The researchers in the Mayo Clinic journal article studied 309 men and women between January 1, 2000, and October 21, 2014, with an average age of just over 46. All had been tested and newly diagnosed with celiac.
Several micronutrients were low in each patient, but a zinc deficiency eclipsed them all. In fact, 59.4% of the patients were found to be zinc deficient, and to varying but lesser degrees, deficiencies in the other nutrients, including copper.
Zinc is the second most abundant trace mineral in our bodies. We don’t store it so we need to ingest zinc regularly. Zinc is needed for the proper function of more than 100 enzymes in your body. Zinc helps us digest food and synthesize proteins, vitamins, and other minerals.
Our study suggests that the presentation of celiac disease has changed from the classic weight loss, anemia and diarrhea, with increasing numbers of patients diagnosed with nonclassical symptoms. Micronutrient deficiencies remain common in adults, however, and should be assessed.” Assessment should include vitamin D, iron, folic acid, vitamin B12, zinc and copper.
Zinc deficiency was observed most frequently at diagnosis, the study says, with 59.4% of patients having a deficiency. Other deficiencies included iron, vitamin D, copper, vitamin B12 and folate.
Zinc is absorbed throughout the small intestine. Celiac disease damages the small intestinal. It is also very likely that zinc is needed for gluten digestion. If that’s true, a zinc deficiency would create a negative feedback loop with gluten digestion issues.
Vitamin D, copper, zinc, and iron are imperative for a healthy microbiome. And, gut bacteria play a key role in how we utilize copper, zinc, iron, and B vitamins. Smoking inhibits the uptake of minerals including the aforementioned while it reduces vitamin levels including vitamin D and B vitamins.
People who smoke alter their gut microbiomes substantially. Studies show smoking causes many vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Tobacco users do not digest food as well, and an inability to properly digest gluten is more likely in someone who smokes.
In my experience, people who are dealing with autoimmune disease cannot digest gluten well. Autoimmune disease is synonymous with an impaired gut microbiome.
Restaurant Dishes Labeled Gluten-free Are Not Necessarily Gluten-free
Researchers report in the American Journal of Gastroenterology that more than half of gluten-free pizza and pasta dishes in restaurants that were tested contained gluten.
Most who suffer from a gluten-related autoimmune disease know that just a tiny amount of gluten can cause an autoimmune reaction. It doesn’t take much.
The long-suspected problem of gluten contamination in restaurant foods that has been reported by patients likely has some truth behind it. We don’t know how common it is. But our findings suggest that pizza and pasta and foods served during dinner time are more likely to have this problem.”
Senior study author Dr. Benjamin Lebwohl, director of clinical research at the Celiac Disease Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
Lebwohl learned the company that makes the portable Nima Gluten Sensor held the data submitted by restaurant patrons who used the device to test their foods for gluten contamination.
Lebwohl asked the company if he could use the data for a study and the company gave him the data on 5,624 food tests performed by 804 app users during an 18-month period.
Researchers analyzed the data and discovered gluten-free pasta samples were positive for the protein in 50.8 percent of tests, while gluten-free pizza turned out to contain gluten in 53.2 percent of tests. Gluten was detected in 27.2 percent of breakfasts, 29 percent of lunches and 34 percent of dinners.
Lebwohl says there are limitations to the dataset.
The people tested what they wanted to test. And the users chose which results to upload to the company. They may have uploaded the results that surprised them the most. So, our findings don’t mean that 32 percent of foods are unsafe.”
Lebwohl also pointed out that the Nima sensor is extremely sensitive. In the United States food that’s labeled gluten-free must contain less than 20 parts per million. The Nima sensor will detect levels down to 5 parts per million, which Lebwohl says isn’t enough for most to consider clinically significant.
Lebwohl says that gluten-free foods may be inadvertently contaminated.
If a gluten-free pizza is put in an oven with a gluten-containing pizza, aerosolized particles could come in contact with the gluten-free pizza. And it’s possible that cooking gluten-free pasta in a pot of water that had just been used for pasta that contained gluten might result in contamination.”
Lebwhol says that the solution may be to educate the restaurant workers who prepare food.
My Personal Experience In The Restaurant Industry
I worked in a the restaurant industry as a server during this magazine’s initial years. The restaurant was a well-known 24-hour restaurant in Atlanta with a menu that had lots of healthier items to choose from, like the “Raw Food Dinner #2” and the gluten free pasta.
My mom has celiac disease. I knew how little gluten it took to set her autoimmune system off. We regularly got customers in the restaurant who requested the gluten free pasta. I would ask them, “How important is it that gluten come no where near your food?” Most would say it’s not that big of a deal, but many would let me know that they believed that even a tiny amount would cause them severe pain for days. In those cases, I had to time it just right to be there in the kitchen as the dish was in it’s the final stage of being prepared. Every time the kitchen made pasta it was habitual to put garlic bread in the bowl, on top of the pasta. It was reflexive. When the ticket said gluten-free they usually realized it after the fact and would consequently yank the bread off, but that bread had already touched the dish, and usually the pasta as well. The first time it happened I told the manager the dish needed to be remade, he refused, and we got into an argument about it. He relented, but he and the kitchen were pissed, which meant I had to stay in the kitchen the whole time to make sure they didn’t do something nasty to the food.
I also taught the kitchen to wash their hands or change their gloves (not all of them worse gloves) when they got a gluten free order. This irritated them, but I had some pull thanks to this website.
After the first gluten-free gluten incident, I paid attention and noticed the habit of putting the bread on the dish and then quickly pulling it off. They would even scan the area with a guilty look on their face to see if I saw them do it. From that point on, when I had a customer order the gluten-free pasta who said they could not tolerate any gluten I would be right there in the kitchen ready to yell at just the right time, “No bread!”
By the way, I’ve worked in about a dozen restaurants. These attitudes towards the customers are commonplace. If you eat out, don’t piss off the kitchen!
Gluten Intolerance, Wheat Allergies, and Celiac Disease – It’s More Complicated Than You Think
Is “gluten free” a fad? No, it’s going to be a thing for as long as we are producing wheat and bread the way we’re doing it. A lot has changed in the bread industry – it’s not just one thing.
People often comment about how bread didn’t cause problems with our health before GMOs and Roundup were prevalent in our food supply. Our farming practices have changed, and fairly recently, wheat has started being sprayed with Roundup. The newest speculation is that wheat is not the problem – that the problem is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. People also often suspect that wheat has been genetically modified. And, of course, there are those who believe the whole gluten-elimination thing is ridiculous and that most people are jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon because it’s trendy.
In my experience, if one suffers from a chronic illness of any kind, they must remove gluten from their diet in order to get well. I have yet to see an exception. So what’s the problem? Is it the glyphosate or the wheat or something else? The truth is it’s not just one thing. Everyone would already know this if most humans weren’t so bad at thinking in terms of systems. We tend to think linearly and look for singular cause and effects, but rarely if ever are complex problems solved by such simplistic thinking. There are multiple reasons one gets sick, with a cold or a chronic disease, just like there are multiple reasons why our planet’s ecosystem is changing. This is why you can’t blame the rise of autism on just glyphosate, or GMOs, or increased vaccinations, or diminishing food quality, or environmental degradation – they all correlate, it’s all of the above.
There is a very complex system that is causing the decline of American health, and it’s not just the bread. And yes, our health is in decline. If you doubt that…here, google it and take your pick. Our lifespan is actually decreasing.
What’s the difference between Gluten Intolerance, Wheat Allergies, and Celiac Disease
Conventional medicine states that celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity have a lot of symptoms in common but identifies a key difference. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is not a genetic disease and does not cause an autoimmune reaction, and celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disease. A wheat allergy is an allergic reaction to any of the hundreds of proteins in wheat. Gluten intolerance used to be a catch-all phrase for any problem with eating gluten, but now it’s being relegated to mean Non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
Non-celiac Gluten Sensitivity
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is believed to be the most prevalent of the gluten-related disorders, but it’s not as well defined as the other two. It’s not an autoimmune reaction nor is it an allergic reaction. There are no tests or biomarkers to identify this disorder. Other components of gluten-grains may be causing symptoms. In order for non-celiac gluten sensitivity to be diagnosed, a doctor will rule out celiac disease and wheat allergies or other possible causes of the symptoms first.
Common Symptoms for Non-celiac Gluten Sensitivity
Fatigue
Mental fatigue, aka “brain fog”
Headaches
Migraines
Bone or joint pain
Gastrointestinal distress
Gas
Bloating
Cramping
Indigestion
Abdominal pain
Diarrhea
Constipation
It’s said that individuals with gluten sensitivity do not experience damage to the small intestine or develop tissue transglutaminase antibodies like they do with celiac disease. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity has been linked to a variety of health problems including, diabetes, allergies, autism spectrum disorders, and much more.
Gastroenterologists looking for celiac disease typically test for a few specific antibodies, and if found, they do an intestinal biopsy to determine if tissue damage is present. Chris Kresser addresses the issue with this kind of testing in 3 Reasons Gluten Intolerance May Be More Serious Than Celiac Disease, which I highly recommend reading. He states:
According to some estimates, for every diagnosed case of celiac disease (CD), there are 6.4 undiagnosed cases that remain undiagnosed—the majority of which are atypical or “silent” forms with no damage to the gut. (1) This silent form of CD is far from harmless; it is associated with a nearly fourfold increase in the risk of death. (2)
I believe that patients with NCGS are even more likely than patients with CD to go undiagnosed. Most gastroenterologists today know how to screen for celiac disease. They will typically test for antibodies to antibodies to alpha gliadin, transglutaminase-2, deamidated gliadin, and endomysium, and if positive do a biopsy to determine if tissue damage is present.
However, we now know that people can (and do) react to several other components of wheat above and beyond alpha gliadin, the component that is implicated in CD. These include other epitopes of gliadin (beta, gamma, omega), glutenin, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), gluteomorphin, and deamidated gliadin. What’s more, people can react to other types of tissue transglutaminase, including type 3—primarily found in the skin—and type 6—primarily found in the brain. (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is considered a genetic, autoimmune disorder. Ninety-eight percent of people with celiac disease carry one or both of two very specific genes, HLA DQ2 and DQ8. On the other hand, so does up to 25-30% of the general population. Carrying one or both of these genes does not mean you have celiac disease nor does it mean you will develop it. Doctors often use gene testing to rule out celiac disease, but there are some cases where people who do not have either of the genes still tested out to have celiac disease.
Though celiac disease is said to be genetic, genes cause predispositions and our diet and environment adjust our genes. Environment can alter gene activity without changing the DNA sequence. This is called gene expression. I also believe that the environment and diet can actually alter the DNA sequence, but from what I’m seeing, current science doesn’t agree with me on this. Regardless, how your genes affect you is altered by our diet and our environment, and those traits can be passed down to our offspring as well. In other words, a predisposition to celiac disease may be hereditary, but whether or not we have celiac disease could depend on our genetic health, which depends on our overall health, which depends on our lifestyle. And this can all be traced to gut health – you cannot have a healthy gut without a healthy lifestyle, and our gut health is something most of us have complete control over.
Doctors believe that in order to develop the disease, a person needs to have the genetic predisposition while they are consuming gluten and to subsequently have the disease activated. Activation triggers are said to potentially be stress, trauma, and viral infections. I contend that vaccines and antibiotics are the two most common triggers for the disease. Damaging the gut is what leads to problems with wheat, but we’ll get more into that below.
Wheat Allergies
Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity have many symptoms in common, but wheat allergies are often much more distinctive. Symptoms include itching, hives, or anaphylaxis which is a life-threatening reaction. A wheat allergy is an immune reaction to any of the hundreds of proteins in wheat. It is possible for a person to be allergic to wheat and to have non-celiac gluten sensitivity or celiac disease at the same time.
What About Roundup?
Monsanto introduced glyphosate under the trade name Roundup in 1974 shortly after DDT was banned. It wasn’t used very much until the late 1990s when Monsanto genetically engineered seeds to withstand high doses of Roundup, and the product took off. Eager to sell more of its flagship herbicide, Monsanto has encouraged farmers to use their glyphosate as a desiccant. Wheat can be harvested quicker and easier if you dry it all out ahead of time with Roundup. It’s also used in this way on wheat, barley, oats, canola, flax, peas, lentils, soybeans, dry beans, and sugar cane.
Studies have concluded that chronically ill people have higher levels of glyphosate in their bodies. Glyphosate has been attributed to an increased prevalence of most of our common chronic conditions including, but not limited to ADHD, Alzheimer’s, birth defects, autism, cancer, kidney disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, depression, diabetes, heart disease, thyroid disorders, liver disorders, multiple sclerosis, reproductive issues, adrenal failure, obesity, asthma, and of course, celiac disease.
It’s not hard to understand why. Glyphosate is poison and so are the other ingredients in Roundup. People have to wear protective gear to apply the product. It is designed to kill. It kills plants by preventing them from making certain proteins. Just imagine what that does to one’s gut ecology.
How Wheat Has Changed
The wheat we have now is very different from what our ancestors consumed. Modern dwarf wheat is hybridized. That isn’t a GMO, but the genes of our wheat plant have certainly been modified to grow faster, and to be more resilient. We used to eat wheat called einkorn, which was actually one of the very first grains we humans cultivated more than 10,000 years ago. When you read in the Bible about how we should eat bread, this is the wheat it refers to.
There is a lot more gluten in modern wheat than there is in einkorn, and the gluten that einkorn wheat does contain is different. Einkorn also has 15 percent less starch and 30 percent more protein. Modern wheat has a lower nutrient content and a different protein structure. In fact, many with celiac and gluten intolerance report being able to eat einkorn without issue.
Also, that blood sugar spike experienced after eating bread does not happen with einkorn.
So I conducted a simple experiment on myself. On an empty stomach, I ate 4 oz of einkorn bread. On another occasion I ate 4 oz of bread that dietitian, Margaret Pfeiffer, made with whole wheat flour bought at the grocery store. Both flours were finely ground and nothing was added beyond water, yeast, olive oil, and a touch of salt.” – Einkorn and blood sugar
“Ancient wheat diets caused a downregulation of key regulatory genes involved in glucose and fat metabolism, equivalent to a prevention or delay of diabetes development. Spelt and rye induced a low acute glycemic response compared to wheat.” – NCBI
How Bread Making Has Changed
Most commercial bread contains bromides, added starches, refined sugars, added gluten (vital wheat gluten), preservatives, artificial flavorings, leveling agents, and stabilizers. Potassium bromate is an additive used in commercial bread and baked goods that make the products lighter and fluffier. Bromines are part of the halide family, a group of elements that includes fluorine, chlorine, and iodine, which are all endocrine disruptors that cause digestive issues and a host of other health problems.
Baking Soda, baking powder, and cream of tartar are often used in place of yeast or in addition to rapid rise yeast to make the bread rise quickly and more uniformly. Modern bread rises for a couple of hours or less, whereas homemade bread traditionally takes at least 12 hours to rise. I got curious about the difference between baking soda and baking powder, and I thought you might be as well, hence the video below.
Traditional bread recipes typically utilized a few common ingredients including flour, yeast, salt, water, a sweetener, and some spices or herbs.
Refined flours started to be widely used around 1880 which caused worldwide epidemics of pellagra and beriberi. Refining the flours removes bran and germ which increases shelf life. It also removed the B vitamins. Previous iterations of bread did use bolted or sifted flour which did refine the wheat somewhat, but it didn’t remove all of the bran, germ, and endosperm, and that flour was never bleached.
Bread with Whole Grains that are gently stone ground just before mixing the dough and then allowed to ferment slowly and naturally, in other words — authentic sourdough. That’s how the Egyptians made it 6,000 years ago.”
Bread was fundamentally redesigned. Refined flours, large quantities of commercial yeast, and a combination of additives and intense energy created the modern industrial bread. Fast mixing, fast rise, fast baking. Industrial bread is made far too fast.” – Mario Repetto
How Our Gut Biology Has Changed
We keep eating more and more sugar. In the early 1700s, the average sugar consumption was about 4 pounds a year. By 1800 we were at 18 pounds a year. By 1900 we were up to 60 pounds of sugar a year. Today the average American consumes between 130 and 150 pounds of sugar every year.
Sugar feeds pathogens. Our healthiest gut bacteria like the healthiest foods: vegetables and herbs. Nature wouldn’t work any other way; how could it? You’re probably thinking, “What about fruit?” We don’t eat the fruit we used to eat. Like wheat, our fruit has been radically altered through hybridization. But that’s another article (I’m working on it). For now, just Google “wild banana” or “what watermelon used to look like“.
We get way more sugar than our ancestors got even if we cut out refined foods. This causes an abundance of Candida. I believe Candida is prevalent in every single person with chronic illness. Everyone has yeast but when yeast is left unchecked they turn into pathogenic fungi. Tests for Candida aren’t accurate. Candida, when in it’s in the virulent fungal form, will make the gut more permeable. When this happens food proteins are absorbed into the body before they are digested. This causes allergies. This is one of the main causes of allergies, but there are others at play as well. In my experience, every single person who has cut refined sugar out of their lives and decreased their body’s Candida was able to rid themselves of seasonal, environmental, and food allergies. Every single time!
In addition to that, a study published in The Lancet showed that the candida protein HWP-1 is similar in structure to gluten.
A candida infection in the gut can cause an immune system reaction to HWP-1, which then stimulates an allergic reaction to the gluten in wheat and other grains and may trigger celiac disease in genetically susceptible people.” – Leyla Muedin, RD
Wheat proteins can also cause an immune response against the thyroid.
An obvious explanation is that the initial attack on the thyroid by anti-tTG autoantibodies of celiac leads to thyroid inflammation and presentation of TPO, with a second round of autoantibodies produced to TPO resulting in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.” – Dr. Art Ayers
Celiac disease and hypothyroidism beget more chronic autoimmune issues. Allergies lead to autoimmune disease. Allergies lead to chronic health issues. Medical science has established this. Medical science is just starting to understand the fact that a permeable gut causes allergies. Science also has established that an abundance of Candida causes a permeable gut. What they haven’t figured out yet is just how prevalent the permeable gut issue really is. But the bottom line is that our poor diet leads to allergies and almost all that commonly ails us.
Suggestions
If you have a healthy gut, make your own sourdough bread using heirloom wheat and the old-school practices. If you have any chronic illness, then you do not have a healthy gut. Here’s how you fix it. If you’re not well, wait until you get well before consuming any kind of bread. And don’t think of old-fashioned bread as healthy. Vegetables are healthy. Bread is at its best a neutral food with some health benefits and easy calories that can help sustain life like brown rice and millet. Vegetables and herbs heal the body.
Obviously, stay the heck away from poisons! Glyphosate is a cocktail of poisons. Science has firmly established this. And avoid GMOs as well. They weren’t designed with our health in mind, they were designed for profit, and in most cases, to sell more Roundup.
The hard truth is that letting companies cook your food for you leads to poor health. People often ask me, “If you can cure cancer why aren’t you rich?” If I could cure cancer and figure out how to do it while still eating refined, prepackaged, and processed foods that we humans have grown accustomed to, I would be rich. But people would rather die for convenience food than give it up. Obviously. We see this everywhere.
Being well long-term means preparing all your own food yourself the right way, or being rich and hiring someone else to do it. There is no shortcut. Certainly not with bread.
Zonulin Research and Gluten Free Awareness Marches Forward
We’ve all met one. The person loudly proclaiming that gluten-sensitivity isn’t a real thing and that all those hipsters paying a ridiculous amount of money for their special gluten free products need to sit down, shut up, and have a sandwich with real bread. As frustrating as hearing that sentiment can be for those who suffer from unpleasant symptoms like stomach pain or diarrhea after consuming gluten, the lack of a definitive, concrete test for gluten sensitivity makes it easier to treat that sensitivity as an imagined condition. Nearly half of American consumers see gluten free as a fad based solely on anecdotal evidence, rather than the complex diet and gut issue that it is. Now, researchers may have found a more effective way to diagnose gluten sensitivity – a protein molecule called zonulin.
Not Your Average Space Invader
Most people have never heard of zonulin. In fact, it sounds more like a bad guy from a movie or show set in space than a molecule responsible for regulating the opening and closing of junctions in the lining in the intestinal tract. But like the public’s awareness of gluten free issues, zonulin is a relatively new discovery, as it was discovered in 2000. Zonulin reacts to harmful bacteria like salmonella entering the gut, opening the digestive lining’s junctions to induce diarrhea and flush out bad guys. Once the bacteria
Zonulin reacts to harmful bacteria like salmonella by opening the digestive lining’s junctions to induce diarrhea and flush out bad guys. Once the bacteria is gone, the digestive junctions close up, and zonulin levels return to normal. A smoothly functioning digestive system is the basis of health, as the lining of your intestinal tract determines how vulnerable you are to potentially harmful bacteria like Candida.
The Gluten Effect
So what does that mean for people with celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity? According to a recent study, undigested gluten triggers zonulin in people with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and digestive conditions like irritable bowel syndrome. People with these issues have been shown to have higher levels of zonulin. High zonulin levels correspond to open junctions in the gut, which increases the likelihood of harmful particles damaging the gut lining itself and triggering immune responses in other areas of the body. This leaves the gut unable to heal itself which can spiral into serious autoimmune conditions (see Leaky Gut Syndromes, and Autoimmune Diseases) like hypothyroidism and multiple sclerosis (and, of course, many others).
Shut it Down
Zonulin itself is a valuable molecule in the body, and recent information suggests that it could also have an important role in determining people who are at risk for celiac disease. As research into how gluten affects people continues, dismissing gluten-free diets as a fad will become more and more difficult. Learning about the gut ecosystem and it’s massive effect on your health is one of the smartest things you do. Don’t wait for someone to hand you your health on a platter.
Gluten, found in many staple foods, is a substance that gives elasticity to dough. Until recently, a strict gluten-free diet was only of interest to people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease in which proteins from grains (such as wheat, rye and barley) damage the small intestine. However, more people are now finding that they feel better on a gluten-free diet. So, is this a psychological “placebo effect”, or do people actually benefit physically from a gluten-free diet?
Research has now confirmed that gluten sensitivity does exist. Some experts say that gluten sensitivity is much more common than celiac disease. In celiac disease, the intestine is damaged, but in gluten sensitivity, it is not. Symptoms for both can be similar (including stomach aches and pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, IBS) so it is important to get tested. Symptoms of gluten sensitivity can affect any organ or tissue in your body, and can include muscular and joint pain, fatigue, anaemia, and tingling in hands and feet.
Why are more people now reacting to gluten when we have been eating grains for 10,000 years? First of all, to make those lovely fluffy white breads, modern grain has been cultivated so that it contains much more gluten than it did in the past. Secondly, our diets have changed significantly in the past few decades. We now eat gluten in most meals, unlike in the past. Wheat flour is used in a vast range of modern, mass-produced “ready-made” meals and sauces. (Even your mustard can have it). So we are consuming far greater quantities of gluten, more frequently, than our ancestors.
When our bodies digest gluten, the lining of the intestine is temporarily damaged. This makes it permeable to gluten proteins (hence ‘leaky gut’), which is the mechanism behind both gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. For most people this inflammation is healed relatively quickly after eating but for some it takes much longer. Other aggravating factors include modern additions from the food chain, including pesticides and GMO foods, which have been linked to ‘leaky gut’. To ensure there are no pesticide residues or genetically modified substances, which may affect your gut health, choose organic food.
If you feel that you suffer from symptoms that may be caused by gluten, get tested for celiac disease. Then you can try going gluten free for a minimum of 4 weeks, then reintroduce gluten to see the difference in how you feel. Take good care of your general gut health, as the gut is the basis for your overall health. Feed the good bacteria in your intestine by eating plenty of organic vegetables and fruit every day. Also, introduce fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and probiotic yogurts. Avoid damaging your intestinal lining with unnecessary antibiotics, drugs or alcohol.
Author: Marika Walker graduated in Nutritional Therapy from CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine) the UK’s largest training provider in natural therapies.
Massive Cheerios Recall – General Mills Has Been Selling “Gluten-free” Cereal Contaminated with Gluten
General Mills’ decision to produce certified gluten-free Cheerios delighted the nearly 30% of consumers who avoid gluten until a recall of 1.8 million boxes of Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios was announced earlier this week.
According to the company, their Lodi, California facility lost rail service for four days in July. To continue production, gluten-free oat flour was delivered by trucks. Somehow, this change in procedure resulted in a mix-up and wheat flour was mistakenly used.
The recall includes Cheerios cereal with the following “better if used by” dated codes:
HONEY NUT CHEERIOS
12JUL2016LD
13JUL2016LD
14JUL2016LD
15JUL2016LD
16JUL2016LD
17JUL2016LD
18JUL2016LD
19JUL2016LD
20JUL2016LD
21JUL2016LD
22JUL2016LD
23JUL2016LD
24JUL2016LD
25JUL2016LD
YELLOW BOX CHEERIOS
14JUL2016LD
15JUL2016LD
16JUL2016LD
17JUL2016LD
If you purchased one of these boxes, you can contact General Mills at 1-800-775-8370.
It is important to note that the cereal is perfectly safe to eat if you do not have celiac disease, a gluten intolerance, or a gluten sensitivity.
General Mills has a reputation as a family-friendly, trustworthy brand, and loss of faith in their products could have major implications for their recent organic acquisitions like Annie’s Homegrown.
The Implications
After the hype surrounding the gluten-free certification of Cheerios, General Mills is dealing with this major snafu in the only way they can – abject apologies. Calling this an isolated incident, the company acknowledges the reports of illnesses from the contaminated boxes and are encouraging customers to call in and register their ire. It remains to be seen what other tactics will be taken.
The company cites the process of switching to gluten-free materials as a factor in the mistake, but with such big changes affecting the brand, the lack of, or inefficiency of early testing, is concerning. This was an expensive mistake for General Mills that causes one to wonder if the public’s trust in their 74-year-old cereal is worth stricter attention to product sourcing.
Currently, companies submit their own gluten-free certification testing to the FDA to qualify for the label. Individuals are responsible for reporting illness and labeling concerns, meaning that despite having an entire government agency responsible for regulating food quality, the public is left largely responsible for policing their own food safety.
Being Careful Is More Important Than Ever
FDA regulations state that any product labeled gluten-free can contain up to 20 parts gluten per million. Whole grain oats by themselves are gluten free, although cross contamination in transport with other grains like wheat and barley has often prevented oats and other gluten-free grains from being labeled gluten free. These two facts taken together can be discouraging. When foods that are verified gluten-free are still able to contain gluten and foods that are naturally gluten-free cannot be isolated from gluten grains, where does that leave the consumer?
Looking Forward
Gluten intolerance and celiac disease are on the rise due to the way we process wheat, the amount of sugar in our diet, and the imbalance in our guts. It can be difficult to transition to a gluten-free diet after eating the standard American diet. Many people find themselves desperately trying to replace their favorite foods with gluten free alternatives – replacing one processed food with another. Choosing whole foods like veggies and fruits in place of conventional treats can actually begin to heal the damage that gluten has done to the gut, and it has the added benefit of reducing the likelihood the failed corporate testing will leave you sick and disillusioned.
There are many people who believe the whole “gluten intolerance” “gluten free diet” craze is nothing more than a sham, another diet scam created to market specialized foods to the masses. They are wrong. Unfortunately, many of them will continue to suffer from autoimmune diseases or other chronic conditions and will never admit to themselves that their diet is to blame.
If you suffer from MS or know someone who does, learning how a leaky gut is linked to MS is a vital step toward health.
What Is the Difference Between a Healthy Gut and a Leaky Gut?
When people hear the term “leaky gut” they often imagine the intestines leaking its contents into the body cavity. This is not the case. Healthy gut walls are coated with a biofilm, tightly interwoven cells that provide a barricade between the tissues and the intestinal contents. When the biofilm breaks down and the intestinal walls become inflamed, proteins and other particles that would normally stay inside the intestines pass into the bloodstream. Suddenly the body is flooded with what the immune system sees as “foreign invaders”. The immune system goes into overdrive and often steers off course.
Anyone who has faced the grim reality of an autoimmune disease has been told that their immune system isn’t working right, that it is attacking their body. Unfortunately, it is a rare to find a health care practitioner who can tell them why and how to stop the process. Bottom line, the only way to heal the body is through proper nutrition, detoxing, and exercise. You start with healing the gut. If the gut isn’t working right, you can’t assimilate nutrients. One of the first steps to healing the gut is eliminating gluten.
What Has Caused a Leaky Gut?
The standard American diet, sugar, antibiotics, chemicals, and heavy metals have all combined to destroy the natural bacterial balance in the gut.
Our gut is home to trillions of microbes, many of them beneficial bacteria that live with us in a symbiotic relationship that is vital to our health. These good bacteria help us digest our food, help keep bad bacteria, fungi, and parasites in check, and are even responsible for the production of neurotransmitters.
Antibiotics kill bacteria that are harmful to our health. In the process, they also kill the good bacteria in our gut. When the balance in the gut is destroyed, fungi take over along with the bad bacteria.
Sugar also feeds fungi (along with bad bacteria and viruses). An overgrowth of Candida typically occurs with high sugar diets and antibiotic use. Since sugar weakens the immune system, these two go hand in hand. Sugar also feeds fungi (along with bad bacteria and viruses). An overgrowth of Candida typically occurs with high sugar diets and antibiotic use. Since sugar weakens the immune system, these two go hand in hand. Drink sodas, eat sugary snacks and chemically laden processed foods and then wonder why you get sinus infections and bronchitis. Take antibiotics, break down the immune system more, and you repeat the cycle.
If this wasn’t enough, processed foods are filled with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colorings, preservatives, MSG, and GMOs. And even our produce isn’t safe unless it’s organic. Some fruits have as many as 15 chemicals on and in them. All of these chemicals further destroy gut health and lead to a chronic imbalance of good bacteria, bad bacteria, and Candida.
How Do You Heal the Gut?
There are supplements that can help you get your gut back in balance, but the main way to heal the gut is to eat a truly healthy diet. This means eliminating processed foods and eating 80% fresh, raw, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits and including healthy fats and plenty of pure water in your diet.
The MS leaky gut connection is clear. If you completely eliminate gluten (and that means every condiment and morsel of food that goes in your mouth) and adhere to a healthy diet, you will be amazed at how much better you feel. Many people with MS have found that symptoms return whenever they indulge in foods that contain gluten. To learn more about gluten, gut health, and multiple sclerosis, read Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases and Foods To Avoid With Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease.