Going Grainless Is Gluten Free

Is grain free healthy, what is the truth?

If you're reading here then you're already a step ahead in health conscious behaviors. Which ones you decide to abide by and where you cross the line if you do, is up to you and your choices. So you're probably not surprised about grainless (paleo) lifestyles and how they've trended fast and furious to the mainstream. And when I say trend I mean it, because it's a proven, conscious, educated way of living that's not based on a false claim or a silly spokesperson like in the past fad diets of old. Grain free is gluten free and it's a real lifestyle based on our ancestors from thousands of years ago who were hunters and gatherers. 

Paleo Grain Free

I remember reading a great article from Squirell and the Bee's Blog, a local NJ grainless bakery with countless fantastic products. I frequent this cafe often and I am not strictly grain free, but I do see the benefits and commitment to knowing and learning about why grains can be dangerous to our health. What most people in the world don't realize is that grains were not a part of early man's diet. Within the last 10 years of cultivation of grains until today, we've over consumed them dramatically and this has a relationship to our health, not a good one. There are proteins in grains that fight for it and humans are reacting to them and that's one reason to be alarmed. 

When analyzing our health and our neighbors we can analyze our cultural food in America and compare it. The races from around the world also adhere to cultural diets and it's often based on foods local.  But for some reason in today's modern societies we take advantage of logistics and manufacturing and trust big food companies. On the contrary we should read, think and adjust our lifestyles based on truth and not on marketing and what our parents and grandparents were told to eat. 

Here is a passage from Squirrel and the Bee with correlating links to dive deeper into the over consumption and truth of grains. 

Grains can irritate your digestive system

The fact of the matter is that we don’t digest grains very well. Grains contain lectins, a class of proteins that protect plants from pests or predators (like us). These lectins are found in high concentrations in the seed of plants, which is why grains have so much of it. Gluten is just one of several lectins found in grains. We can’t digest these proteins very well. As a result, they end up sitting in the gut, binding to the gut lining, and causing irritation and inflammation. Many experience this in the form of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and ulcerative colitis.

Eventually, this irritation can actually destroy the gut lining and literally cause holes to form in your digestive tract leading to “leaky gut.” This is when things get messy, because these holes allow larger particles of food or bacteria to leach into your blood stream. This triggers an immune response in our body causing allergic reactions, chronic inflammation and autoimmune problems such as Crohn’s, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Gluten Cross Contamination

Like always, gluten can get anywhere in the sacks from the farms, manufacturing process and facility and on the plate by human error. Ahh! Therefore, you should always ask if sourced ingredients are laced or processed in a facility with gluten. Don't assume ever and be nice when you challenge the people who would know these real answers. Most people won't know, so ask to see the labels.  It's common that nuts could be manufactured in another wheat (or gluten) facility. This isn't just for those with Celiac Disease, like me. Anyone on a gluten free lifestyle should be educated enough to ask the se questions. Otherwise their being glutened as well.  So when you go grain free be sure there isn't a gluten cross contamination. 

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