Gluten-Free Supplements, Snacks & Meal Replacements

by Henri Roca, MD, Clinical Functional Medicine Specialist

Food creates wellness. Food drives illness. 

Can you imagine what type of food negatively affects more than one third of all Americans, many of whom don’t even know it. Diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, anemia, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Type I Diabetes, and multiple sclerosis are just a few conditions that may be caused by this very common foodstuff. The consequences of the diseases caused by this substance include preventable illnesses and extremely high, unnecessary healthcare costs.

The culprit is gluten, a mixture of proteins including gliadins and glutenins, known for giving wheat dough its elastic texture. Gluten is also found in barley, oats, spelt, kamut and several other foods. A rise in gluten sensitivity and celiac disease, a serious autoimmune disease in which gluten damages the small intestine, has led folks to search out gluten-free options.

Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity can create a variety of symptoms or none at all, leading to many inaccurate diagnoses and many more symptoms that are just ignored. That piece of bread or “healthy” breakfast cereal may not be as innocent as you think.

Testing for gluten sensitivity or celiac disease is possible, but the only real way to know how your body reacts to gluten is to use an elimination/reintegration diet. Eliminating gluten-containing foods for a short period means avoiding barley, oats, spelt and wheat, as well as the many hidden sources including soup mixes, certain kinds of alcohol, sauces, salad dressings, certain vitamins, medications, many protein powders and bars, and even stamps and envelopes that you have to lick.

This test will not work without eliminating 100 percent of gluten from your diet, so special attention needs to be paid to which foods contain even small traces of gluten. Eliminating gluten for 3 months is sufficient time to help determine whether or not gluten is a drive of your illness.

With so many alternatives out there now, it is easier than one might think to be gluten-free. OptiCleanse from Xymogen is a hypoallergenic rice-based protein that is great for use in elimination diets, and as a protein supplement for those looking to cleanse the gastrointestinal tracts.

Interested In Working Together?

OneMedicine Wellness Services seeks to help you achieve the best & healthiest version of yourself. If you would like to get started on your journey to restoring health, set up a consultation here.

If you would like to learn more about our service offerings, click here.

For questions & comments, please contact us here.