A Low-Gluten Diet Improves Health
A Scandinavian study compared the effects of diets that were low and high in gluten,
and found that when healthy, middle-aged adults ate a low-gluten diet for 8 weeks,
they felt better and effortlessly lost a little weight. Low-gluten eaters also experienced
less chronic inflammation as well as improvements in the quality of gut bacteria,
peptide YY (a hormone that regulates hunger).
The low-gluten diet contained about 2 grams of gluten per day, equivalent to
about one slice of American bread. The high-gluten diet contained about 18 grams
per day—still less than the estimated American average of about 22 daily grams.
Although gluten quantity isn’t listed on food labels, you can sometimes estimate
it. Gluten makes up 70–75 percent of the protein in wheat. Therefore, if one slice of
wheat bread contains 3 grams of protein, it likely contains a bit more than 2 grams of
gluten. A sandwich with 2 slices would contain between 4 and 5 grams.2
TOXIC WEED KILLER
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in
Roundup, is the most widely used weed
killer around the world. It isn’t allowed
in organic farming, but is sprayed on most
conventionally grown corn and soy, which
are genetically modified to withstand
the herbicide’s toxicity. In addition,
glyphosate is sprayed on wheat and
other grains at harvest time to speed
up the ripening process. And meat and
milk from animals that eat glyphosate-
contaminated grain can contain residues.
Scientists from the United States and
Germany found that glyphosate disruptsDid You
Know?
Since 1977, the amount
of gluten added to breads
and other foods has
tripled, according to
USDA research.gut bacteria and hormones, damages
DNA, and is linked to cancer and a host
of other diseases, including Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis.
The weed killer also impairs the heart’s
ability to generate energy and kills liver
cells that are essential for detoxification,
according to research at Wake Forest
University in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Another German study found that
people who ate conventionally produced
food, including grains, vegetables, dairy
products, and meat, had the highest levels
of glyphosate in their bodies, and high
levels correlated with chronic illness.Researchers noted: “The presence of
glyphosate residues in both humans and
animals could haul the entire population
toward numerous health hazards.”3
PESTICIDES
Residues from pesticides used
to kill bugs that can damage
crops also remain on our
food. A French study of
69,000 adults found that
those who ate organic
food most of the time had
25-percent lower odds
of cancer and significantly
lower risk of diabetes than
those who never ate organic food.
Conventional fruits and vegetables were
the top pesticide sources, followed by soy
foods, legumes, grains, breads, and cereals.
While the same pesticides cannot be
used in organic farming, the chemicals
can drift and contaminate neighboring
fields. But compared to conventional
foods, organic foods still contain only a
trace or none, and eating mostly organic
food can dramatically reduce pesticide
levels in your body.
One study found that one week of
eating 80-percent organic, instead of
80-percent conventional food, reduced
levels of organophosphates— neurotoxins
and likely carcinogens—by 89 percent.
Another found that 6 days of eating
an all-organic diet reduced levels of
these by 95 percent, and levels of other
pesticides by 37–83 percent, depending
on the chemical.4
CHEMICAL FOOD
ADDITIVES
More than 2,000 synthetic preservatives,
colors, and other chemicals are used in
conventional—not organic—packaged
foods, according to a report by the nonprofit
Environmental Working Group: Organic:
The Original Clean Food. And the lack of
FDA oversight may surprise you.
“The same companies that manufacture
food chemicals are allowed to declare
them safe,” says Melanie Benesh, EWG
legislative attorney and report coauthor.
“It’s like the fox guarding the hen(^38) • MAY 2019