The Gluten Effect: How Innocent Wheat is Ruining Your Health
May 9, 2010 by Nancy
Filed under Book Reviews
By Drs. Vikki & Richard Petersen, doctors of chiropractic, certified nutritionists and founders of the HealthNOW Method and clinic in Sunnyvale, CA, which “combines the best elements of traditional and functional medicine into an approach that treats the underlying root cause of health problems.”
One of the reasons I find book so helpful is that this is not a celiac specific book, not that there aren’t a need for those as well. Many doctors just do not understand the vast number of health issues related to sensitivity to gluten.
The Petersen’s not only understand that gluten can cause a multitude of health problems, but they suggest that you buy a copy of their book to educate your own doctor on these issues. While there is a chapter on celiac disease, there are also chapters that address the countless other major diseases and disorders that have a direct link to gluten.
Here’s what you’ll find in the book:
Section One: Introduction to gluten sensitivity, history of grains, your immune system
Section Two: Is gluten the culprit behind your symptoms? Digestive problems, brain and nervous system, autoimmune disorders, and more.
Section Three: The mainstream gluten disorders: Celiac, Autism, ADD, ADHD, Arthritis, Sjogrens Syndrome, Diabetes, IBS, Thyroid disorders, Osteoporosis, and more.
Section Four: Other Gluten related disorders including depression, weight gain, Fibromyalgia, memory loss, skin disorders and many more.
Section Five: Finding and eliminating the cause: diagnosing gluten sensitivity
This book is very interesting and informative. It’s divided into small, bite-sized sections with many real-life success stories thrown in from the Petersen’s practice. Chances are that you will read about someone who you can relate to: Teens with migraines, a diabetic who no longer has glucose problems, and many, many other amazing stories of hope for patients who suffered needlessly for years before discovering their gluten sensitivities.
Buy the book on amazon.com
or on their website.
Congratulations to the 3 winners of our book giveaway. We hope to do another one at some point.
I was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease last month, so I don’t know a whole lot about it right now. This looks like a very informative book.
I for years have fought psoriasis and digestions issues. When I took wheat and gluten out of my diet I realized that I had been poisoning my body for years, and the skin and other health problems were a sign. I see how just about everything I ate on a daily basis was filled with ingredients that my body could not handle. After changing what I eat and paying attention to what I put in my body I am much happier and healthier, and also angry at what food manufacturers feed us to cut costs.
I would love to win a copy of this book. I have discovered that gluten doesn’t react well for me and my kids and I am slowly learning how to rethink meals and make choices eliminating gluten. Not to mention I have numerous friends that have to be on gluten free diets that I can share this book with.
Hello,
My husband was diagnosed 3 yrs. ago with Celiac disease .. He almost died from it.. He was miss diagnosed mutiple times.. He now feels better than he ever has.. Our whole family has started to convert ~~
This book looks really interesting and I love to read about nutrition and how certain foods effect the body. Being diagnosed with Celiac was devastating at first, but now I see it as a blessing.
I was just diagnosed with Celiac disease slightly over a year ago. This book is so exciting! I can’t wait to read it
I was recently diagnosed with a wheat allergy. It is very hard to find good wheat-free foods. Also I don’t understand how I can be allergic to wheat but gluten!!!!
I would love the chance to read this book and maybe understand my health/dietary issues better.
My husband was diagnosed a few years ago with allergies to wheat and various other foods, and since then has been avoiding those foods. Our son (11) and I have naturally cut down on wheat in our diet but not totally omitted it. I was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and have read a couple of places that some choose GF diet… I really want to learn more about this. Additionally, if hubby has allergy and I have health issues that some of which perhaps could be mitigated by GF diet, what are the positives and negatives for our son?
Look forward to reading the book. Thanks for the opportunity to win it!
My chiropractor suggested I try gluten free after struggling with migraines and undiagnosed aches and pains…I am feeling alot better and although I still get migraines with weather changes, they are not as severe, and many of my unknown aches and pains are going away
I discovered a few months ago that gluten could cause a lot of the symptoms I was having. I thought I’d try living without for a couple weeks to see if I felt any better. It is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. I’m no longer gaining weight, IBS that I’ve been plagued with for years.. COMPLETELY gone. Stomach aches I’ve had for years. COMPLETELY gone. I’ve since tried gluten on 3 occasions and within 2 hours I was sick each time. I will officially be tested for Celiac when I visit my Dr. next month, but it really doesn’t matter what the test tells me. My body does not react well to gluten so I will continue to be gluten free.
Please keep getting the truth out there. I am so frustrated with docs who have no clue about the real issues associated with gluten, specifically celiac disease.
I was just diagnosed and I am having a depressing time trying to cope. I can’t eat the foods I love. I have almost no choices when I eat out. The worst has to be when i planned for 3 weeks to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings with friends. The company told me what I could have and how to have it cooked, but when I got there they wouldn’t do what the company said they would. I just want to cry most of the time.
I can’t wait to read your book! Hope I win!!!
My son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2002 as a 2 year old, knowing nothing then. . . I have learned a lot since and now run a support group for families of children on a gluten free diet. I love learning new things to share with our group members!
I was diagnosed almost a year ago. I was so ill I was on my death bed. I did some research on my own and asked my doctor to test me. I haven’t gotten any help from my doctor that tested or the doctor I’m seeing now. I’m still learning how to eat the right foods and better my health (as I have lots of health problems) the best I can on my own. The internet has been the only help I have gotten. I think this book would help myself and my family and friends. I think it would be a great gift for my doctor and sister in law also.
Corn and Wheat can really harm your health
My daughter was recently diagnosed with celiacs she is 3 it is a learning process for us and hard with preschool
I was diagnosed with a celiac disease just a few months ago. After going GF I started to feel much better. But that didn’t last very long. After two weeks on a GF diet I started to feel really awful again. And it was just getting worse and worse. I’m still getting sick almost every single day and I’m very sensitive to everything I eat. I’m a vegetarian, so being a GF diet on the top of it is not easy. That is why I would love to read this book and hopefully learn something new and helpful!!
Going gluten-free has really helped keep my Lyme symptoms in check! Can’t wait to read the book:)
I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 3 years ago. It is a blessing that I found out what was going on. But now I am having more issues and believe soy to be th culprit. Fun
i have been gluten free for 9 months it has made some difference in my health. but i know theres still lots i have to learn. Any small contact w gluten makes me severly sick so even have to watch for mistake contact w it.
Not sure if I have celiac. But I have had many of the symptoms for over 20 years. Am trying GF diet. My GI trouble is definitely clearing up. I’m not sure if I have very sensitive, but with a relatively mild reaction, or not very sensitive, hence the mild reaction. Hope the book may shed some light
When my daughter was diagnosed with gluten intolerance 3 years ago, things had to change. I love to cook and this was a challenge for me. I checked a lot of websites, but Gluten Freeville has been the most positive source of information and I treasure the facts and recipes as well as the updates. Having a loved one with gluten intolerance makes you look at your own eating habits as well and we are eating better now than we were for years!
I’m amazed at how too much gluten affects SO many things in our bodies!
Looks like a really interesting book! I look forward to reading it!
GF over 5 years. Best thing I have done for my health. Dawn Liebentritt just want to say there are plenty of things that you are able to eat, so you can focus on those and just adapt recipes. You will be happy once your health improves!
Very interested in this book…never realized how much gluten and un-healthy eating habits were effecting me and my body until i started asking questions. Having a headache almost every day isn’t normal!
I am so grateful that there are resources like yours available; I hope that it is wildly successful and you keep up the great work.
K
This would be a great book to help with my new diagnosis.
Wheat is the enemy.. but no more!!
I’m learning to live gluten-free after 50 years of unintentionally and unknowingly poisoning my body. I just hope I haven’t done too much damage to my gut from the gluten. But I wonder if doctors will ever really learn. I think most people don’t want to hear “you can manage it through diet.” I think people expect a magic pill that will allow them to continue eating whatever they want. In all honesty, I think the food manufacturers play a bigger part in this. If they just quit putting gluten in almost everything, it would help a lot of people.
I love your site. Thanks for bringing awareness to this very serious, life-altering issue. Your articles are great and I enjoy reading as often as possible. Keep up the great work~!
Learing more about our health and what type of effects everyday foods can have on our bodies is A MUST KNOW! One can never have enough information on staying healthy! Started dealing with health issues in 2004, diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2005.
So glad I found this! I’m not celiac, but do have a sensitivity to gluten. Had chronic sinus infections for years but then stopped gluten and haven’t had one since!!
I was diagnosed at two years ago at age 28. It was amazing how much better I feel and more energetic I am. I love you information and look forward to reading it every chance I get.
I’ve was diagnosed as gluten, dairy and egg intolerant almost five years ago! It’s been quite a ride figuring it all out. I am finally starting to go out to restaurants more and thankfully there are more and more gf options out there!
I would love to win a copy of this book.
My daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 3 years ago. It’s been so hard to find GF things that aren’t tasteless/gobbed with sugar/expensive!! I’m also trying to give her ownership of the disease (she’s 15 now), so she can learn how to handle it herself someday. Right now, she thinks if it doesn’t make her throw up, she can sneakily eat a cookie or some Ramen Soup…. I’m trying to get it through to her adolescent brain that it damages her body anyway, even if she doesn’t “get caught”!!
I would LOVE to win this book! My daughter has suffered a stroke and we are finding that all sorts of things are now problems for her. Her stroke was in her processing center of her brain and now it has affected her vision, hearing, the right side of her body, some neurological functions and her ability to process some foods. We have seen awesome results from removing Gluten (or what we know to contain gluten) from her diet and would LOVE to discover more information about Gluten and making sure we are doing everything possible to ensure the best life possible for her. Our entire family is slowly trying to follow the diet with her, but I would love to have the chance to read more about the affects of Gluten on our bodies.
My son is allergic to milk and soy. We have also cut out sugar, nitrates and dyes. The next thing to go is gluten. Would love to read such an informative book.
I was diagnosed Celiac, over, a year ago. My husband, is non-gluten, as well, as, not to have accidental problems within our home, even though, he does not have a gluten problem. It gets easier, every day, with, the new products coming out, and, restaurants, having a better understanding, of the condition.
I was finally diagnosed with Celiac Disease 2 years ago after suffering for nearly 10 years. During that time, I saw every specialist available from dermatologists to allergists who could never properly diagnose me. I had one doctor tell me that it was “all in my head” and suggested that I should take anti-depressants. After being on my wits end and convinced I had a fatal illness, it was my primary care doctor who asked me the pertinent questions to get the ball rolling on the proper testing. Sure enough, came back as Celiac. It has been a journey with my diet and is especially difficult eating out since gluten is practically in EVERYTHING but this minor compared to what I lived through all those years!
I just self-diagnosed myself as having celiacs. I’m also allergic to lactose so having this book would be very beneficial. I was misdiagnosed w/IBS several years ago and wish that someone would have read a book like this when I was always sick and had looked for the right symptoms when I went to the doctor. I would LOVE to win this book it’d be the perfect wedding present for my upcoming july 3rd wedding!
Our nearly 6-year-old son is recovering from autism in part due to the gluten and casein free diet. Yeast was a huge problem in his digestive tract but we have this under control. When I also learned that my Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis has a definite connection to gluten-sensitivity I stopped eating it. After about 3 days of unpleasant detox side-effects, I started to feel better. Now my energy levels are picking up and bowel issues have gone away. This book sounds very informative!
Three years ago I was a summer camp cook assigned to special needs diets. On my last morning at camp I tried the gluten free breakfast that I had prepared and was astounded that I was pain free right up to lunch time. I was curious so I ate gluten free meals for the rest of the day. After 2 years of pain and medical tests I finally had my answer – I can’t eat gluten! Tests suggest that I’m probably not celiac but my wonderful MD agrees that eliminating wheat and gluten, whether or not it makes “medical sense”, is the way I should go. I’m healthier than I have ever been (my mom recalls that I was a “sickly” child) and am so happy.
I would love to read this book it sounds so informative. My husband has Celiacs and has a very hard time dealing with it. Any kind of info about it would be a blessing to have.
Loved seeing all the comments that have been so informative……if I don’t win, I’ll have to save up to get the book…..Thanks for keeping us informed. Posting this to my FB….
I found out a few months ago that I have a wheat allergy. My doctor(who is also my boss) told me to avoid gluten. This is one of the most difficult things to do. The more I think I am avoiding it, The more I find foods with Gluten. I am so totally confused and could use a good book to help me figure things out.
Yes, it’s time for my household to go gluten free! I’ve been GF for 5 years – but getting my husband and 4 children used to the idea is going to take some work.
Gluten is at the underlying cause, or at least a factor, in many chronic health problems. Do yourself a favor and look into the gluten connection – do this even if you are symptom-free. Fact is, gluten can cause unknown brain inflammation. The symptoms may not show up for years.
Best of luck in your health endeavors!
Joe