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What’s in your gut?

In a lot of cases, part of the answer is “inflammation.” Gut inflammation may influence other parts of the body. That’s how I got into studying functional nutrition. Neuromuscular therapy clients started showing up with what appeared to be systemic inflammation. Bodywork can’t fix that. It’s nutritional. Sometimes, wheat sensitivity may be involved.

As we talked, people began asking questions like this: “Could gut upset be part of my situation even if my symptoms are somewhere else in my body (joint stiffness, mood issues, headaches, fatigue, and so on) and I poop like clockwork every morning? Where does it come from? What can we do?”

The answer: “It depends.” We explore it case by case.

I now live in the state of North Dakota, having moved here from metropolitan Detroit 17 years ago. I work with functional nutrition clients from this local area as well as from other parts of the US.

One thing I probably don’t have to mention about North Dakota. Agriculture is the primary industry here. The primary commodity crop is wheat. In fact, according to the North Dakota Wheat Commission, 9 million acres of our state are planted in wheat crops each year.

Wheat!?

Today, let’s look at one piece. Wheat sensitivity.

I know a lot of wheat farmers. They’re awesome people who mean you no harm. I mean them no harm by sharing this information. The truth is a lot of people do not tolerate today’s wheat-containing food products very well. Even some of the wheat farmers.

Fortunately, objective testing is available. If my clients want to know whether their body has an immune reaction to wheat (hellooo inflammation), it’s pretty easy to find out.

Objective Testing for Wheat Sensitivity

The test results pictured are from someone whose main health concern was a GI issue. I honor their courage in wanting to find out the effect that wheat might be having on their system.

Here’s what we learned from running a test called Wheat Zoomer. First, all the celiac disease markers came back negative. My client was happy to hear that! Next, intestinal permeability is an issue. (These markers are not illustrated.)

In addition (see graphic above):

1. They registered an immune reaction to wheat germ.
2. Five of the six gluten peptides explored on the test triggered an immune system reaction.
3. They registered an immune reaction to all five of the additional non-gluten wheat proteins measured.

Bottom line: In order to tame the fire in their gut, this person needs to strictly avoid both wheat (even wheatgrass juice / powder) and gluten (including barley and rye). It’s an adjustment. Fortunately, awareness of wheat sensitivity is becoming much more common, and the social aspect of trying to explain to Aunt Tilly that you can’t have a piece of her birthday cake is getting easier.

If you suspect that gut challenges may be slowing you down, I offer two suggestions:

#1. Pot luck tip: Contribute something you can eat!

#2. Need help figuring out what’s in your gut? We offer functional health testing and consultation. Check it out.