https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/vegetarianism-and-plant-foods/to-gluten-or-not-to-gluten/#gsc.tab=0

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DEALING WITH THE SYMPTOMS 

I could write volumes on the dangers of making gluten-free flours your sole source for your baking and cooking needs; however, I wish to proceed to the substance of this article, and introduce ancient and heritage grains and organic whole wheat flour, which far outweigh the nutrient value in all gluten-free flours. (Some also happen to be low-gluten.) How many of the issues we so readily attribute to this recently identified poison called gluten are really issues with overall digestion or, as happens with many of us, are simply the result of being swept up in the gluten-free craze? Most important, do we understand that it is not necessarily an issue with wheat overall, but a misunderstanding about the types of wheat and grains that were used in a healthy ancestral diet and which very few of us now use?

If you are experiencing symptoms that you believe may be attributed to gluten, and when you’ve not had your condition diagnosed via the tests I mentioned earlier to determine whether you are in the category of a true case of celiac disease, it may be time to deal with your symptoms by addressing the most problematic issue—that of healing the gut and slowly reintroducing one of the earliest and most healthful foods enjoyed by our ancestors.

You may be pleasantly surprised that you, too, can finally get off the gluten-free craze. Remember that when we stop consuming a food, we naturally stop producing the enzymes that help digest that food. That fact by itself may explain why each time you try to go back to consuming wheat breads or other wheat products, they make you sick. You may be one of the unfortunates who have now lost the enzymatic capacity to digest almost any form of gluten. The sad part for me is that many parents are allowing this to happen to their children and other family members while not realizing that this may truly create a life-long inability to enjoy wheat products.

Katherine Czapp, in her article titled Our Daily Bread, notes that her father, Vasili, diagnosed with full-blown celiac disease, could eventually eat whole grain sourdough bread, slow-fermented in traditional Russian fashion, with no digestive issues. It is crucial to note that this occurred after nearly two years of very concerted effort to restore his gut health. While this success may not be possible for everyone, this should certainly offer a more sensible direction for us to pursue what may be more sensible than going through the challenging exercise of making gluten-free baked goods from substances like almond, potato, tapioca, and bean flours, which may or may not be necessary for a short period of time while you re-introduce your digestive tract to the high-vitamin, mineral, and fiber-endowed heritage grains such as einkorn, emmer, spelt and even some heritage organic whole wheat or one of our more modern organic whole wheat breeds that are grown without chemical treatments.

TO BE CONTINUED 

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