Detox and Optimize your Liver (7 reasons and 3 awesome recipes inside!)

Hey Informed Beaute!

Did you know that if you're suffering from a hormonal imbalance, skin problems like acne or eczema, or even if you're feeling more fatigued than usual, this is a sign that your liver needs some love.

Your liver is a control center for detox pathways in the body.

It's constantly filtering out excess toxins, working with the kidney's to detox dangerous chemicals you breathe in from the air, and consume from food and water.

Detox and Optimize your Liver    

Your liver is one of the hardest working organs in your body. Responsible for over 500 functions, your liver performs essential roles in your metabolism, your immune system, your digestive system and your detoxification system.

The liver is most commonly known as the bodies main detox organ.  The liver filters every single quart of blood you have meaning that it is working all day and all night to protect your body from the damage that toxins can do to you.

Your liver is also responsible for filtering and processing all of your hormones. If your liver is not functioning properly it can lead to hormonal imbalances such as excess estrogens, faulty insulin production and more. If you are dealing with any kind of hormonal imbalance focusing some attention on your liver is essential

Liver Detoxification

The liver detoxes your body in two phases:

Phase 1: In phase one, the liver will take a toxin and convert it into a less harmful toxin through either oxidation, reduction or hydrolysis. Simply put, the liver makes something that was once very toxic into something that is less toxic through a chemical reaction. This process does create other toxic byproducts that need to be neutralized through the ingestion of anti-oxidants and in phase two detox.

Phase 2:  In phase two the liver attaches a buffer molecule to the toxin which makes it less toxic still. The toxin is then processed so that it becomes water-soluble which means that the body can now easily excrete it through the urine. Most toxins begin their journey in a fat soluble state which is very hard for the body to excrete.

Both phase one and phase two liver detox must be working optimally and in tandem for safe detoxification to happen. If you are not eating adequate nutrients, if either of the phases is working at a faster pace than the other phase or if you are over loading your system with toxins, you may run into troubles.

7 Reasons You May Need To Detox Your Liver

1. Eating a Diet Rich In Saturated and Processed Fats: If you are eating a lot of processed foods that contain processed fats (think margarine, canola oil, corn oil and peanut oil), fried foods, or lots of non organic animal foods your liver will be working over time. That is because these foods all need to be processed by the liver and they are hard to break down and digest.  They also produce lots of toxic byproducts when being digested.

2. Eating A Diet Rich In Processed Carbohydrates: In the same way that processed fats can over tax the liver, processed carbohydrate foods like white breads, white pastas, sugary drinks and candies all demand extra effort from your liver to keep your blood sugar levels stable as well as to remove the toxic substances these foods contain. Eating a processed carbohydrate rich diet will mean your liver is working over time.

3. Drinking Alcohol or Taking Prescription Medication: The liver has to filter every single substance you ingest, and alcohol and drugs are some of the hardest for it to filter. Consuming too many of these substances over a period of time can lead to liver damage, and even fatty liver or cirrhosis of the liver. These substances can actually inhibit the proper functioning of your liver, making them extra toxic.

4. Breathing Polluted Air: The air you breath can be amazing and pure, or stagnant and full of pollutants. If you are living in a city and are exposed to car exhaust, air conditioner, cleaning products, second-hand smoke (or first hand smoke), and other industrial byproducts your liver may need a boost. All of the toxins you breath in through your lungs must run through your liver to be processed. This means that toxic air can lead to an over loaded liver.

5. Not Getting Enough Sleep and Rest: In order for the liver to perform optimally, you need to be getting enough sleep. The liver is most active between the hours of 1 and 3 am. If you are consistently not getting to bed early enough so that you are in a deep sleep by the time the liver kicks in it is possible that it is not getting the time and space it needs to do its job properly. Adequate rest is essential for a healthy, optimally functioning liver.

6. Over Exercising: This one may surprise you, but did you know that working out causes the production of free radicals? Now, this is not to say that you should not work out in order to avoid free radical production. On the contrary, getting adequate activity is essential for pumping your blood and your lymph so that they move through the liver more efficiently which supports the detox process. However when you are over working yourself you will start to over produce free radicals that the liver may not have the resources to properly deal with in a timely matter. If you have been over training it is possible that you need to take a break and give a little love to your liver.

7. Eating A Nutrient Poor Diet Overall: As mentioned in the description of the liver above, both phases of liver detox reply upon essential nutrients to facilitate their function. For example phase one relies upon a steady supply of Vitamin C, folic acid, Vitamin B3 and B6 and Vitamin E, just to name a few.  Phase two requires that you are ingesting plenty of sources of essential amino acids like Glycine and Taurine, as well as Calcium. If you have been eating a diet that is low in nutrition (ie a diet rich in processed foods, or a diet that is just not providing you with adequate food and calories overall) you may need to detox your liver because there is a chance that it will be over run with toxins that it was not able to deal with due to the lack of nutrients.

3 Awesome Liver Detox Recipes

If you feel that your liver could use a boost, try adding one of these recipes to your daily diet for a few weeks.

1. Liver Boosting Beet Juice:

• 1 beet

• 1 carrot

• 1 lemon, peeled

• 1 handful parsley

Instructions: Run all ingredients through a juicer and enjoy.

2. Deep Green Liver Detox:

• 1/2 cucumber

• 2 cups kale

• 1 lime, peeled

• 1 cup swiss chard

• 1/2 lemon, peeled

Instructions: Run all ingredients through a juicer and enjoy.

3. Liver Detox Green Smoothie:

2 oranges, peeled

• 1/2 rib celery

• 1 lemon, peeled

• 1/2 cup dandelion greens (or other bitter green)

• 1/2 cup parsley

Directions: Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Enjoy!

Bonus Liver Supporting Foods and Herbs

Here is a list of foods that you can ingest on a regular basis to help support your liver and its detoxification processes:

• Beets

• Carrots

• Lemons

• Limes

• Grapefruits

• Dark Leafy Greens

• Sulphur rich foods like onions and garlic

• Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower

Beet Root: Taken as a supplement, beet root can help to cleanse the liver of impurities.

Bitters: Bitters will help your liver to produce bile, an essential function in the digestion of fats. These herbs can help to support overall liver function.

Burdock Root: Burdock root is an extremely bitter root that is a powerful blood purifier. This will help to support your liver in its blood filtering work.

Dandelion Root: Dandelion root works to support the cleansing of the liver.

Milk Thistle: Milk thistle can work to cleanse and repair the liver tissues. This is most likely the most common of the liver supporting herbs.

Not sure if your body is showing the signs of a sluggish liver or a liver in need of detox?  Click here to visit the young raw site for  The 7 Reasons You May Want to Detox Your Liver.

Guest Blog & Thank You:  youngandraw.com

Optimize, Repolarize and Detoxify with Polar Mins! (One of our best kept secrets inside)

Optimize your beautiful health with Polar Mins!   

This is one of my favorite "little secrets" to optimizing both the value of nutrition, and your very own health internally and externally.  Learn more about Polar Mins, and the easy - key assets it brings to your every day life.  

Main Benefits:

• Polar Mins detoxifies and repolarizes raw, uncooked fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and other raw foods.     

• Helps to remove harmful pesticide residues.

• Helps with rapid repolarization of your body.

•   A Geomagnetic, Colloidal Ocean Mineral Concentrate from the South Pole.

•   The most complete, electrochemically charged and trace element mineral tonic in the world

•     A rich, natural and highly concentrated source of all minerals and trace elements from the deep, pristine Southern Ocean near Antarctica

•     100:1 concentrate: 1 gallon of Polar Mins is equal to the minerals found in 100 gallons of ocean water

•     Derived by a proprietary sun-evaporation process from ultra-pure Antarctic-originated water; over 97% of the salt (NaCl) has been removed, leaving a pure, highly ionized mineral concentrate

•     Natural, ionized minerals are the most easily absorbed and are necessary for literally all body functions as well as efficient, deep-seated detoxification *

•     Excellent as a mineral spray to detoxify and repolarize food

•     A highly electrically charged mineral concentrate for whole body super-health and wellbeing *

The Origin of Polar Mins

The Southern Ocean surrounding the South Pole. Polar Mins come from one of the purest, most uncontaminated oceans on earth, the Southern Ocean, located near the South Magnetic Pole - the point on the Earth's surface where the geomagnetic field lines are directed vertically upwards - producing unusually excellent mineral ionization.

The highly ionized minerals in Polar Mins assist in breaking down chemical accumulation within the body. These same minerals are also easily absorbed by cells and aids in hydration and flushing out toxins. Only a small amount in a glass of drinking water is needed to deliver these ionized minerals.

How to Detoxify and Re-polarize Food

To detoxify and repolarize raw, uncooked fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and other raw foods, fill a spray bottle with 90% purified water and 10% Polar Mins by volume. Shake a few times to mix the ingredients. For each individual food item (such as a tomato, apple, or banana), spray over approximately 4 times, wait 30 seconds and rinse before eating.  For other produce like collard greens and broccoli, spray the stems or roots in addition to spraying the entire food item, wait for 30 seconds and rinse thoroughly. When soaking nuts, grains, and legumes, add a few drops to the soak water. Make sure to rinse thoroughly.

Since a raw food item is still in a living state, the Polar Mins spray acts as an excellent electrochemical "foliar feed," supplying badly needed ionized minerals to detoxify any toxic components of the food as well as allowing the food item to absorb highly beneficial minerals which helps create electromagnetically superior "structured water" inside its cells. This procedure is excellent even for organic foods which are still typically deficient in mineral content (as compared to optimal mineral levels).

Dermal Mist

The Polar Mins Spray may also be used to "mist" skin areas on the body such as the arms, legs, face, head, hair, etc. Just as raw foods are able to absorb ionized minerals, human skin can easily absorb them as well. Use 1 to 4 sprays at a time on various body areas (spray directly on bare skin) as an excellent energy boost or to supply ionized minerals to specific body areas. To avoid unnecessary detoxification, allow some time between misting (if more than 4 sprays are used).

Keeping Your Plants Healthy

House plants love Polar Mins! For enhanced, more luxuriant plant growth (inside or out), either water them with a 10% solution of Polar Mins once a month or spray them frequently. Plants need ionized minerals, too!

The Phosphate Dilemma

Food grown on land that has been treated with commercial forms of acid-treated phosphates do not incorporate the phosphate into its molecular structure, but instead, trap the phosphate in a free form. In contrast, natural electrochemical colloids (as found in sea minerals) prevent this effect, so the phosphate can be properly arranged within its molecule.

When people eat commercial foods grown with excessive amounts of acid-treated phosphates, they excrete a high percentage in their urine. In contrast, foods grown with colloidal phosphate have a balanced phosphate structure in their cells; when people eat these foods, the body will conserve them and not need to dump them out in the urine. People who go on high levels of raw foods that have been grown on soils treated with acid-treated phosphate will begin to have health concerns with their water balance, creating artificial dehydration.

This is one of the main reasons for steaming or boiling commercially grown vegetables and grains. The heating process releases trapped free phosphates which would be harmful, yet leaves good colloid phosphates already in place to be active when consumed. It is best to throw out the leftover water from steaming or boiling commercial produce because it will be high in free phosphates.

Worldwide research (from Popp, Korzykski, LeBon, Picardi, Sckwenk) has demonstrated the importance of electrochemical compound colloids. Researcher Albert Popp of Germany found that the structure of water is determined by minute quantities of electrochemical compound colloids. The structuring of water in body fluids can enhance or detract from the transmission of blueprint information to DNA. If the water in body fluids is more structured (and therefore will have a higher surface electrical charge), it will have a higher energy potential. This means the water, through the effect of the electrochemical colloids, will be able to transport energy (such as heat, electromagnetic energies) at much higher, more efficient levels in and out of cells - in short, increased cellular energy and function.

Sea minerals are very high in electrochemical compound colloids so when consumed, the body can function at much higher efficiency. Polar Mins are an unusually excellent source of the full spectrum of sea minerals from the deep, pristine sea near Antarctica so they deliver a superior source of colloids for immediate use by the body's cells.

Polar Mins

Serving Size: 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon)

Servings Per Container: about 100

Sodium   90mg

Potassium   116mg

Calcium   0.02mg

Magnesium   422mg

Sulfur   69mg

Carbon   109mg

100% pure Antarctic-derived mineral concentrate  (over 97% of salt has been removed)

All supplements are sold at Kasia, and may be ordered via telephone.  Stop by Kasia Organic Salon for additional questions.    612 824 7611

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This health product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.  Health Products USA recommends consulting a physician before taking any health supplements.

Lemon + Ginger + Green Detox Smoothie

Try this fantastic smoothie for your post holiday munchies!

 Spicy Lemon Green Smoothie

1 frozen banana 1 celery rib ½ field cucumber ½ lemon, peeled 1-inch piece ginger root 1 cup water or coconut water

Health Benefits

Lemon and ginger are a match made in nutrition and flavor heaven. Lemon is amazing for helping to cleanse the liver and ginger is great for cleansing the digestive tract. If your liver is processing toxins but you are not eliminating them through your bowels, you may be at risk for re-absorbing those toxins. Lemon and ginger are a detox super duo.

Reference: Raw Living

The ROOT of an Autoimmune Disease and 8 Lifestyle Tips

The one thing connected to almost every known chronic disease — from heart disease to cancer, diabetes to obesity, autism to dementia, acne to hair loss and even depression is INFLAMMATION!

Other inflammatory diseases such as allergies, asthma, arthritis, and autoimmune disease are increasing at dramatic rates. Conventional doctors are trained to shut off inflammation with aspirin, anti-inflammatory medication such as Advil or Motrin, steroids, and increasingly more powerful immune suppressing medication with serious side effects.

But alternative doctors are trained to find and treat the underlying causes of inflammation in chronic disease. Hidden allergens, infections, environmental toxins, an inflammatory diet, and stress are the real causes of these inflammatory conditions.

Autoimmune diseases, specifically, now affect 24 million people and include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroid disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and more.

So how are they addressed? By powerful immune suppressing medication and not by addressing the cause. That’s like taking a lot of aspirin while hitting your thumb with a hammer. The treatment is not more aspirin or a strong immune suppressant, but removing the hammer. It you want to stop inflammation in the body, you must find the source. Treat the fire, not the smoke. In the allopathic world they are mostly taught to diagnose disease by symptoms, NOT by their underlying cause.

In Functional medicine, the emerging 21st century paradigm of systems medicine, teaches us to treat the cause, not just the symptoms, to take a thorough history and exam to find out the diagnosis of your patient! Functional medicine is a different way of thinking about disease that helps us understand and treat the real causes of inflammation instead of finding clever ways to shut it down. Medicine as it is practiced today is like putting a band-aid on a gapping wound instead of stitching it while the body bleeds to death!

Autoimmune diseases are the result of an uncontrolled immune response also known as systemic inflammation that results in your body attacking its own tissues.

Why is it when the patient described how he cured his autoimmune disease by finding and eliminating the causes of inflammation in his diet and environment, the medical doctors dismiss it as a “spontaneous remission.” Instead of being more inquisitive and trying to find out more information, these doctors are hardly curious and quickly dismissive. What kind of health care is that?

Autoimmunity: What it is and How it Occurs

We are facing an epidemic of allergic (60 million people), asthmatic (30 million people), and autoimmune disorders (24 million people). Autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, celiac, thyroid disease, and the many other hard-to-classify syndromes in the 21st century. These are all autoimmune conditions, and at their root they are connected by one central process: An uncontrolled immune response also known as systemic inflammation that results in your body attacking its own tissues.

Your immune system is your defense against foreign invaders. It is your internal army and has to clearly distinguish these invaders — to know you from others. Autoimmunity occurs when your immune system gets confused and your own tissues get caught in the cross-fire.

Your body is fighting something — an infection, a toxin, an allergen, a food or the stress response — and somehow it redirects its hostile attack on your joints, your brain, your thyroid, your gut, your skin, or sometimes your whole body. This immune confusion results from what is referred to as molecular mimicking. Conventional approaches don’t have a method for finding the insult causing the problem. Functional medicine provides a map to find out which molecule the cells are mimicking.

Another interesting fact: Autoimmune diseases are seldomly found in countries that lack running water and sterilization. They occur almost exclusively in developed countries. Playing in the dirt, being dirty, and being exposed to bugs and infections trains your immune system to recognize what is foreign and what is “you.”

Autoimmune diseases, are a huge health burden in the US.  They are the eighth leading cause of death among women, shortening the average patient’s lifespan by eight years. The annual health care cost for autoimmune diseases is $120 billion a year representing nearly twice the economic health care burden of cancer (about $ 70 billion a year).

Unfortunately, many of the conventional treatments available can make you feel worse. Anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, steroids, immune suppressants like methotrexate, and the new TNF-alpha blockers like Enbrel or Remicade can lead to intestinal bleeding, kidney failure, depression, psychosis, osteoporosis, muscle loss, and diabetes, not to mention overwhelming infection and cancer.(ii)

These drugs are not a long-term solution. They shouldn’t be the end of treatment. There is another way to deal with autoimmune conditions.

Recovering from Autoimmunity: Addressing the Root Causes of Inflammation

Using a functional medicine approach, a new way of thinking about the underlying causes and imbalances in chronic disease, begin asking some simple questions. Then hunt for toxins, allergens, and infections — all common causes of inflammation — and find the real causes of the symptoms. Order labs and other necessary tests.

Start cleaning house, get rid of food allergies,fix the gut, and detox. Then heal the immune system by supporting it with nutrients. Start a clean, whole-foods, allergen-free, anti-inflammatory diet. The results will reflect addressing the root of the health problems and treating the underlying causes of what ails you instead of suppressing symptoms with medications.

If you have an autoimmune disease, here is what you need to think about and do.

Eight Steps to Treating Autoimmune Disease

1.    Check for hidden infections — yeast, viruses, bacteria, Lyme, etc. — with the help of a chiropractic physician, who can order labs, stool analysis and saliva tests and treat them. 2.    Check for hidden food allergens with IgG food testing or elimination diet. 3.    Get tested for celiac disease, which is a blood test that your chiropractic physician can do. 4.    Get checked for heavy metal toxicity. Mercury and other metals can cause autoimmunity. 5.    Fix your gut. 6.    Use nutrients that your chiropractic physician prescribes to help calm your immune response naturally. 7.    Exercise regularly — it’s a natural anti-inflammatory. 8.    Practice deep relaxation like yoga, deep breathing, biofeedback, or massage, because stress worsens the immune response.

Give these steps a try — and see if you don’t start feeling less inflamed. The answers are right in front of you. Treat the underlying causes of your illness and you will begin to experience vibrant "beautiful health: once more.

Guest Post and Thank You :  Dr Elena Morreale

Cleansing Green Berry Smoothie

As we go on our merry way into the holiday, here is another great beatuiful health CLEANSING smoothie recipe.  The lemon will also help to flush out your liver, boost your immune system, while the ginger will cleanse and clear your digestive tract.

Deep Green Berry Cleanser 1 celery rib ½ field cucumber 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries ⅓ bunch parsley ⅓ bunch cilantro 1-inch piece ginger root 1 tbsp hemp seeds or chia seeds 1 lemon, juiced 1 cup coconut water or water

Health Benefits This smoothie is very cleansing.  The celery and cucumber are rich in water which will help to hydrate and flush out your system.  The berries are rich in fibre which will help to cleanse the colon, as well as protecting your body from free radical damage.  Parsley will help to clean your kidneys, while cilantro will work on cleansing and supporting your liver.

The lemon will also help to flush out your liver, as well as boosting your immune system. The ginger will cleanse and clear your digestive tract along with the chia seeds.  All in all, you should feel totally nourished and squeaky clean after this smoothie!

Thank you Young and Raw

Easy * No-Bake* Gluten-Free Coconut Almond Butter Cookies

Add these yummy cookies to your Thanksgiving menu.   They are healthy and a great alternative for the kids to munch on after the feast.   As a follower of  the "no grain" movement, this super cookie is super high in protein - which will not send your blood sugar racing thru the roof.   Heck, they can even be served for a quick breakfast treat for your guests with some warm almond milk and fresh fruit.

Gluten-Free * Dairy-Free * Vegan * Raw * Soy-Free

Prep time:  10 mins  - Total time:  10 mins - Serves: 8

Ingredients

·       1 cup raw almonds

·       ½ cup almond butter

·       1 cup pitted Medjool dates

·       ½ tsp. organic almond extract

·       ¼ tsp. sea salt

·       pinch of pepper

·       2 Tbsp. coconut flakes

·       2 Tbsp. mini dairy-free chocolate chips such as Enjoy Life Foods

·       1 cup gluten-free puffed rice cereal

Instructions

Combine almonds, almond butter, dates, almond extract, sea salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until smooth; transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add chocolate chips, coconut flakes and puffed rice cereal; mix well using hands and roll into 1 inch golf-sized balls. Add more rice cereal if needed to form balls. Place balls on a baking sheet and transfer to the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.    

Serving Size: 1 Cookie Calories: 385.7 cal * Fat: 23.4 g * Protein: 8.9 g * Carb: 42.5 g * Fiber: 8.0 g * Sugar: 31.1 g * Sodium: 76.7 mg

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Amie Valpone & The Healthy Apple 

Shocking Reasons Why Gluten is Bad For You

Guest post by Kris Gunnars

Awareness of the negative health effects of gluten has increased in the past few years.

One 2013 survey shows that a third of Americans are actively trying to eliminate gluten from their diets.

But gluten-free is more than just the latest fad… there are multiple studies showing that gluten can cause harmful effects.

Here are 6 shocking reasons to avoid gluten.

1. Celiac Disease is on The Rise and Most People Remain Undiagnosed

Gluten is a protein composite found in several types of grains, including wheat, spelt, rye and barley.

Gluten consists of two proteins… gliadin and glutenin. It is the gliadin part that people react negatively to.

When flour is mixed with water, gluten forms a sticky cross-linked network of proteins, giving elastic properties to dough and allowing bread to rise when baked (1).

Actually, the name gluten is derived from these glue-like properties.

When gluten reaches the digestive tract and is exposed to the cells of the immune system, they mistakenly believe that it is coming from some sort of foreign invader, like a bacteria.

In certain people who are sensitive to gluten, this causes the immune system to mount an attack against it.

In celiac disease (the most severe form of gluten sensitivity), the immune system attacks the gluten proteins, but it also attacks an enzyme in the cells of the digestive tract called tissue transglutaminase.

Therefore, gluten exposure in celiacs causes the immune system to attack both the gluten as well as the intestinal wall itself. For this reason, celiac disease is classified as an autoimmune disease.

The immune reaction can cause degeneration of the intestinal wall, which leads to nutrient deficiencies, various digestive issues, anemia, fatigue, failure to thrive as well as an increased risk of many serious diseases.

Celiac disease is believed to afflict about 1% of people, but it may be more common (over 2%) in the elderly (2, 3, 4). There are also studies showing that the rate of celiac disease is increasing rapidly in the population (5, 6).

Keep in mind that a large percentage of celiacs don’t even have abdominal symptoms, making diagnosis on clinical grounds very difficult.

The symptoms might manifest themselves in different ways, like fatigue, anemia… or something much worse, like a doubled risk of death in several studies (7, 8).

According to one study, over 80% of people with celiac disease don’t even know that they have it (9).

Bottom Line: Celiac disease currently afflicts about 1% of the population, but the prevalence is increasing. 80% of people with celiac disease are unaware of it.

2. Gluten Sensitivity is Much More Common and Can Also Have Serious Consequences

You don’t need to have full-blown celiac disease to have adverse reactions to gluten.

There is another disorder called gluten sensitivity (or gluten intolerance), which is much more common.

Although there is no clear definition of gluten sensitivity, it basically means having some sort of adverse reaction to gluten and an improvement in symptoms on a gluten-free diet.

If you have adverse reactions to gluten, but celiac disease is ruled out, then it is called non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

In non-celiac gluten sensitivity, there is no attack on the body’s own tissues. However, many of the symptoms are similar to those in celiac disease, including bloating, stomach pain, fatigue, diarrhea, as well as pain in the bones and joints.

Unfortunately… because there is no clear way of diagnosing gluten sensitivity, reliable numbers on how common it is are impossible to find.

There are two sources showing that up to 6-8% people may have gluten sensitivity, based on anti-gliadin antibodies found in the blood (10, 11).

However, one gastroenterologist found that 11% of people had antibodies against gluten in their blood and 29% of people had antibodies against it in stool samples (12).

About 40% of people carry the HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 genes, which make people susceptible to gluten sensitivity (13).

Given that there is no clear definition of gluten sensitivity, or a good way to diagnose it, the only true way of knowing is by eliminating gluten temporarily from your diet, then reintroducing it to see if you have symptoms.

3. Gluten May Cause Adverse Effects, Even in People Who Don’t Have Gluten Sensitivity

There are also studies showing that individuals with neither celiac disease nor diagnosed gluten sensitivity have adverse reactions to gluten.

In one of these studies, 34 individuals with irritable bowel syndrome were randomized to either a gluten-containing or a gluten-free diet.

The group on the gluten-containing diet had more pain, bloating, stool inconsistency and fatigue compared to the other group (14).

There are also studies showing that gluten can cause inflammation in the intestine and a degenerated intestinal lining (15, 16).

Gluten may also have negative effects on the barrier function of the intestine, allowing unwanted substances to “leak” through into the bloodstream (17, 18, 19, 20).

However, according to one study, this “leakiness” of the gut only happens in celiac patients (21).

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) involves various digestive issues with an unknown cause, afflicting about 14% of people in the U.S. According to the studies above, some cases of IBS may be either caused or exacerbated by gluten (22, 23, 24).

Although this needs to be studied a lot more, it seems very clear that many more people than just celiac patients react negatively to gluten (25, 26, 27).

Bottom Line: Several studies show that individuals (especially IBS patients) who don’t have diagnosed gluten sensitivity can have adverse reactions to gluten.

4. Many Brain Disorders Are Associated With Gluten and Patients See Dramatic Improvements on a Gluten-Free Diet

Even though gluten primarily works its “magic” in the gut, it can also have severe effects on the brain.

Many cases of neurological illness may be caused and/or exacerbated by gluten consumption. This is called gluten-sensitive idiopathic neuropathy.

In a study of patients with neurological illness of an unknown cause, 30 of 53 patients (57%) had antibodies against gluten in the blood (28).

The main neurological disorder believed to be at least partly caused by gluten is cerebellar ataxia, a serious disease of the brain that involves an inability to coordinate balance, movements, problems talking, etc.

It is now known that many cases of ataxia are directly linked to gluten consumption. This is called gluten ataxia and involves irreversible damage to the cerebellum, a part of the brain that is important in motor control (29).

Many studies show strong statistical associations between gluten consumption, gluten sensitivity and cerebellar ataxia (30, 31). There is also a controlled trial showing that ataxia patients improve significantly on a gluten-free diet (32).

There are several other brain disorders that respond well to a gluten-free diet:

• Schizophrenia: A subset of schizophrenia patients sees massive improvements by removing gluten (33, 34, 35).
• Autism: Several studies suggest that people with autism see improvements in symptoms on a gluten-free diet (36, 37).
• Epilepsy: There are several reports of patients with epilepsy improving significantly when removing gluten (38, 39, 40).

If you have any neurological problems and your doctor doesn’t have a clue what is causing them… then it makes sense to try removing gluten from your diet.

Bottom Line: Several disorders of the brain respond well to a gluten-free diet, including autism, schizophrenia and a rare form of epilepsy.

5. Wheat Gluten May be Addictive

There are many people who believe that wheat may be addictive.

Getting unnatural cravings for things like bread or donuts is very common.

Even though this is far from being proven, there are some studies suggesting that gluten may have addictive properties

When gluten is broken down in a test tube, the peptides that are formed can activate opioid receptors (41).

These peptides (small proteins) are called gluten exorphins.

Exorphin = peptide that is not formed in the body, that can activate opioid receptors in the brain.

Given that gluten may cause increased permeability in the intestine (at least in celiac patients), some believe that these exorphins can find their way into the bloodstream, then reaching the brain and causing addiction.

Gluten exorphins have been found in the blood of celiac patients (42).

There is also some evidence from animal studies that these opioid-like peptides derived from gluten can make it into the brain (43, 44, 45).

It is well known in various food addiction circles that wheat is one of the most addictive foods there are (right after sugar).

This doesn’t prove anything of course, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Bottom Line: Many people report getting unnatural cravings for wheat and there is some evidence of gluten having opioid-like effects. However, this is definitely not proven and is mostly speculation at this point.

6. Gluten is Associated With Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases are caused by the immune system attacking things that are found naturally in the body.

There are many types of autoimmune diseases that affect various organ systems.

All of them combined afflict about 3% of the population (46, 47).

Celiac disease is one type of autoimmune disease and celiac patients are at a drastically increased risk of getting other autoimmune diseases as well (48).

Many studies have found strong statistical associations between gluten, celiac disease and various other autoimmune diseases, including Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple sclerosis and various others (49, 50, 51).

Additionally, celiac disease is associated with a ton of other serious diseases, many of which have nothing to do with digestion.

Bottom Line: Studies show strong statistical association between gluten, celiac disease and various autoimmune diseases.

Eliminate Gluten For 30 Days… Seriously

Of course, it is far from being definitively proven that gluten causes harm in a large percentage of people and that most people would do best by avoiding it.

This area is in desperate need of some more research. However, the evidence that we DO have is pretty damning.

Until more research is done, I think the cautionary principle should apply… why eat something that is highly likely to cause harm and lead to disease, when you could eat something else instead that definitely won’t harm you?

Also keep in mind that wheat (the unhealthiest grain, by far) can be problematic for many reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the gluten.

At the end of the day, the only way to know if you should avoid gluten or not, is to remove it from your diet, then reintroduce it and see if you get symptoms.

If you completely eliminate gluten for 30 days (no cheating), then eat a meal with gluten and experience adverse effects, then you probably have gluten sensitivity and should make a serious effort to avoid it.

If you have any mysterious health issues, then you owe it to yourself to try a gluten-free diet for 30 days. You have nothing to lose and it may end up saving your life.

Creamy Pineapple Anti-inflammatory Smoothie

Pineapples contain bromelain enzyme which is a powerful anti-inflammatory.  This famous pain relieving enzyme has been synthesized and isolated into supplements to treat inflammation and pain naturally.

Ginger contains very powerful anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols. These substances are believed to explain why so many people with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis experience reductions in their pain levels and improvements in their mobility when they consume  ginger regularly.

Enjoy these ingredient benefits in this fabulous smoothie below! 

Creamy Dreamy Cleanse Smoothie

1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple ½ avocado 2 cups green leaf lettuce 1-inch piece ginger root 1 cup water or coconut water

Health Benefits Avocado is one of the most nutrient dense foods you can eat.  It is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all essential amino acids your body needs to function. It is a rich source of healthy fats including omega 3 fatty acids. It is also a good source of calories to provide you with lots of fuel for your day! It will add a creamy, thick consistency to your smoothie which is nice and satisfying.

Crosspost from Young and Raw