Gluten Detox Plan: 5 Tips to Improving Digestion during the early stages of a Gluten Free Diet

This article is a follow up to my Top 7 Tips to Enhancing the Gluten Free Diet post. One of the major complaints of people when they go gluten free is that their stomachs still hurt despite strict adherence to the gluten free diet for a number of weeks. And to top it off, they are really hungry and crave their old favorite foods! They often have blood sugar imbalances and have been nutrient deprived for a long time. Unfortunately, the common tactic of replacing non-nutrient dense gluten processed food with the non-nutrient dense gluten-free processed food that is now highly available is not going to heal up a inflamed and leaky gut or resolve cravings for gluten foods. The answer to easing detox, digestion, and cravings is eating nutrient-rich foods that are as easily digestible as possible and learning how to manage lifestyle stress in ways that help your body release the toxic build up from the impact of untreated gluten intolerance.

If you don’t have the time or the desire to read the rest of this article, at least go educate yourself about which foods are truly the most nutrient dense and add one of these nutrient dense foods to your diet each week.  To begin your education in nutrient density, check out the fascinating nutrient density table below by Dr. Joel Furhman.

Nutrients present in 100-calorie portions

	Broccoli	Sirloin Steak	Romaine Lettuce	Kale
Protein	11.2 gm	5.4 gm	7.5 gm	11 gm
Calcium	322 mg	2.4 mg	374 mg	470 mg
Iron	3.5 mg	.7 mg	7.7 mg	5.8 mg
Magnesium	74.5 mg	5 mg	60.5 mg	97 mg
Fiber	4.7 g	0	4 g	3.4 g
Phytochemicals	Very High	0	Very High	Very High
Antioxidants	Very High	0	Very High	Very High
Folate	257 mcg	3 mcg	969 mcg	60 mcg
B2	.71 mg	.04 mg	.45 mg	.32 mg
Niacin	2.8 mg	1.1 mg	2.2 mg	2.1 mg
Zinc	1.04 mg	1.2 mg	1.2 mg gm	.55 mg
Vitamin C	350 mg	0	100 mg	329 mg
Vitamin A	7750 IU	24 IU	10,450 IU	23,407 IU
Vitamin E	26 IU	0	32 IU	34 IU
Cholesterol	0	5.5 mg	0	0
Weight	307 gm	24 gm	550 gm	266 gm
	(10.6 oz)	(.84 oz)	(19 oz)	(9.2 oz)

1. Eat Green Vegetables, cooked or raw, whichever is easier for you to digest. The table above demonstrates that green vegetables are calorie for calorie the most nutrient dense food and they contain many micronutrients (the phytochemical and antioxidants listed in the table above) that are essential to helping your body detox and re-build a healthy gut lining. However, if your digestive tract is in a state on inflammation, you probably are going to need to lightly steam your greens or blend them up in a soup or smoothie (see more info on blending in tip #3). If you have a thyroid condition (a very common condition in gluten intolerant people) stick with the non-goitrogenic greens if you are going to eat them raw: swiss chard, celery, romaine, red or green leaf lettuce, dandelion greens, parsely, and arugala. Cooking greatly reduces the goitrogenic qualities of kale and the other leafy green and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and mustard greens that make the goitrogen list. Here’s a great how-to-video on how make leafy-green based Italian soup, yummy: Italian Green Soup. Check out the great green smoothie how-to videos on this you tube channel too!

2. Dust off your blender and your food processor. If you have a juicer, dust that off too. Making your food look like baby food probably does not sound particularly appetizing. I know how you feel. But have you ever tried a green smoothie? They are delicious! Green smoothies might not work for you if your intestines are very inflamed, but simply make a soup of steamed veggies and maybe some beans, and blend the soup in a blender or food processor before consuming. You can add some roast chicken in after blending for added protein. Blending your food pre-digests it so your digestive system does not have to work as hard while still providing you with all the nutrients you need to heal up your gut.

Juicing can help ease digestion and fill the body up with nourishment as well. If you are struggling with blood sugar control juice green vegetables only; such as a mix of cucumber, kale, and celery. Removing the fiber will be a good thing if your gut is inflamed.

3. Soak your nuts, seeds, and grains. This is a simple trick that will ensure you are able to digest and absorb all the nutrients in the new types of gluten free grains and other whole foods you will be eating. Grains, nuts, and seeds in their raw form all contain enzyme (digestion) inhibitors that keeps them from getting eaten by animals in the wild. These enzymes are easily removed by an overnight soaking in slightly acid water (water with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar added).  According to Sally Fallon, nutrition researcher and author of Nourishing Traditions:

” Unless deactivated, these enyzme inhibitiors can put great strain on the digestive system. Sprouting, soaking in warm acidic water, sour leavening, culturing and fermenting–all processes used in traditional societies-deactivate enzyme inhibitors, thus making nutrients in grains, nuts and seeds more readily available…While we should include a variety or raw foods, even in the tropics, where fires are not needed for warmth the inhabitants build a fire every day to cook their foods. Some nutrients are made more available through cooking and cooking also neutralizes naturally occurring toxins in plant foods. In general grains, legumes, and certain types of vegetables should be cooked. Animal foods should be consumed both raw and cooked. Some people do very poorly on raw foods find raw food unappetizing in which case they should emulate the Asians by including small amounts of enzyme rich condiments with a diet of cooked foods” (p.47)

To soak dry nuts, seeds, or legumes I simply rinse them in fresh water and put them in a large mixing bowl. I cover them with room-temperature fresh water and 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. The next day I rinse them again in fresh water before cooking. It adds a total of about 10 extra minutes but it is well worth it. The enzyme-rich condiments that Fallon is referring to are things like cultured vegetables and coconut kefir, which are known to help restore the gut flora to a health balance and help digest other foods eaten within the same meal. Some great recipes for these enzyme-rich foods can be found here: Coconut Kefir and Fermented Veggie Recipes

4. Keep it Simple. Keep the spices and combination of different types of food simple to give your digestive system a break. A basic and helpful food combining tip is to eat fruits separately from high-protein and high-fat foods simply because fruits digest much faster than these other types of foods. Having fruit ferment in a leaky gut along with a piece of steak or nuts is not a healing climate for your gut to be in. Further, going easy on fat consumption while you are detoxing from gluten can be of benefit. The liver is the major organ of detox in your body and it also metabolizes fats. If the liver is overburdened by excess fat or fructoseintake this is going to slow down your detox process, thus giving your more intense detox symptoms for a longer period of time. So simply avoiding eating significant amounts of ats, such as added oils, while cooking will give your liver a break. Instead opt for food preparation techniques that don’t require added fats,  such as steaming and poaching.

6. Remove the Other Irritants besides Gluten
It is commonly advised to avoid dairy for the first 6 months of a gluten free diet as often the gluten intolerance reaction has destroyed the enzymes in the stomach that digest dairy. Many people with gluten intolerance have a leaky gut which causes multiple food intolerances. These people are often able to find relief by doing food elimination diets. My biggest tip if you decide to eliminate foods from your diet: focus on what you are going to add in instead of what you are eliminating, or else you will go buggy! Make a list of all the foods that make you feel good, or new foods that you aren’t intolerant to and have fun learning delicious ways to enjoy these safe and healing foods.

Unfortunately, most food allergy test people take come up with many false positives and identify allergies only and not food intolerances. There is a significant difference between food allergies and intolerances that are important to note:

Food allergy is a rather fast response (minutes) by the body’s immune system to a perceived invader. Signs or symptoms are typically immediate, dramatic and visible: coughing, sneezing, vomiting, migraines, watering eyes, rashes, swelling tissue, hives – or in severe cases an anaphylactic shock which requires emergency intervention. However other symptoms like the gastro-intestinal responses nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can be delayed for hours or even days.

Food intolerance on the other hand is rather slow onset reaction, hours, days or even weeks. It is an inability to process a particular food. It is also thought to be an immune system response. The gastro-intestinal tract in some people is simply unable to produce appropriate enzymes for normal chemical breakdown. The food passes through unprocessed, or lingers in the gut fermenting producing excess ‘gas’. In some cases protein fragments rupture the lining of the intestine allowing foreign particles into the bloodstream.

Symptoms of Food intolerance are much more delayed, less dramatic and lifestyle threatening rather than life threatening. They generally manifest as nutritional deficiencies that develop over time. If left untreated however they can lead to serious illness and tissue damage.

Major symptoms of food intolerance (food sensitivity):

• gastro-intestinal (diarrhea, bloating etc.) and subsequent malabsorption problems like anaemia and osteoporosis
• respiratory system distress including bronchitis, breathlessness, sinusitis, congestion
• miscarriage; infertility in males and females
• a large number of skin irritations from eczema to dandruff
• a long list of general body ailments including headache, lethargy, migraine, inability to concentrate, sleep disorders, mouth ulcers, urinary problems, weight fluctuation and obsessive (addictive) eating
• see also serious disease from chronic untreated food intolerance

This above definitions and symptom list are from foodintol.com®, the food intolerant consumer website. To determine what foods you are intolerant to I highly recommend visiting foodintol.com® and a trusted health practitioner.

7. Stress Management. Stress management plays a vital role in keeping just about every system in your body functioning optimally.  One of the most enjoyable and powerful things to help detox and de-stress is moving the body and sweating. Exercise is a powerful detox tool on many levels.  Sweating greatly aids the body in detoxification, so if you are feeling too fatigued to exercise you can sweat by spending time in a sauna or simply take a hot steam bath at home. Simply fill up your tub with water as warm as you can tolerate and you will generate plenty of steam. Adding in Epsom salts to the bath can greatly aid detox as well. For more information on all the different bodily systems involved in detox and a long list of lifestyle recommendations to help reduce stress and help detox, I recommend reading this article by Dr. Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN.

If you are interested in doing a guided gluten detox and leaky gut repair plan, and getting educated about what foods and lifestyle practices are best for you, I highly recommend the 6 Week Deep Tissue Detox led by Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo.

There are many, many other tips and tricks to help your body detox and healing when you eliminate gluten from the diet. I will be writing more and more about this very important topic in the future.

Update: I have written a follow up to this article which you can read by following this link:

Gluten Detox Plan: NEW Tips to Improving Digestion and ENJOYMENT during ALL stages of a Gluten Free Diet