...to find out more about gluten-sensitivities...

1. A plethora of symptoms currently attributed to other health problems and diseases might really be a negative reaction to gluten. The symptoms include some of the most common health concerns in the US:

-Weight loss or weight gain

-Nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorbtion e.g. low iron levels

-Gastro-intestinal problems (bloating, pain, gas, constipation, diarrhea)

-Fat in the stools (due to poor digestion)

-Aching joints

-Depression

-Eczema

-Head aches

-Exhaustion

-Irritability and behavioural changes

-Infertility

-irregular menstrual cycle and miscarriage

-Cramps

-tingling and numbness

-Slow infant and child growth

-decline in dental health
Misattributed to everything from chronic fatigue to irritable bowel syndrome and intestinal infections, treatments and drugs prescribed can't actually resolve the root of the problem.(http://glutenfreenetwork.com/symptoms-treatments/gluten-intolerance-symptoms-how-do-you-know-if-gluten-is-making-you-sick,

2. You think, sure, I have some of those symptoms and don't know why, but I couldn't have a gluten tolerance....could I? Well, researchers estimate that celiac disease affects about 1 in 133 Americans, and that a staggering 97 percent are undiagnosed- and that statistic doesn't even include those people who don't have celiac disease but do have either a clinical or subclinical sensitivity to gluten, which can still cause a lot of the same discomfort and related problems. Research shows that approximately 15% of the population is affected by some level of gluten-sensitivity. And that's an awful lot more people than I know avoiding that breadbasket at dinner-(http://www.alternet.org/health/66176?page=2, http://www.foodintol.com/wheat.asp)

3. Not a big deal, though, right? It's just a sensitivity and I don't want to give up pizza and sandwiches just because it's gonna make me tired and irritable. It's not like it's gonna kill me...right?

Wrong. Gluten sensitivities can lead to other problems like acid reflux and other digestive problems... which in turn can lead to bigger problems like esophagus or bowel cancer... which can most definitely kill you. And considering that bowel cancer (also known as colon cancer...yeah, that one) is the 5th most common cancer in the US and the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world, it may be time for us to think twice about what's really killing us. And as if that wasn't bad enough, it's linked to other serious health risks like diabetes, anemia and osteoporosis. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en, http://www.foodintol.com/wheat.asp)

Be well!!! :)

...to get some sunshine today...

1. More and more of the diseases afflicting humans are being associated with Vitamin D deficiency...Vitamin D that you get from the sun. Everything from the common flu to a plethora of cancers are being attributed at least in part to the deficiency. (http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-more-2009-02-23; http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/cancerMain.shtml)

2. Vitamin D supplements can't do for you what the Sun can do for you... in only fifteen minutes a day. Various Vitamin D supplements are now being shown to be either worthless because the body can't absorb it properly or worse yet, harmful because your body can't monitor the absorption from supplements like it can from the sun. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125223302.htm)

3. The sun makes you happy. It's true- not only does it make you happy because it's sunny- the link between depression and the absence of the sun for long periods of time is irrefutable. (http://www.sunshine-health.com/Avoiding_Depression_With_Light.php)

Have a sunny day!!!