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The Top 5 Myths of the Gluten Free Diet Debunked

This article debunks the five major myths that seem to persist when it comes to the gluten-free diet.

  1. Gluten-Free Is a Weight Loss Diet

False. Removing gluten from your diet is not a weight loss diet.

Do some people lose weight? Yes. Why?

Many people have reported losing weight when they adopted a gluten-free diet. Losing ten to twenty pounds makes a big difference in how a person looks. People see this and ask, “What did you do?” The person replies, “I went gluten-free.” Other people hear, and since EVERYONE is “trying” to lose weight, the gluten-free diet becomes a weight loss diet…especially once reporters start spreading the word.

The gluten-free diet is not a weight loss diet, but weight loss can be a side effect. It was for me.

How does this weight loss work?

Two New FREE Holiday Cookbooks from Beyond Celiac

Beyond Celiac is the new name of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. Last year, we told you about Beyond Celiac’s three FREE cookbooks to help you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year!

Now, Beyond Celiac has two more free cookbooks to help you have a wonderful Holiday season. Whether it’s your first gluten-free holiday season, or if you’ve been doing this for years, you’ll find helpful information here.

The key to staying gluten-free during the holidays is to be prepared. Get gluten-free recipes for all of your holiday needs!

Just click the images to open each cookbook pdf. Then, save them to your computer, table or smartphone!

8 Must Have Gluten-Free Recipes for a Fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner

It is fall here in the United States. The weather is getting colder and the leaves are dropping. An important holiday is fast approaching.

Thanksgiving! This wonderful holiday was created when the colonial settlers ate with Native Americans who helped them survive the previous hard winter. Now we celebrate friends and family, give thanks for everything we have and EAT, EAT, EAT!

These 8 Must Have Recipes will help you deliver the best gluten-free Thanksgiving yet!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe

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Four Reasons Why People Stay Sick Even After Going Gluten-Free

The majority of people do not heal all the way after starting their gluten-free diet. According to one medical study, only 21% had normal cell structure. 69% had partial villous atrophy. 10% had total villous atrophy.

Why don’t people heal after starting a gluten-free diet? This video explains four things that stop us from getting better.

Vitamin C Deficiency

vitamin c gluten celiac disease symptomWhat Is Vitamin C?

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid or ascorbate, is an essential water soluble vitamin.

Fresh supplies of vitamin C are required every day to perform vital roles throughout the body among which are the production of connective tissue such as skin, blood vessels and bone, anti-inflammatory responses and anti-oxidant performance. See below for all roles.

Vitamin C fights for us! It has an anti-cancer effect stemming from its role as a potent anti-oxidant in blood plasma and within cells. It also protects nucleic acids (DNA) from oxidative damage and inhibits the formation of nitrosamines (carcinogenic compounds formed in the digestive tract).

Importantly, vitamin C can regenerate vitamin E from an oxidized state after vitamin E performs its own anti-oxidant role against free radicals and vitamin C works together with other anti-oxidants, such as beta-carotene and glutathione, to increase their overall anti-oxidant effect.

A study investigating the specific anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant micronutrients that reduce oxidative stress found that in adolescents with metabolic syndrome (MetS) the lower the vitamin C level in blood the worse the MetS status and blood uric acid level.  MetS prevalence was estimated at 7% among boys and 3% among girls.1

Vitamin C reverses osteoporosis by reducing or preventing oxidative stress that destroys living bone tissue. Osteoporosis is a disorder of bone inflammation that results in thin, weak bones that may easily fracture. In normal bone structure, vitamin C is required to form collagen, which is living bone tissue.

In humans, vitamin C reduces the duration of common cold symptoms, even if its effect is not clear.2

Vitamin C must be obtained from food daily because our bodies, unlike monkeys and other animals, cannot produce it.

Urinary excretion of vitamin C cannot be detected when vitamin intake is below the required levels. On the other hand, when intake exceeds saturation in the body, the vitamin and/or its metabolites are actively excreted into urine to prevent excessive toxicity of the vitamins.3

What Is Vitamin C Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. TGBeydoun MA, Canas JA, Beydoun HA, Chen X, Shroff MR, Zonderman AB. Serum antioxidant concentrations and metabolic syndrome are associated among U.S. adolescents in recent national surveys. J Nutr. 2012 Sep;142(9):1693-704. doi: 10.3945/jn.112.160416. [↩]
  2. Shaik-Dasthagirisaheb YB, Varvara G, Murmura G, Saggini A, Caraffa A, Antinolfi P, Tete’ S, Tripodi D, Conti F, Cianchetti E, Toniato E, Rosati M, Speranza L,Pantalone A, Saggini R, Tei M, Speziali A, Conti P, Theoharides TC, Pandolfi F. Role of vitamins D, E and C in immunity and inflammation. J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2013 Apr-Jun;27(2):291-5. [↩]
  3. Shibata K, Hirose J, Fukuwatari T. Relationship Between Urinary Concentrations of Nine Water-soluble Vitamins and their Vitamin Intakes in Japanese Adult Males. Nutr Metab Insights. 2014 Aug 5;7:61-75. doi: 10.4137/NMI.S17245. eCollection 2014. [↩]

Magnesium Deficiency

magnesium
Bananas Are a Good Source of Natural Magnesium.

What Is Magnesium?

Magnesium is an essential mineral predominantly found in the body within cells, where it is vital for their functions.

Here is a summary of what magnesium does in our body:

  1. Co-factor for over 300 enzymes involved in the metabolism of food components and synthesis of many compounds.
  2. Required for nerve transmission.
  3. Required for muscle activity (acts to relax muscles in opposition to calcium which acts to contract).
  4. Acts to maintain heart rhythm.
  5. Required for membrane transport and interactions.
  6. Required for glucose metabolism and energy production within cells.
  7. Component of bone mineralization and tooth formation.
  8. Plays a key role in calcium and phosphorus metabolism and management by parathyroid hormone.
  9. Maintains the structural and functional integrity of vital eye tissues such as lens.1

Only 1% of magnesium is found in blood, but the body must keep blood levels of magnesium constant.

What Is Magnesium Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Agarwal R, Iezhitsa I, Agarwal P, Spasov A. Magnesium deficiency: does it have a role to play in cataractogenesis? Exp Eye Res. 2012 Aug; 101:82-9. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2012.05.008. [↩]