Dr. Doni is quoted extensively in an article in this month’s Energy Times. The article, written by Lisa James, is entitled, “Your Brain on Gluten,” and it examines a clinical view of the linkage between gluten and a variety of brain dysfunctions. You can find the entire article here on Energy Times, or click on the image below.

If you are a regular reader, you know about my take on gluten and its effects on the body. That’s why I was pleased to discuss this very topic, alongside some other experts, in this month’s issue of Energy Times. We covered a lot of ground—everything from inflammation resulting from gluten sensitivity to testing, treatment, and results—including a profile of one of my patients!

Here are some highlights:

Inflammation resulting from gluten sensitivity

This process can be triggered by leaky gut syndrome. “Gluten opens up the space between the intestinal cells, like grout cracking in a tile floor,” explains Wilson. “It ends up creating an inflammatory response.” Stress, antibiotics and exposure to pesticides and herbicides can also promote gut leakiness; in turn, leaky gut can add to the body’s overall stress burden.

Testing for gluten sensitivity

“Right now the standard testing for gluten sensitivity is to avoid gluten for at least three weeks, see how you feel, then reintroduce it to your diet and see how you feel,” says Wilson. “Some people need to avoid gluten for three to six months.”

Wilson notes that how patients react to gluten testing doesn’t always reflect how going gluten-free will affect them. “Some patients have relatively low reactivity to gluten but they wind up seeing significant improvements in their health if they avoid it. So I’ve started paying attention to even the mild gluten reactions,” she says.

In addition to eliminating gluten, Wilson also recommends “digestive enzymes; if food is better digested it won’t leak through. Glutamine is known to help the intestinal cells.” In addition, Wilson checks patients for intestinal yeast overgrowth as well as heavy metal toxicity.

Treatment and results

How does treatment for gluten sensitivity make Wilson’s patients feel? “The way people usually phrase it is that they feel more themselves; they have better sleep, less anxiety, more energy and focus, better memory. They’ll say, ‘I’m no longer bloated and I’ve lost at least 10 pounds.’”

I invite you to check out the whole article, and to read more about gluten and its effects here on my blog: http://bit.ly/gluten-basics.

–Dr Doni
10^th October 2014

*The print version is used with explicit permission from Energy Times.