From the Desk of Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC.....

Geez, it's so hard to trust the food industry.  Many companies just keep raising the bar on how low they will stoop to save a buck - not concerned about the end consumer's health and well-being.  Meat glue, turkey in beef - what the heck else will they think of.  You've heard of turducken (stuffing a turkey with a duck)...perhaps they should call this abomination burky!  Thank goodness this company got caught...but how many don't.  Get to know who you purchase your food from.  Buy from the local amish butcher store if you have one.  We are lucky as we have Hefling's Amish Farm Market her in the Mt. Clemens area and Peacock's Poultry Farm in the Troy area.  Both reputible source for many food products.  Well, read on and get mad!

Gluten sensitivity is often least expected as a cause for a chronic health condition.  Health challenges such as Hashimoto's, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Depression and Anxiety, Balance Disorders, Irritble Bowel Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, ADD/ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and many other maladies can be caused or triggered by gluten sensitivity.

We are all creatures of habit, but when it comes to our food selections we can make "CRAZY" decisions.  Gluten can be very difficult to give up because of a little talked about compound it contains.  Often this compound can lead to addiction to wheat.  Similar compounds can lead to addiction to dairy and soy as well.  If the proper testing is not done - dire health consequences can be yours due to irrational decisions.

Adopting a gluten free diet has helped many people begin a healing process that will take years. Thanks in part to a recent surge in gluten sensitivity diagnoses and improved gluten free products, more and more people are starting down the path that will help them find relief for the chronic pain, inflammation, fatigue and intestinal distress they have suffered with for many years. However, a gluten free diet alone may not be enough to stop inflammation from occurring. People who have started a gluten free diet but who still experience inflammation and other symptoms should consider additional testing and dietary and lifestyle changes to address ongoing, chronic symptoms.

Why Do I Still Feel Bad?
Adopting a gluten free diet makes most people with a gluten sensitivity or other inflammatory diseases like Fibromyalgia and thyroid disorders feel better within a short time frame. Severe symptoms may begin to abate, energy will start to return and skin disorders like psoriasis may begin to clear. But living gluten free is usually not enough to completely avoid the inflammatory symptoms caused by gluten and its relatives.

This happens for several reasons. First, cross contamination of gluten free food is common and gluten can hide in a variety of foods people might not consider as having gluten such as sauces, sour cream and snack foods. Additionally, many foods that are similar to gluten react with the gluten antibody. An immune system already on the defense against gluten will treat these other foods the same way it treats the gluten peptide thus starting the cycle of inflammation all over again. Finally, there could be additional unidentified health concerns contributing to a body's inflammatory response.

Additional Testing
Medical tests are not one size fits all and often, people receive misinformation from the medical community because physicians simply ordered the wrong test. Proper testing has to go in depth and cover a wide range and breadth of issues to truly present a whole picture of a patient. Until recently, there was only one test used by the medical community to determine if people had a gluten sensitivity or not and this test was often wrong.

Thankfully, Cyrex Labs in Arizona developted several tests that are more sensitive and more accurate and that allow physicians to look further into a patient's gluten sensitivity. These tests include:

Several recently published articles have confirmed a correlation between patients with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity and those who also suffer from psoriasis and eczema, and that gluten sensitivity runs in the family[1].  These studies finally bring to light something people who have chosen a gluten free lifestyle have known for years.  Skin disorders can be caused by gluten sensitivity and living a strict gluten free diet can alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis and eczema.  And, gluten sensitivity is often present in several members of the same family. 

I’ve gotten emails and correspondence from patients who tell me they have an incredibly hard time relaxing due to pain and/or stress.  Some wandered aimlessly throughout the house experiencing pain and chronic fatigue while others have mood swings and brain fog.