Introduction to gluten
The word “gluten” derives from the English word “glue” (which already does not sound very appetizing). Gluten is a protein found in grains: wheat, oats, rye, millet, barley and sorghum.
Which foods contain gluten?
Foods such as bread, cereal, cookies, pasta, biscuits, beer, vodka, cakes, mayonnaise, sauces, sausages, crab sticks — all contain gluten.
A huge number of modern foods contain so-called hidden gluten, added to the composition of the product for its ability to thicken and glue. For example, wheat starch is used to make a thick and smooth consistency in ice cream and yogurt, and there are traces of gluten contained in milk chocolate.
The extent of damage from gluten.
Gluten is so harmful to human health that many scientists emphasize that the consumption of gluten is not inferior to the habit of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
Gluten grains interfere with the normal operation of our intestinal villi.
Gluten prevents our intestinal villi from fully absorbing and digesting food. Instead, the products slip by and nutrients do not have time that they need to be absorbed.
Gluten — the cause of celiac disease.
In 1950, a Dutch pediatrician named Dicke first linked the cause of celiac disease (a digestive disorder caused by damage to the intestinal villi) to gluten, a protein in cereals or grains. Two years later, for the treatment of celiac disease, a diet without foods containing gluten was first used (called the besglyutenovaya diet in Dutch).
Anatomy of cereals:
All grain cereals follow ternary anatomy:
1) Bran — the outer shell is solid, whole grains.
2) Endosperm — consists mainly of starch with an admixture of protein. This energy reserve grain growing embryo.
3) Germ — the place where the embryo is formed (reproductive part of the grain).
Amino acids and difficult to digest cereal prolamins.
Amino acids prolamins (proteins rich in proline) are very difficult for the human body to digest and therefore remain intact, despite all attempts to split their digestive process. The result is an irritation of the digestive tract and constant inflammation.
Insidious lectins.
Cereal proteins called lectins also cause problems, since they are not degraded, participating in digestion, leaving large, whole proteins in the gut’s digestive tract. This lack of complete protein digestion leads to serious problems.
If the immune system attacks agglutinin wheatgerm (APT) and works against the generated antibodies (because the body thinks agglutinin is a bacterium or virus), the antibody will bind not only with the APP, it may also make contact with the protein in the pancreas and the damage causes diabetes.
Gluten and autoimmune diseases.
Many people are familiar with a disease called celiac disease — an autoimmune disease caused by gluten and lectins.
If the mucous membrane is damaged by cereals, dairy products, and legumes, then there is a predisposition to autoimmune diseases (including multiple sclerosis, diabetes, scleroderma, diffuse toxic goiter, systemic lupus erythematous, and cancer) and allergies to foods that are usually safe.
Stagnation of bile.
When the intestinal mucosa is damaged, a chemical mediator (CCK) is released. CCK (cholecystokinin) typically sends an "on" of the gallbladder and pancreas. When this signal is blocked, our gastrointestinal digestive tract cannot properly digest food, especially fats and proteins. Stagnation of bile causes the formation of cholesterol crystals, and this leads to gallstones.
A typical medical practice is a radical removal of the gallbladder. Gallstones are a symptom of the problem, acting as an alarm. Rather than treat the cause (excluding from the diet cereals and pulses), we cut out the gallbladder. People who have their gallbladder removed almost certainly begin to suffer from celiac disease and other digestive problems.
No signal of satiety.
Gluten not only severely affects the entire digestive process, but also causes the normal signals of satiety to be missing. We cannot digest food normally, we are always “hungry," and the very foods that we want, refined grains and foods high in sugar, are causing the problem.
Protease inhibitors.
The next critical element of chemical protection against the enemy is a group of enzymes called protease inhibitors. Protease inhibitors stop the process of digestion of proteins. This means that when we eat cereals, we cannot efficiently digest protein.
Phytates and mineral deficiency.
Another player against harmful anti-nutrients is phytate. Phytate is important to cereals and beans, because they bind tightly to metal ions (such as zinc, magnesium, iron, copper and calcium), which are essential for the growth of grasses and development. Without phytate, grains may grow ahead of time, and therefore die.
When we eat cereals, the phytates tightly bind calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron. This means that these valuable minerals are unavailable for absorption.
"Balanced" diet and the human diet
You diligently pursue a "balanced" diet consisting of whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and beans as recommended by your doctor or dietitian. However, you’ve got osteoporosis, iron deficiency anemia, fatigue, or you are from suffering heart problems due to lack of magnesium. This empirically proves grasses are harmful.
Proper digestion is a key element to our health.
Using Swedish Bitters on daily basis before or after the meal, plays a huge benefit in enhancing bile secretion. According to a study published in a 2011 issue of "International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition." Taste receptors for bitter substances trigger your pancreas to secrete digestive enzymes and your gall bladder to release bile which is a key element for your healthy digestion.