Last Fall I had a young lady come to me for help. She was suffering with chronic back pain since disc replacement surgery more than 10 years ago. Virtually, anything she ate or drank resulted in bloating and painful abdominal distention. Additionally, she had been unable to lose the weight she had gained during a recent pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage 3 months prior to her visit. She and her husband are both anxious to try again. However, she wisely convinced him that she needed to work on herself first. She came to me for help with her back pain. We discussed how her digestive issues could be contributing to both her pain and inability to lose weight. She told me that she had been doing some research, “looking for a good diet book.” She thought perhaps she might be allergic to wheat as well. She told me, “My husband thinks that’s just pseudo-science (using air quotes). He says I just need to clean up my diet. What do you think?” After a thoughtful pause to temper my response I smiled and said, “WELL…”
Below is a summary of information and my opinions that I shared with her.
The book “Eat Right 4 Your Type” is a good starting point. Additionally, “The Whole Thirty” and “It Starts with Food” can also provide some very accurate and helpful info to get started. (The latter I think is more concise.) But you should keep in mind they are starting points only.”
I cringe when people say things like “All you need to do is eat a healthy diet.” They don’t realize that this advice is neither helpful nor accurate. What may be healthy for me may not be healthy for you. What we have learned from recent and ongoing Genomic studies, The Human Microbiome Project, and the burgeoning field of Epigenetics is the importance of individualized treatments. There is no One Size Fits All! Just because something works for a group or even your twin sister doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work for you.
Sometimes people have strong opinions, or perhaps pseudo-opinions regarding things they know little about. They often use terms like “gimmicky” and “conspiracy” about things they do not fully understand. Or perhaps they are getting outdated information from a conventionally trained doctor who is either too lazy to keep up with the current research, somehow threatened by it, or more likely just plain overwhelmed by it.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology
is indistinguishable from magic.”
Arthur C. Clark
The unfortunate truth is that it takes about 17 years for new clinical information to be adopted into. For instance, you may, or may not be sensitive to wheat, or gluten, or gliadin (a component of gluten). But the fact remains that it is not a fad, a conspiracy, or pseudoscience. Below is a quote from a 2014 PubMed study entitled “Immunogenetics of non celiac gluten sensitivity”,
“In the past 10 years it has become clear that there is a group of conditions related to gluten consumption. Foremost among them are three types: a) the least common is wheat allergy; although the estimated prevalence of food allergy among adults in Western Europe is thought to be between 1 and 2%, with the frequency in infants being greater (approximately 5%). b) The autoimmune form, the best characterized, includes CD (Crohn’s Disease), dermatitis herpetiformis, and gluten ataxia and c) sensitivity to gluten, which is possibly immune-mediated and now the most common (13).”
In my practice, we find about 35-40% of patients with digestive problems have a genetic defect of the MTHFR gene that impacts their ability to metabolize folic acid and B12. Both are vital for digestive function, immune function, and anti-inflammatory processes. Additionally, you may have adequate levels of these vitamins on conventional labs but you may not be able to properly metabolize them with the MTHFR defect.
Turns out, this patient has a variety of food sensitivities, including gluten, causing her to remain chronically and systemically inflamed. She also has one homozygous defect of the MTHFR gene that may have contributed to her miscarriage. However, with the personalized dietary changes, supplementation, and chiropractic adjustments, over a 6 month period, this young lady has lost 50 lbs., her digestion is significantly improved, and her back pain is virtually nonexistent.
There are accurate and verifiable methods of testing to determine what works for YOU. Your best bet is to consult with someone who focuses on functional medicine. That person would want to see all of your recent lab work and would likely want to order a few other tests such as verifying your MTHFR status. At that point, they can help you determine appropriate dietary and lifestyle changes to help you get your health back on track.
It’s time to invest in YOU!