Could You or Your Child Be Gluten-Sensitive?

Gluten is a protein found in commonly eaten grains, including wheat, rye, barley and oats (however, the gluten in oats is different and can be tolerated by some gluten-sensitive individuals).

Gluten sensitivity has been found to cause celiac disease, a severe developmental disorder. The association between gluten and celiac disease was discovered by pure coincidence during World War II when some children with the disorder “miraculously” recovered when deprived of wheat, only to relapse when wheat was reintroduced in their diet.

More recently, gluten has been linked with schizophrenia and autism. It is also suspected as a possible cause in a variety of other conditions. The following symptoms may be caused by gluten in sensitive individuals:

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Malaise
• Depression
• Any sort of chronic digestive problem (difficulty gaining weight, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel, undigested food in the stools)
• Sjorgen’s syndrome (dry eyes)
• Epilepsy associated with any of the following:
– Brain calcification
– History of migraine headaches
– Hyperactivity
– Digestive problems
• Osteoporosis
• Infertility, complications of pregnancy such as miscarriage, low birth-weight infants
• Intestinal lymphoma
• Esophageal cancer
• Diabetes
• Thyroid problems
• Schizophrenia
• Autism
• Dermatitis herpetiformis (a chronic skin condition with tiny blisters that resemble those of herpes virus infections)

An important fact is that gluten sensitivity often eludes all current laboratory tests and can only be confirmed with a trial elimination for somewhere between three weeks and three months.

(Source: Sidney Baker, MD, “A Consensus Report of the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) Scientific Effort.”)

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