Is your gluten free diet healthy enough to heal your gut?

About 4 years ago I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance and began my journey of gluten free living, which turned out to be a very steep learning curve. My first thought was to eliminate all foods containing gluten and my second thought was to find gluten free alternatives. Well I didn't have to look very far as the supermarket shelves are full of all manner of gluten free foods. Pasta, bread, cakes and biscuits, there was an amazing array of what seemed to be really healthy gluten free alternatives. However on closer inspection I noticed that many of the ingredients included in the products were far from healthy, especially in the cakes and biscuits.

Gluten free flour and grain alternatives tend to have a much higher glycemic index, which means they can play havoc with your blood sugar levels and also your insulin sensitivity. It is not unusual for those on a gluten free diet to suddenly realize that they are starting to put on weight. It is important to be aware that gluten free doesn't equal healthy and neither does it equal low calorie.

Through my research to find a healthy gluten free diet, I became aware that gluten sensitive people and those with celiac disease have a high likelihood of having leaky gut syndrome. The gluten, among other things, damages the lining of the gut wall making it porous so that undigested food particles can pass through into the blood stream causing an allergic response. Part of the gluten free lifestyle should include ways of healing the gut wall. Simply cutting out gluten isn't enough to heal the leaky gut and certain foods need to be consumed to help the healing to take place.

In my book Really Healthy Gluten Free Living I discuss this issue in more detail, outlining the reasons for leaky gut, the foods to avoid and the foods that will heal your gut and help you on the road to recovery