years old
– my parents surprised I didn’t like
pizza that wasn’t the only thing that
was unusual about me I ended up fitting
in the same summer dress for three years
in a row when I was three four and five
years old and that also puzzled my
parents it turns out although I think
healthy on the outside I wasn’t on the
inside in the summer of 2009 I was
diagnosed with celiac disease at the age
of five years old since then I’ve been
eating gluten-free eating gluten-free is
hard especially when it’s not by choice
but most people don’t even know what
gluten is and how it can affect certain
people’s health and even their personal
lives since then I’ve come to know
others whose stories involve gluten many
people including my friends and family
have experienced countless health
benefits on a gluten-free diet and I’d
like to share some of their stories
today and who knows maybe this talk will
inspire you to start a gluten free
journey that hopefully leads to similar
health improvements let me start with a
big question what is gluten gluten is a
protein it’s everywhere and you probably
eat it every day gluten is found in most
foods containing wheat rye barley or
malt so gluten is found and many flour
based products some examples of foods of
gluten are cakes cookies pizza pasta
things like that but sometimes glynn
isn’t some foods that you wouldn’t
expect like soy sauce yogurt and ice
cream but today even gluten-free isn’t
as hard as you may think and a lot of
these foods are now made gluten-free
ayuk gluten-free because of my celiac
disease but the author of the book the
gluten syndrome dr. Ford says he
believes up to 30% of the world could be
gluten sensitive one example of a person
that was affected by gluten but who
didn’t have celiac disease is my best
friend Kendall when she was 4 years old
she had tons of stomachaches and had
them for the rest of her life until she
went off gluten two years ago just like
with my friend Kendall’s example I am
came across many positives of a
gluten-free diet in my research
according to a study featured in JAMA
internal medicine 2.7 million Americans
are on a gluten-free diet that’s more
than the population of the city of
Sophia but out of those 2.7 million
people only 1.7 actually had celiac
disease so why are so many people going
gluten-free if they don’t have celiac
disease gluten sensitivity also known as
gluten intolerance is quite common but
can have serious consequences when you
have great sensitivity you usually have
some sort of a negative reaction eating
gluten and some sort of a positive
reaction to the symptoms on a
gluten-free diet you may be wondering
what the difference is between having
green sensitivity and celiac disease and
even what celiac disease is according to
the celiac disease foundation celiac
disease is all involves an autoimmune
reaction that damages and affects the
lining of the small intestines for those
a celiac goon acts like a monster and
tramples on the villi
when this monster tramples on the villi
the lining of the intestines it prevents
the body from absorbing the nutrients
that it needs for those with celiac they
have a different reaction than those
with gluten sensitivity do you want
these gluten people running in your
stomach this is just one of my many
reasons to try bloom free diet reducing
internal inflammation is also a big
reason a good family friend who is also
nutrition and wellness consultant shots
friendship says I avoid gluten because
it causes inflammation in my back where
I’ve arthritis from
a vertebra I also feel like my
digestives in a jet digestive system
works better with our processed foods in
general on a gluten-free diet you most
likely will eat healthier cakes cookies
sweets and other unhealthy foods will be
cut from your diet now they do make
those foods gluten free but they are
made with less processed ingredients
artificial colors and dyes personally
whenever I go out to eat I usually will
order a salad because that’s the safest
thing for me to eat oftentimes foods and
restaurants have been cross-contaminated
or cooked on the same equipment with
foods that have gluten in them on a
gluten-free diet
you also will most likely eat a lot more
fruits and vegetables which will boost
your immune system
another reason to try gluten-free diet
is that many brain disorders are
associated with gluten and patients with
them have seen dramatic improvements on
a gluten-free diet epilepsy autism and
Alzheimer’s are just a few examples
research has shown that many Alzheimer’s
patients may have had previously
undiagnosed gluten sensitivity another
research showed that a gluten-free diet
could help people with their depression
symptoms oftentimes people get in a long
lasting cycle of eating unhealthy foods
that lead to waking and then to
depression furthermore your heart one of
the most important parts of your body
could lower the chance of developing
diseases just by avoiding gluten
research has shown that a gluten-free
diet could improve your cardiovascular
function lastly autoimmune diseases one
research showed the study participants
who adopted a gluten-free diet reported
fewer incidents of autoimmune diseases
my aunt Hilary has a thyroid autoimmune
disease that causes fatigue and lethargy
she says that after going live free she
pretty quickly felt that she had much
more energy and it was easier for her to
lose weight of course celiac disease is
an autoimmune disorder that can only be
treated by going gluten free which is
why I as well as many other people
including my cousin Hannah
gluten-free after Hannah went
gluten-free after being diagnosed with
celiac disease many problems she was
having including belly aches brittle
hair and nails and dark circles under
her eyes went away many people resist
going gluten-free because they think
that they’ll have to eliminate many
yummy foods from their diet but today
there are so many gluten-free
alternatives to popular foods now it may
take a bit of persistence at first to
find the tasty gluten-free foods but in
the end it’s worth it
one bakery had bread that almost made me
throw up I think I have to determine the
definition of bread with that bakery it
was basically dried nuts and fruits and
vegetables all squished together and
they called it bread while another just
baked er that I discovered while
travelling had the most delicious gluten
free meals I’ve ever tasted knowing what
a difference it makes to have quality
gluten free foods has inspired me to
open up my own gluten-free Bakery one
day and these are some gluten free cakes
that I’ve started practicing these days
it seems that gluten free is being
promoted everywhere but it’s not just a
fad Gwynne free can be good for you and
as I’ve discussed there are countless
health benefits many people don’t
realize that many health problems they
are experiencing may be caused by gluten
maybe you’re a person that has noticed
that you’ve shared some of the same
symptoms as people in my stories maybe
you are a person that could benefit from
a gluten free diet and who knows maybe
one day will come and visit me and my
gluten-free Bakery my last question for
you today
do you have the guts for gluten thank
you [Applause]