where the mucosal villi of the intestinal wall is so damaged nutrients, vitamins, and minerals cannot be absorbed. Each time gluten is eaten, the body’s immune system attacks the small intestine and results in inflammation. When the villi are damaged enough, the body doesn’t absorb the nutrients. Failure to thrive is one result.

It is reported that 1 in 100 are diagnosed with CD. Fifty years ago 1 in 700 were diagnosed. Dr. Mark Hyman reports that there has been a 400 percent increase in the incidences of celiac. How does this happen? How does someone acquire food intolerances? One reason is our lack of genetic adaptation to grasses and gluten in our diet. According to Mark Hyman, M.D., American strains of wheat have a much higher gluten content which is needed to make the light fluffy, “Wonderbread” and bagels. Celiac is doubling every ten years possibly because of changes in how wheat is grown and processed. Modern practices like hybridizing alter molecules in the body, which in turn change the body’s immune response. Genetically modified wheat crops have much higher gluten content which may overburden the digestive system.

Another possibility is the over indulgence in certain foods. Americans have been taught by the former USDA food pyramid to consume the bulk of their daily diet with grains. Add to that the introduction of fast food, Americans have been indulging in breads, cakes, pies, cookies, bagels, hamburger/hotdog buns, muffins, cereals—all thinking these are healthy. Gluten protein causes an immunological reaction in the small intestine, then over time with constant indulgence in these foods, leads to damaged villi from inflammation. This is what is known as “leaky gut.” A poor diet will eventually lead to an inability to cope.

A third way we acquire gluten intolerance and celiac is through trauma- whether physical or emotional. Accidents, surgery, emotional strain, etc., stresses the body and creates inflammatory processes that could very well lead the intestinal environment vulnerable.

Is going on a wheat-free/gluten-free diet the healthiest choice? Not necessarily. First, wheat-free is not necessarily gluten-free. Second, food labels currently do not always refer to gluten. Also, there are dangers with cross contamination. Oats do not contain gluten, but if oatmeal is processed in a facility that also processes wheat, then there is cross contamination. Next, many people when embarking on a gluten free diet start substituting the alternatives to what they were previously consuming, i.e., gluten- free breads, cakes, pies, cookies, crackers, muffins, etc. These foods are still refined carbohydrates and will lead to blood sugar spikes, inflammation, and will precipitate other food intolerances and further damage the small intestine. Refined carbohydrates are low in nutrients and fiber, high in starch, increases appetites, and can cause difficulties in concentration and weight management. All grains are proinflammatory. Gluten-free grains are not any healthier. Taken in moderation with conscientiousness of thought, a “gluten-free” diet is a healthy choice. However, a “gluten-free” diet can also mean, no grains at all.

To truly manage gluten intolerance and celiac, you must first eliminate all wheat and gluten products—which are hidden in many processed foods and non-food products. I advise people to refrain from even gluten-free grains as much as possible . The intestinal villi need time to recover, and substituting with another refined carbohydrate will prolong the recovery process and lead you vulnerable to another food intollerance. If you have to have a grain food, then there might be an underlying condition that needs to be addressed. Second in gluten/celiac management, is support with nutrient deficiencies. All cases of celiac and gluten intolerance have nutritional deficiencies caused by the compromised gut health. It is important as part of the healing process to find the correct nutrients that are deficient.

In addition, I recommend receiving education about the condition. Read books, or attend classes on Gluten-free eating. If you wish to have a consultation to evaluate your health or to find out if you are gluten intolerant or have celiac, then fill out the form in the contact section of this website.

Christine Andrew, CNC

“A well tuned body doesn’t run well on inferior fuel.” MT. Morter, M.D.

Getting an engine into top running form, you have to put in the right parts, fuel, and oils. I can adjust the mechanical and electrical systems and get the parts working correctly, but if the owner put the wrong kind of fuel in the tank, the well-tuned engine could be ruined.

pH stands for potential hydrogen. It is the measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of a solution. There are different potencies for different fluids in the body and out of the body. Citric acid in fruit will not harm you. But hydrochloric acid in a chemistry lab can drill a hole through flesh.

Water has a pH of 7.0. It is neutral. The lower the number, the more acidic the solution. The higher the number, the more alkaline the solution. There is a tenfold difference between each unit. For example, ph 5.0 is ten times more acid than ph 6.0, but pH 4.0 is one hundred times (10×10) more acid than pH 6.0. Minor variations in the pH can make a significant difference in the way your body functions and in your health potential.

Your body is an alkaline entity by design, except for the stomach. yet acid-producing by function. All bodily fluid is supposed to be 7.0 or above on the pH scale. Cells operate in an alkaline environment, yet acid is produced as they function, and cells that are alive, function all the time. This acid by itself won’t damage your body because it is a weak acid that is easily eliminated by your lungs. When you exercise your body is getting rid of the acid generated by the hard working cells.

Another source of acid comes from acid ash food. This must be neutralized before it can be eliminated through the kidneys. If you eat the same kinds of food as the Standard American Diet, day after day, acid ash is left as it is processed in the body. Excess acid from acid ash foods can be eliminated, but it can’t be eliminated through the lungs. Dietary acid ash is eliminated through the kidneys. In this process, vital minerals are lost with it. Acid ash from foods can be eliminated through the kidneys and bowels, but it must first be neutralized through buffering. Otherwise, it would burn sensitive tissue on their way through the digestive tract.

Pain or burning on urination, or heartburn, is an indicator that the reserves of neutralizing minerals such as calcium are exhausted and that the body has adapted the way it functions for survival, not comfort. Natural treatments to ease the pain can help such as cranberry juice or ginger tea. This won’t affect the underlying cause and unless the person changes the way they eat, they will get sicker. The only way to improve the condition that caused the problem in the first place is to eat alkaline foods. If the acid ash produced by food isn’t neutralized, your body will become so toxic that it can no longer function.

Minerals are used by the body to buffer dietary acid ash foods. The most important minerals are sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium. You get these in fruits and vegetables. Just like having a bank account where you deposit and withdraw, you can take out all of the money at once and the bank account will be empty, or you can take out a little each day and it will take longer to bring down the amount. If you don’t make any deposits, eventually your money will be gone. The same goes with your Wellness Bank Account. Every time you eat acid ash foods, some of the precious minerals, sodium, from your bodily bank account is used up. If you don’t replace it with the minerals from fruits and vegetables, your valuable reserve of alkaline minerals will vanish and your body will become acidic. When your sodium reserves are used up, then your body will start to rob calcium from the bone bank. Osteoporosis develops when “your calcium has gone off to play hero and bail you out of the mess caused by your dietary habits.” Dr. Morter

Every day think about whether you are making a deposit or withdrawal with your Wellness Bank Account. What you eat, drink, think, and do will either make a deposit or withdrawal. Producing acid without depositing alkaline, your body must fight to maintain pH levels, and you are a prime candidate for progressive degenerative disease, or worse. What would an empty bank account do to you?

Cell phone usage is out of control for people of all ages in our society. In the early 1900’s smoking was fashionable. After 40 years there were many brands from which to choose. It was the “in” thing to do; no one ever thought about the health risks or possible addictions.

In the early 1980’s cell phones hit the market. At first they were only used for emergencies. Some 13 years later, 15 million Americans were using cell phones. Now in 2011, five billion people are exposed to cell phones. Talking and texting on cell phones have become the new “in” thing to do. As with cigarettes, cell phones were deemed safe by the FDA, and the majority of Americans never thought about possible health risks.

Debate over the health risks of cellphones continues, but a recent report from the World Health Organization reporting that cellphones are “possibly carcinogenic” is a step closer toward indicating that cell phones are not safe. In the last decade numerous warnings about cell phones have been published and generally dismissed. The state of Maine recognizes the risks and recently approved warning labels to be placed on cell phones. Robert Becker, M.D., of The Body Electric, says, “The cell phone is the most dangerous device ever created.”

What did we do before cell phones? I believe cell phone use has become the new addiction. What are addictions? According to J. Frascella of The National Institute of Drug Abuse, “Addictions are repetitive behavior.” K. DesMaison, Ph.D., says, “They are the habitual, physiological and psychological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one’s voluntary control.”

An addiction is the inability to walk away from the substance or activity. You can’t live without it. Is see this in society now. How many times have you sat in a restaurant and seen families sitting together, each with a cell phone texting or talking on the cell phone? They’re not even talking to each other. How many times have you seen people walking around holding their cell phone doing every day activities, such as shopping, laundry, walking the dog, taking the baby for a stroller ride, ride a bike, etc? These people are dependent on their cell phones; using them has become an addiction.

It is no longer only an adult activity. Attempting to keep up with the times, toy manufacturers and the media are making toy cell phones and cell phone ads that appeal to children, so that the obsession with talking on these devices starts at a very young age. Everyone at every age wants one. With free, unlimited minutes or texts, people are on their phones longer, exposing themselves and those around them. As with any addiction, the addict is not the only one affected; family members and those around them suffer too. When the addict doesn’t get their substance, what happens? Their behavior changes. Panic, even anger, sets in. Take away a cell phone from a teenager and what do you get?

The mechanism for all addictions is the same, whether it’s food, drugs, alcohol, or cell phones. We have a thermostat in the hypothalamus of the brain to control our appetite for food or other substances, according to our metabolism. This thermostat is disrupted in people with metabolic problems and cellular miscommunication.

What are the consequences of cell phone addictions? Health decline, social disassociations, auto accidents and death ( from accidents using cell phones). Ironically, cell phones represent a danger to our molecular cells.

In our bodies, health decline starts with cellular communication. Cells communicate in order to process and consume energy. If there is a miscommunication for a long period of time, then tissues, organs and organ systems begin to malfunction.

We have receptors on every cell membrane of every cell in our bodies. These receptors are chemical and vibrational. The vibrational receptors pick up signals which vibrate in the hertz range. As cell phone’s radio wave contacts the vibrational receptors on the cell membrane anywhere in the body, especially in the brain, the information carrying radio wave is recognized as a foreign invader and begins disrupting cellular communication and function. The body will then try to protect itself by shutting down the active transport channels in the cell membrane resulting in a change of the permeability of the cell membrane. Cell walls become hardened when they’re trying to protect themselves, trapping toxins in and keeping nutrients out. Toxic build-up over time creates free radicals and destroys mitochondria. When mitochondria can’t generate energy, cells can’t detoxify, and cell l-to-cell communication is lost. Free radical build up interferes with repair and replication of DNA. Hence, cancer can form. “Combined with poor nutrition, toxic chemical exposure and other factors, these electromagnetic fields might impair the body’s immune system through a collective influence,” says J. Geary of Popular Science, 2010. According to Sherrill Sellman, N.D., in 2007 of Electropollution, all aspects of life at the molecular, cellular, biochemical and physiological levels can potentially be damaged by electromagnetic radiation exposure.

With any addiction cessation program, support is vital for success.

It took two decades of study and 100 years of consumer use to gather enough data to meet research standards before the U.S. Surgeon General put warnings on cigarettes. Maine is on the right track with its new ruling. But how many peole must suffer the consequences of ill effects from cell phones before the link is recognized and the U.S. Surgeon General puts warnings in every state on every cell phone?

As a holistic health care provider, I would encourage you to not wait until the studies show positive conclusive evidence that cell phones are dangerous enough to cause cancer. Be proactive and start protecting yourself now.

Tips to protect yourself:

1. Cell phones are a lifestyle factor. Adjust your lifestyle first. Put the cell phone down away from your body.
2. Reduce the number of minutes spent on the phone.
3. Choose low-tech versions with less radiation. The new Droids and Blackberries have the highest EMF.
4. Switch the phone off at night.
5. Keep cell phones and other EMF generating devices away from vulnerable body parts.
6. Use speaker phone as much as possible.
7. Do not talk on a cell phone when pregnant or carrying a small child.
8. Use “airplane mode” or turn off the phone in public places.
9. Don’t talk on cell phones in vehicles. Besides the proven accidents this causes, these enclosed areas trap radiation and exposure is higher in enclosed metal surroundings. The phone has to use more power to maintain connections.
10. Avoid second-hand cell phone exposure. Like cigarettes, second hand smoke is just as dangerous. So, too, is second-hand cell phone exposure because you are between the transmitter and receiver of the other person’s cell phone. You are getting bombarded with the radiation and you are not even talking on your phone. Wi-fi spots are the worst for this.
11. Texting avoids the brain area, but you are still holding the electromagnetic device which puts your body at risk of exposure.
12. Pay attention to the signal bars on the display panel of your cell phone. Fewer bars indicates a weaker signal.
13. Use electromagnetic protectors, nutritional, and antioxidants specific for brain health.
14. Use a land-line phone more often than cell phones.

The electromagnetic world is here to stay, but each one of us is responsible for taking proactive steps to protect ourselves and our families from the dangers of cell phones. Make your goal to use the cell phone less each day. You might find your communication skills with your friends and family are improved. If you would like help with specific cell phone protection, home remediation, and nutritional consultations regarding this topic, email christineandrew@christyins.ipage.com.

Christine Andrew, CNC, CFDM is a certified nutrition consultant and certified functional diagnostic medicine consultant. She operates a holistic healthcare practice at Individualized Nutrition Services at 348 Cernon St. Ste A in downtown Vacaville.