The inability to digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, is epidemic and getting worse. According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, celiac disease — an incurable immune reaction to gluten — is four times more common than it was in the 1950s. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Many doctors believe that for every one patient diagnosed with celiac, there are 30 people who go undiagnosed. Even more people are unable to digest this protein, but they don’t have celiac disease. They have gluten intolerance, not an immune disease. Both celiac disease and gluten intolerance are incurable, permanent conditions. The only way to avoid their damage is to avoid eating even tiny amounts of wheat, rye, or barley. Misinformation about gluten can make this nearly impossible. And some gluten myths are coming from so-called experts.

You would think that all grains are healthful, especially whole grains. But they’re not. Some people just can’t digest gluten. This leads to inflammation and digestive symptoms, such as diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. It also can contribute to immune, autoimmune, and neurological problems, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Intestinal inflammation also can lead to irritable bowel disease, osteoporosis, iron-deficiency anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, and type-1 diabetes.

Eating gluten can cause or worsen all of these health problems. So we need to bust any myth that makes it more difficult to stay gluten-free.

My job is to expose myths. Recently someone gave me some information about gluten that sounded suspicious. I’m gluten intolerant, and this information was important to my health. It turned out to be just plain wrong. And it came from someone who is supposed to be an expert. Here are three claims about gluten you should ignore:

Myth #1: You need to avoid all skin care products and shampoos that contain gluten.

A registered dietician who works for a marketing firm contacted me with this misinformation. She calls herself an expert on celiac disease and gluten intolerance. I call her a health care unprofessional who doesn’t check her information thoroughly enough.

She said that people with either celiac disease or gluten intolerance need to avoid even traces of this protein in their skin care products as well as in their diet. She explained that some of the gluten in lotions, shampoos, and makeup can be absorbed into the skin and could cause internal inflammation.

She’s wrong.

According to Dr. John Zone, MD, a dermatologist and recognized celiac expert, gluten must be ingested by mouth before it can cause any problems. Why? Because the gluten molecule is too large to be absorbed through the skin!
The only products with gluten that could possibly cause an adverse reaction would be either lipstick or lip gloss, since you could possibly eat it off and have a reaction. So slather yourself with products made with wheat germ, oats, and other sources of gluten to your heart’s content. They won’t harm you at all.

Myth #2: Hydrochloric acid (HCl) cancels out digestive enzymes, so never take them together

Many people with gluten intolerance take digestive enzymes. One reason is that our bodies make less of them as we age. These enzymes can’t digest gluten, but they help break down other proteins. In addition to taking these broad-spectrum enzymes, a number of people — especially those over the age of 50 — also take hydrochloric acid (HCl). HCl helps digest many proteins and minerals, such as calcium and iron.

If you have to take these enzymes and HCl at different times, it becomes more difficult to remember when to take which. Then, if you decide to take the specific enzymes that help digest gluten, timing becomes even more of a problem. The last thing you want is to have to take these enzymes and HCl at different times. But this is precisely what the head of an enzyme manufacturing company told me was necessary.

“Never take enzymes at the same time as hydrochloric acid,” he told me. “They’ll cancel each other out.”

He’s wrong.

Enzymes can only cancel out the effect of HCl if they change your pH and neutralize stomach acids. Enzymes made from animals (such as pancreatic enzymes) can do this. That’s why manufacturers usually enteric coat their pills or make them in tablet form to prevent this reaction. But many digestive enzymes, especially enzymes that digest gluten, are plant-based. So you can take any plant-based enzymes with HCl. I’ll tell you about one that specifically digests gluten in a minute.

Myth #3: Gluten-free meals in restaurants
are free of gluten

Recently two friends and I ate dinner at a local upscale restaurant. The waiter and chef both knew what “no gluten” meant, and even left the bread off an appetizer plate we shared so that there would be no cross-contamination. There was no flour in anything I ate that I could see. Yet, shortly after dinner I began having digestive distress that lasted until I took an enzyme that digests gluten. Then my symptoms disappeared.

It’s almost impossible to avoid all traces of gluten when eating out. Whether you’re at a friend’s house, at a potluck, or in a restaurant, gluten can slip onto your plate and into your mouth before you realize it. And even a smidgen of flour on a cook’s hands or a splash of soy sauce in a sauce can set off digestive problems or silent inflammation in some people. Ask for gluten-free foods, but don’t trust even the most conscientious chef or waiter completely.

They could be wrong.

The next time you’re eating out, ask if there’s any gluten in the dishes you want to eat. Then, take one or two capsules of an enzyme that digests gluten as insurance. Yes. Such a product exists!

Gluten-digesting enzymes

They aren’t easy to find, but enzymes that digest gluten are now available. Taking them can make the difference between being successful on a gluten-free diet and failing.

Not all enzymes digest all foods. One enzyme, known as DPP-IV (dipeptidyl peptidase IV), can help break down the parts of gluten molecules that cause a harmful immune response and avoid a reaction if you eat only a small amount. But DPP-IV can’t do this job alone. It needs to be combined with other specific enzymes.

Not all enzymes containing DPP-IV activity are alike. Some are stronger than others. Some companies advertise their products as having high DPP-IV activity based on the amount of HUT it contains. But HUTs indicate general protein digesting potency, not DPP-IV activity. A supplement can have a lot of HUTs with low or no DPP-IV digestive activity. In other words, when it comes to digesting gluten, it can look strong but not be strong. The truth is there’s no generally accepted method for measuring DPP-IV activity.

A few months ago, I asked my supplement formulators to design a powerful anti-gluten enzyme that could outperform the products already on the market. They did. This product is called Gluten Sensitivity Formula (800-791-3395). If you have or suspect you have a gluten sensitivity or intolerance, you’ll want to have a bottle or two of this formula on hand.

Gluten Sensitivity Formula is not designed so you can freely eat foods with gluten in any amounts. But it can minimize or eliminate a reaction when you inadvertently eat small amounts, like fish dusted with flour or a salad dressing made with soy sauce. Gluten Sensitivity Formula makes it possible for you to be completely gluten-free.

Here’s a bonus. This formula will also digest casein (dairy protein). So if you suspect your digestive problems come from eating wheat or dairy, try taking this enzyme formula and see how you feel.

Kuehn, Bridget M. “Enzymes may cut celiac symptoms,” JAMA, July 26, 2006.

Forget Those High-Priced Drinks and Powders — Here Are Some Superfruits You Can Afford

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of hearing about the extraordinary benefits of so-called “superfruits.” Many of them are fruits I’ve never heard of until they were put into high-priced powders and liquids and marketed as miracle foods. It’s not unusual to find that a superfruit product will set you back $50 to $80 a month or more if you take the recommended dose. Add to this that a lot
of them have no human studies to back up their claims – just folklore. That’s not enough for me.

According to David Wolfe in his book Superfoods, what makes a food “super” is that it has more than one or two unique healthful properties. But don’t ordinary fruits that you can buy at your local grocers have these same properties? Let’s take a look at the benefits of just a few fruits you can find – and afford – in most supermarkets.

Blueberries can improve your memory, says the first published study on this subject in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. For this study, adults over 70 with some memory decline drank 2 to 2 ½ cups of blueberry juice a day for two months. The control group drank a beverage without blueberries. Those who drank blueberry juice had a significant improvement on learning and memory tests. A Swedish study found that blueberry fiber reduces inflammation in the colon. This effect is increased when participants ate blueberries with probiotics. If you have ulcerative colitis or any other intestinal problem, you may want to eat yogurt with blueberries for breakfast or lunch.

Grapes and grape juice, as well as wine, are high in resveratrol. Resveratrol decreases the stickiness of blood, prevents arteries from constricting, and helps lower cholesterol. In addition, studies indicate it has anti-cancer properties including the ability to detoxify carcinogens. Since grapes are high in sugar, you may want to limit the amount you eat and take a resveratrol supplement.

Cherries: There are sweet cherries and tart cherries. Both have medicinal qualities, but tart cherries and their juice have more. A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine ( June 21, 2006) found that people who drank two glasses of tart cherry juice a day for eight days prevented the symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage. Other studies showed that eating Bing cherries decreased inflammation and lowered the risk for gout, heart disease, and pain.

Mango is never mentioned as a superfruit, but a new study by Texas AgriLife Research food scientists found it prevents or stops colon and breast cancer cells from growing without harming normal cells. Mangoes are not high in antioxidants, but anything that stops cancer has super properties in my book.

Pomegranates have strong anti-inflammatory properties. The fruit and juice prevent and treat cancer, heart disease, diabetes, bacterial infections, and antibiotic resistance. In fact, there are more than 100 scientific papers published on the benefits of pomegranates in the past decade. You can always find pomegranate juice in health food stores, and the fruit each fall and winter.

Etc, etc, etc: This is just the beginning. All fruits dark in color, such as berries, apricots, cranberries, and persimmons, are high in antioxidants. All fruits have some medicinal properties. So do vegetables. So eat a variety of brightly colored produce. You don’t need to buy the high-priced products — unless you find them to be particularly helpful.

How much do you need?

Not as much as you may have been led to believe. The main reason why many superfruits are so expensive is that they’re high in ORAC units. Some marketers are saying that the higher the ORAC units, the better. This is not true.
ORAC means oxygen radical absorbance capacity. It is a measure of the antioxidant value in a fruit. Many of the tropical “superfruits” with unfamiliar names are high in ORAC. But this doesn’t mean they are better for you than one lower in ORAC.

Dr. Ronald Prior of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service at Tufts University agrees with me. He said, “In order to have a significant impact on plasma and tissue antioxidant capacity one can only meaningfully increase one’s daily intake by 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units. Any greater amount is probably redundant. That is because the antioxidant capacity of the blood is tightly regulated. Taking in 25,000 ORAC units at one time would be no more beneficial than taking in a fifth of that amount: the excess is simply excreted by the kidneys.”

In fact, too many antioxidants can be harmful. Very high levels of antioxidants can cause a harmful pro-oxidant effect and actually suppress your immune system. And that’s not all.

This year, researchers at Kansas State University found that antioxidants suppress key signaling mechanisms that are necessary for muscles to function effectively. While most people believe that “more is better,” there’s a delicate balance between anti- and pro-oxidants. Very high amounts of antioxidants can make a problem worse.

Antioxidants are valuable only if they protect you. You may have enough of a nutrient in your body, but if it’s not activated, or if it doesn’t have enough co-factors, it may not function normally. Zinc is one example of an important co-factor that’s often too low to allow your immune system to respond.

Antioxidants support your immune system by fighting free radicals, but without sufficient zinc, some antioxidants can’t respond.

It’s the function of antioxidants that counts. If you want to know how antioxidants function in your body, SpectraCell Labs can test you. Call 800-227-5227 and ask for information on their FIA test. You may need more co-factors, not more antioxidants.

“Antioxidants Aren’t Always Beneficial to Your Health and Can Sometimes Impair Muscle Function,” Medical News Today, 27 January 2010.

Boerner, Paula, PhD. “Functional intracellular analysis of nutritional and antioxidant status,” Journal of Amer Nutraceut Assn, 2001, vol 4, no 1.

Moss, Ralph W., PhD. Weekly CancerDecisions.com, May 16, 2004.

“Blueberry juice improves memory in older adults,” Science Daily, January 21, 2010.

“Blueberries counteract intestinal diseases,” February 9, 2010, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/178551.php.

“Mango effective in preventing, stopping certain colon, breast cell lines,” Science Daily, January 13, 2010.

The Overlooked Deficiency That Leads to Fibromyalgia, Breast Disease, and Obesity

There’s a nutrient deficiency that’s much more common than you — and your doctor — may think. It’s been associated primarily with thyroid function, but it causes a lot more harm than that. Insufficient amounts of this essential element contribute to many other health problems, including cancer.

Doctors are seeing very low levels in women with breast cancer. But it causes numerous other conditions. These include subclinical hypothyroidism, Graves’ disease, autoimmune thyroiditis, fibromyalgia, polycystic ovary syndrome, fibrocystic breast disease, obesity, sleep apnea, cardiac arrhythmia, diabetes (both types), hypertension, and hormone resistance syndromes. The problem is, this deficiency is not only common, it’s difficult to diagnose.

I’m talking about iodine insufficiency. If you have any of the above conditions and haven’t had your iodine levels checked, you could be missing an important part of the solution to your problem. Just testing your thyroid through blood tests is not enough. They’re not only limited in their ability to assess thyroid problems, they don’t measure iodine levels.

The RDA for iodine is 0.15 mg. But Dr. Guy E. Abraham, research gynecologist and endocrinologist, says we need 50 mg of iodine and iodide a day — 400 times more than the RDA. He has studied iodine for years and published a number of scientific studies on the subject. Dr. Abraham found that more than 90% of us are low in iodine. When we take this larger amount, iodine acts as an adaptogen, regulating various body functions. That’s why it affects so many illnesses. Iodine may, in fact, be nature’s ultimate adaptogen — if you get enough of it.

Your body needs two forms of iodine. Your breasts need iodine, while your thyroid uses iodide. A supplement containing both is ideal. This is available in a supplement designed by Dr. Abraham. I’ll tell you in a moment how you can get it.

Sufficient iodine normalizes hormone receptors, regulates the thyroid, reduces fibromyalgia in patients with low thyroid function, protects the breasts, supports the adrenal glands, helps the stomach make hydrochloric acid (HCl), and improves immunity. You can read more about what iodine does in past articles available on my website.

I first wrote about iodine insufficiency eight years ago, and was the first person to talk about Dr. Abraham’s iodine-loading test. Basically, this test shows whether or not a person is iodine-deficient based on sufficiency in the whole body.

Some of the information on obtaining this test has changed. So please disregard past information on the Iodine Loading Test through FFP Lab and replace it with this updated information.

How to get tested

Dr. Jorges Flechas, MD, along with David Brownstein, MD and Dr Abraham, have treated more than 4,000 patients with iodine insufficiency. They agree that the initial iodine test should be the Iodine Spot and Loading Test, not just the loading test. The two tests cost $117 plus $2.50 for the needed Iodoral tablets. A follow-up iodine loading test — the one I’ve talked about in past articles — is $80.

You can order these test kits from Dr. Flechas’ lab, FFP Laboratory (877-900-5556). But the lab must give the results to a doctor. If your doctor won’t accept your results, you can request an information package from FFP, which includes patient history forms. Fill them out and send them back to the lab. They will then send the results of your test to you.

And what’s even more important is that you will then have the option to ask Dr. Flechas to go over your test results with you in a personalized consultation. Dr. Flechas is one of the most experienced doctors using iodine therapy in the world. This is a rare opportunity.

There are other follow-up tests available if you should need them to better target an effective program. Dr. Flechas can help you understand which, if any, would be helpful. When you call the lab to order your test kit, ask them for a complete list of all their tests. For more information, check out their website at www.ffplab.org.

If you need an iodine supplement, Iodoral is available through FFP (828-684-3233) and on several Internet sites. A similar formula, Iodine Complex, is available through ProThera (888-488-2488). Both products come in two strengths, depending on how much you need.

Hoption, Cann SA. “Hypothesis: dietary iodine intake in the etiology of cardiovascular disease,” J Am Coll Nutr, 2006.

Abraham, G.E., et al. “Orthoiodosupplementation: Iodine sufficiency of the whole human body,” The Original Internist, 9:30-41, 2002.

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

It’s Time to Re-Think Cookbooks

I stopped buying and reading cookbooks years ago. I’ve been cooking and baking most of my life. But I don’t like to spend my time making complex recipes even if they’re delicious. When I want something that takes a long time to make, I eat out. What I want now are tasty, nutrient-dense meals that take very little time to prepare. And I’m not alone. Many women, especially those who live alone, don’t like to fix big meals. Then there are the cancer patients and women who either don’t have much of an appetite or who don’t know how to fix nutritious meals. They feel the same way.

Recently I found a cookbook that is a “must read” for everyone who falls into these categories. You’ll be healthier and more satisfied with your meals when you make some of their simple, tasty recipes.

This book is the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen (Ten Speed Press, 2009, $32.50) by Chef Rebecca Katz of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Marin County, California. It is all about nutritious foods with tastes designed to tempt the palate of cancer patients on chemotherapy and radiation. These cancer patients typically don’t want to eat much of anything. But it applies to all of us at various times in our lives.

From the simple Lemon Mustard Salmon Salad — which has become a staple for me — to the Middle Eastern Chickpea Burgers, Katz’s book is filled with familiar and unfamiliar recipes — all of which look and taste delicious. If you’re gluten-intolerant, be watchful. In addition to recipes containing (wheat) flour, some of Rebecca’s recipes include spelt — a form of wheat you need to avoid. But there are plenty of recipes that are great for those avoiding gluten. You can find Rebecca’s book at most bookstores.

LETTERS

Q: My multivitamin has 10,000 IU of vitamin A. My eye vitamin has 17,500 IU. And an enzyme I take has 10,075 IU. Is this too much? — M.H., e-mail

A: Vitamin A is the name for a group of fat-soluble vitamins. Carotenoids are plant-based nutrients that make vitamin A. Vitamin A can be toxic in high amounts, but carotenoids are not.

I doubt that you’re taking as much vitamin A as you think. Some of it is likely to be in the form of carotenoids. It’s safe to take large doses of carotenoids. They don’t cause toxicity.

Vitamin A, on the other hand, can be toxic at levels of 25,000 to 100,000 IU per day if taken for very long. Toxicity at these levels is more likely to occur if you have hepatitis or other liver disease, or if you’re particularly sensitive to this vitamin.

Pharmacist Suzy Cohen, RPh, in her excellent book Drug Muggers (www.dearpharmacist.com), explains that side effects like orange skin (which goes away on its own), diarrhea, easy bruising, and joint pain could occur at doses of 100,000 IU per day. But any symptoms of vitamin A toxicity disappear when you stop taking it.

Most supplements contain both vitamin A and carotenoids (such as beta carotene).

I have designed the supplements from Advanced Bionutritionals to be safe when taken in combination with each other. So you’ll see that Advanced Vision Formula contains vitamin A only in the form of carotenoids.

The multivitamin Women’s Vitality has both vitamin A and carotenoids. You won’t be getting too much Vitamin A with these products.

Q: Why are so many supplements put in capsules? I can’t take them. They hurt my throat going down. Do you have any suggestions for taking the supplements I want and need to take that only come in capsules? — B.R., e-mail

A: Many people have difficulty swallowing tablets or capsules. Sometimes there’s a psychological reason for this, other times it’s physiological.

The gelatin in capsules gets a little sticky when it becomes wet and can get stuck in the throat. When this happens, it’s difficult to try to swallow capsules again. Especially since you may be taking several of them every day.

But I’ve found a solution that works for most people who have trouble swallowing either capsules or tablets.

When you swallow a mouthful of chewed food, does it hurt your throat? I doubt it, even if it’s a hard, scratchy food like a raw carrot.

So try chewing your food well, and pop a capsule (or tablet) in your mouth before swallowing. Your supplement should slide down easily with your food.
Most people take their supplements with a liquid after their meals. I don’t like to drink a lot with a full stomach. So taking my supplements with my food works best for me. A friend gave me this suggestion more than 30 years ago and it’s helped me — and many others — ever since.