GOD SAVE OUR GENES!  NOT TO MENTION OUR ENVIRONMENT!

I recently had a genetic test.  Although I am interested in my ancestry--there were no big surprises in the results concerning that--my purpose was to see which of my genes were impacted negatively and therefore impacting my health.

One of my gene pairs has been negatively affected by Roundup, a herbicide.  With that in mind, a news article caught my eye.  Two seed companies are working together to develop a variety of sugar beets that are resistant to three different herbicides.  One of the companies is Monsanto which has a bad name if you are concerned about your food being genetically modified.  The article said that most of the sugar beets grown in the Snake River region have already been engineered by Monsanto to resist its widely-used  Roundup herbicide.

I'm alarmed!  I am concerned about both genetically modified food and widespread use of herbicides.
I am especially concerned for children.  What can we do?  I don't have a lot of answers but I will express some opinions in my next post.

I want to focus in this post on genes since they have been a big deal in my family and some of my extended family for a while.  If I understand correctly, genes are proteins that run the enzymatic reactions needed for the many processes in the body.  Chemical, physical, and emotional stressors impede these processes and/or slow them down.  It makes sense to take away the stress on genes, or lower the stress level as much as possible.

For more than a decade, various family members have been concerned with the genes that when triggered manifest in gluten intolerance and celiac disease.  I am one of those people as family members well know.  These genes in my genetic makeup that were apparently triggered or impaired in my childhood are responsible for a lifetime of health difficulties.

Recently, being gluten free has become something of a fad. I saw some funny clips where people in Central Park were interviewed.  The interviewer asked if they were gluten free and they said yes.  Then they were asked what gluten was and they didn't really know.

Should everyone go gluten free?  Some experts think so.  Quoting from Betternutrition magazine, Nov. 2015:  "Even if you do not have celiac disease, intolerances, allergies, or sensitivities, it may be beneficial to eat gluten-free.  The body's natural response to gluten is inflammation in the intestine that can inhibit proper and efficient nutrient absorption, which in turn affects many physiological responses in the body, including reflexes, muscle response, physical endurance, stamina, muscle repair, and energy recovery.  Research demonstrates that eating gluten-free can enhance athletic performance."

Should everyone go gluten free?  People in my gene pool should seriously consider it!  Maybe if we used "old wheat" of the time period when the Word of Wisdom was written most of us would tolerate it.  But in this day and age of genetically modified foods, things are different.

However, being gluten free has it's own set of problems!  One is that many people that go glutenfree are faced with poor alternative food choices.  The other is that you lose a source of B vitamins.  Taking that further, you lose the ability to produce certain beneficial bacteria in you gut.  If you are gluten free, you should definitely be taking a probiotic containing Bifida strains.

That being said, the benefits of being gluten free far outweigh the obvious difficulties of the change in diet.  Take from me!  I know!  That is why I am doing this post, with the hope that it will keep someone from having to suffer from all the myriad effects that gluten can have on a sensitive body and brain.

If you feel like you should go glutenfree but would like some definitive data supporting that choice, the best way I have found so far is enterolab.com.  I recommend both the gene test and the gluten intolerance test.







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