Why Go Gluten Free?
Why a Gluten Free Diet?
There are many reasons one would choose to begin a gluten free diet. It’s suddenly a trendy Hollywood diet, but for the vast majority of the people that are living gluten free, it is a lifestyle, not a trend.
Since it is the only known treatment for celiac disease, you will find much gluten free lifestyle information focused on solely on celiac disease. However, going gluten free can be a benefit to people with a large variety of symptoms and illnesses in addition to celiac disease – including, but not limited to*:
- Allergies and sensitivities to wheat, barley or rye
- ADD
- All auto-immune diseases
- IBS and Colitis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Neuromyelitis (inflammation of the nervous system)
- Peripheral neuropathies
- Seizures
- Autism
- Ataxia (loss of balance)
- Late-onset Friedreich ataxia
- Down’s syndrome
- Cognitive problems (brain fog)
- Osteoporosis
- Type 2 and Type 1 diabetes
- Anemia
- and our recent poll showed that many of our readers just feel better without gluten in their diets.
What are some of the symptoms of gluten intolerance or sensitivity?**
You may experience a few or all of these if you are reacting to gluten in the foods you eat:
- Intestinal problems-diarrhea, constipation, gas, acid reflux, cramping, stomach pain, bloating
- Headaches, migraines, brain fog
- Itchy skin, rashes, mouth sores
- Anemia, malabsorption
- Joint and muscle pain
- Osteoporosis, dental enamel problems, stunted growth
- Infertility, miscarriages
- Chronic fatigue and weakness
- Behavioral issues, seizures, depression, psychiatric problems
- Diabetes, thyroid disease, liver disease
- Fibromyalgia
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Helpful: 3 Tips to Transitioning to a Gluten Free Diet
* Suite101.com
**The Gluten Free Answer Book, by Suzanne Bowland, pg.6-8
For sure eliminating gluten from my diet has helped me out A TON! I follow the SCD diet which doesn’t allow for any breads or cereals etc… among many other things, and I use it to treat my Ulcerative Colitis, and so far, its been a year and I couldn’t be happier with eliminating it other than the once in a while craving for some pizza like I used to order weekly from the best pizza place down the street. great site!
I am an athlete who went on a gluten free diet due to medical reasons and noticed huge side benefits in recovery after going totally gluten free. (I was close for awhile) It made such a difference I decided to start my own blog on the gluten free athlete. Let me know if I can share my story or if there are any articles I can share with your audience!