Your Gliadin Number

Grains are commonly categorized as wheat, barley, rye, and oats, and are often the main ingredient in many processed food products.

I have noticed over the last forty years of being in active practice, that grains and choices of foods with grains have multiplied to be in nearly every meal on our patient’s diet journals (bread, pasta, and pizza are the top favorites). Recently, I had a slightly overweight retired gentleman come to my practice with chronic pain throughout his body; it was apparent he had not been very attentive to his diet with a waistline well over 45 inches. He was tired, sluggish and taken back when we completed an Adrenal Stress Index that will be described below. His gliadin level number was positive, strongly suggesting wheat and grains were one source of his health challenges.

I recognize everyone I treat desires to be healthy and want to eat foods that are best for their long-term wellness.

I also understand there is a lot of confusion what is considered to be a healthy food choice because of what I consistently see when I review food journals the patient’s document. I continue to notice patients who have pain and inflammation usually start their day with a type of wheat product; either white or whole. This concerns me because there has been a movement to promote grains as a healthy food. Patients unknowingly continue to eat grain-based food, which is a factor known to cause pain to be somewhere in their body. It has been suggested up to 126 million Americans woke with pain this morning, and it was also recently reported over sixteen thousand people accidentally overdose on pain medications annually.

I am familiar with the renewed emphasis on gluten and digestive distress in the manifestation of celiac disease, but I want you to know the problem or pattern is much more than that:

Gluten sensitivities create distress in the cardiovascular, nervous and other body systems. I am convinced the seeds used to produce grain products in America have been manipulated to the point of extreme hybridization where the altered physiology resulting from these distorted grains sabotage normal cell function. I consistently look at patients, and those in attendance at functions I speak, who have the pattern of inflammation that precipitates pain; their skin is swollen which can be quickly noticed by observing the dimension of the wrists (they are swollen or puffy, and it is difficult to see the bone structure). It is even more apparent when they nod their heads in agreement as we dialogue about pain and grains.

Oatmeal is one grain that is consistently on every patient’s diet sheet. I am not saying oatmeal has not been helpful for some to reduce cholesterol levels, but I know there are other vegetable-based menus that can lower cholesterol without the side effect of pain and inflammation.

It is very possible if you had a pastry or wheat toast this morning for breakfast, it impacted a number in your body called gliadin that is a version of gluten.

There is a protein in grains called prolamin that can be broken down into other several categories for grains (rye, wheat, oat, and barley), the most common of which is gliadin found in wheat. I have noticed patients, who are consistently tired, exhausted to the point of collapse, suffering from hives, back pain, craving salt and carry extra abdominal fat have a positive gliadin outcome with the Adrenal Stress Index test. We use a variety of tools including saliva testing to help determine and or get to the cause of our patient’s health concerns.

From my experience, products with the components of any of the typical grains may be a stealth factor for many of the common ailments you and your family contend with. Gluten which is the term used for the protein found in these foods coats the inside of your intestinal wall. This prevents the absorption of vital nutrients and is looked upon as a foreign invader in some creating an alarm to go off which often results in water retention (the swollen wrist) and migrating body pain – traveling from joint to joint. I consistently notice whole grains in patient’s diet journals that tend to always have a chronic pain syndrome. I also want you to know the science of assessing the effects of gluten (gliadin in this case) is still developing.

You may be avoiding the obvious grain-based foods, but there may be some hidden glutens in the form of other foods like caramel. Caramel coloring is sourced from barley that also is a source of gluten. You may be watching your grain consumption carefully, but not realizing the brown colorings in many of your diet choices are gluten. Caramel coloring is used to color sodas and other beverages, and it is also used to color bread to look healthier.

My suggestion, if you suffer from chronic pain, and are always looking for more energy, it would be wise to pursue an Adrenal Stress Index test and look for the results for gliadin.

A positive gliadin test is a marker to guide you in your optimal wellness health protocols.

Drugless Takeaways

– You want your gliadin number to be negative from your Adrenal Stress Index results.

– Gluten-based foods can be a source of inflammation including joint pain.

– Gluten can be found in hidden sources including caramel coloring from barley.