More reasons to avoid wheat & gluten

gluten is composed of gliadin and glutenin. It has long been believed that only the gliadin portion is responsible for gluten sensitivity. According to a study published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2006), “it is highly probable that the glutenin proteins are toxic.” In other words, laboratories are only testing for half of the potentially immune-reactive components of gluten. And for the half that they do test (gliadin), only one-quarter of it is being measured (alpha gliadin).

Gluteomorphins: Are You an Addict?

Many people who go gluten-free claim that the diet actually makes them feel worse. This can be quite baffling if one is unfamiliar with gluteomorphins. Common in autistic children, gluteomorphins are opiod peptides formed during the digestion of the gliadin component of the gluten protein (3). For these folks, getting off of gluten can be like kicking a cocaine habit!

The discontinuance of any addictive substance will result in a period of withdrawal lasting a few days to several weeks. In the case of gluteomorphin withdrawal, symptoms can include neurochemical imbalances, altered mood, and gastrointestinal distress. Yes, gluten can be a drug.

An individual whose immune system is making antibodies to gluteomorphins will have a much tougher time in the early phases of a gluten-free diet.

Traditional gluten testing does not look for gluteomorphin antibodies.

If you live within 1.5 miles of an innerstate highway, you breathe in pollution, and that can cause birth defects and other problems.

Reviewing the birth records of more than 81,000 infants, researchers found that the risk of having a baby born before 30 weeks of gestation increased 128 percent for women who live near the worst traffic-generated air pollution.

In addition, preeclampsia increased 42 percent for women who lived in those areas, according to the study, published online in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Preclampsia, a serious illness that involves high blood pressure, can endanger the baby and the mother.

A related article says

Air pollutants from Interstate 10 in Santa Monica extend as far as 2,500 meters — more than 1.5 miles — downwind, based on recent measurements from a research team headed by Dr. Arthur Winer, a professor of environmental health sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health. This distance is 10 times greater than previously measured daytime pollutant impacts from roadways and has significant exposure implications, since most people are in their homes during the hours before sunrise and outdoor pollutants penetrate into indoor environments. 

although traffic volumes are lower in the pre-sunrise hours, the air pollution concentrations measured by the team were higher than even those during daytime traffic congestion peaks. Concentrations are higher before sunrise even though emissions are lower because of the unique weather conditions. In the pre-sunrise hours, wind speeds are generally very low, and while the wind direction is somewhat variable, the predominant direction is from the northeast in the winter months and the northwest in the summer months.

This means that areas south of Interstate 10 are generally downwind in the pre-sunrise hours and areas north of the freeway are generally upwind; this is consistent with the observation that vehicle-related pollutants are found much further from the freeway on the south side in the pre-sunrise hours, compared with the north side.

“Our research shows that under the low wind speeds and shallow temperature inversions during the early morning, before sunrise, air pollution from freeways is trapped near the surface, limiting dilution and creating a zone of influence many times greater than during the day,”

More Ways Gluten and Wheat Can Hurt You - Beyond Celiac

Celiac disease is hardly the beginning and end of this story. Dermatitis herpetiformis is a rash that results when gluten induces an autoimmune response in the skin rather than the gut, and there is evidence that gluten can provoke a similar autoimmune response in the brain as well.

Gluten sensitivity or intolerance …. might be mediated by the innate, rather than the adaptive, immune system, meaning that T and B cells are not involved.

Gluten “intolerance” is simply when people report that the feel a lot better when they stop eating gluten. It reportedly affects about 10% of the population, but that’s only the 10% we currently estimate, and the effects could be more far reaching than we currently understand - the skin problems and brain issues are likely only the beginning. We’re not used to eating wheat or gluten and my guess is that future research likely uncovers more issues.

Is it skin cancer? 38 photos that could save your life Pictures - CBS News Good pictorial. Reddish funk. Brown moles. Black melanoma(they can also be blue or red). 
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Is it skin cancer? 38 photos that could save your life Pictures - CBS News

Good pictorial. Reddish funk. Brown moles. Black melanoma(they can also be blue or red). 

When you drink wine, you might be drinking some snakes

At a wine seminar back in NC, I met a vineyard owner who is quite proud that his vineyard still hand-picks it’s grapes. Aside from being able to only the pick the best and ripe grapes, he cited one of the hidden benefits to this process is that most larger companies that use machines for harvest actually end up with a lot of snakes in the mix. As a wine lover (and extreme snake-fearer) this left me jaw-dropped for months.