Have a Gluten Intolerance? Consuming Gluten in Moderation?

Dr. Vikki Petersen provides us with an editorial on a Huffington Post article and some very smart advice that you won’t want to miss, especially if you have a gluten intolerance. Learn how eating gluten may effect you, even just cheating once a month. Read on to learn more.

Gluten Intolerant? Be Careful of ‘Everything in Moderation’ Advice

By: Dr. Vikki Petersen

We’ve all probably heard ‘everything in moderation’ as a good rule of thumb to follow. Whether we are talking about diet or exercise it seems to ring true, for the most part. But all rules have exceptions and this one is no different.

If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity moderate consumption of gluten is a death sentence. Is that an exaggeration? No, it isn’t. Gluten is known to increase the incidence of dying from all causes when it is untreated and the treatment is the total and complete elimination of gluten.

Gluten consumption is a zero-tolerance policy for those of us who are intolerant.

Why do I bring this up? I was reading a recent article on the Huffington Post titled “Should Everyone Avoid Gluten for Good Health” where the author quoted Alessio Fasano, a personal hero of mine, as stating that he personally ate pizza, but in moderation.

This comment by Dr Fasano then was used as a jumping off point to stress ‘moderation’ as the best choice for those who are gluten tolerant.

This may sound innocent enough on the surface, but remember that most people hear what they want to hear and I can just imagine readers thinking, “If it’s good enough for Dr Fasano it’s good enough for me”.

The vital missing information here is that Dr Fasano is one of the lucky people who suffers from neither celiac disease nor gluten sensitivity. By his own admission and testing, his body tolerates gluten just fine. The fact that he chooses to ingest it in moderation probably has to do with the fact that he knows gluten is not properly digested by anyone, sensitive or not.

Getting back to the article, the author who is not a doctor but a registered dietician uses what I consider a poor example of explaining why he feels that he himself is not gluten intolerant. He shares that he enjoyed a pasta dinner and felt just fine afterward, thus confirming, in his opinion, that he is fine to eat gluten.

This is incorrect. I myself am highly gluten sensitive. If I chose to eat a pasta dinner, I too would feel fine afterward. Two to three days later, however, I would begin to feel quite horrible.

My point is that gluten intolerance is not an allergy in the true definition of the word and therefore one is more likely to see reactions occurring many hours up to several days later, as opposed to seeing an immediate reaction.

The Huffington Post is a huge site and many people read it. I don’t want this article that preaches ‘moderation’ to be adopted by someone who is in fact gluten intolerant. Consuming gluten as little as once per month is frequent enough to keep someone quite ill.

If you already know that you’re gluten intolerant please don’t be tempted to cheat. For those whom you know who do not enjoy good health encourage them to get tested. If the test is positive make sure they know the importance of zero gluten consumption. It could make the difference between a healthy or disease-ridden life, not to mention a shortened lifespan for those who cheat.

I hope you found this helpful. If you would like assistance yourself or know someone who does, please let them know that we are happy to offer a free health analysis to see if we can help them.

HealthNOW Medical Center treats patients from across the country and internationally at our Destination Clinic. We are here to help.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN
Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”
Author of the eBook “Gluten Intolerance – What you don’t know may be killing you!”

The Gluten Effect is available on Amazon.