You gave up gluten. It was so hard, but you needed to do it to improve your health.
The problem is that since you gave up the breads, pizzas, pastas, cookies, and all the other gluten treats you’d come to love… You actually feel worse!
Your head hurts. Your joints ache. You feel tired and down. And you have a stomach ache that just won’t quit.
What gives?! Going gluten-free was supposed to make everything better. But it feels like you just gave up your favorite foods for nothing. Worse than nothing, really, because you feel awful.
Don’t give up! There are reasons – five very manageable reasons – that removing gluten from your diet can temporarily make you feel worse.
And keep reading to the end for some simple, proactive steps you can take to minimize the awful and feel better sooner.
5 Reasons Giving Up Gluten Made You Feel Worse
Any time you make a major change to your diet, your body is going to react. And when you stop eating something that’s been destructive to your body – whether you knew it or not – it can take a little while for your body to bounce back.
Here are five reasons you feel worse on a gluten-free diet… and what you can do to feel better.
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1. Gluten damaged your digestive system.
Gluten is an especially destructive protein.(1) It causes physical reactions even in people who don’t have intolerances or sensitivities. And if you are gluten-intolerant, gluten-sensitive, or have celiac disease, gluten can do serious damage.
Going gluten-free may help you avoid new damage to your gut, but it can’t repair the damage that’s already been done. With time, your digestive system will heal… but it can take a long time. In fact, research shows that celiac patients who stuck to gluten-free diets for years still didn’t have completely healed guts.(2)
Luckily, you can quickly get your gut back on track… with the right support. There are special strains of probiotics that can help address damage in several important ways. These particular strains encourage the production of healing compounds known as short chain fatty acids (SCFA) including butyrate. These SCFA help maintain the integrity of the protective gut barrier and support healthy immune responses.(3)
And they also deliver individualized benefits:
- Saccharomyces boulardii is a clinically studied probiotic yeast(4) that’s been shown to support full nutrient absorption, reduce inflammation in the gut,6 and deliver gastrointestinal (GI) comfort quickly.(5)
- Bacillus coagulans is an effective spore probiotic that works quickly to increase GI comfort– even right after eating – and promote intestinal healing.(7)
- Bacillus subtilis is a powerful spore probiotic that offers balanced immune system support, produces short chain fatty acids to repair and nourish the gut barrier, and speed gut healing.(8)
Including these probiotics in your gluten-free regimen will help your body shake off the effects of gluten more quickly and help you feel your best.
2. You’re in gluten withdrawal.
That’s right – withdrawal. Turns out that gluten acts on your opioid receptors,(9) which is one of the reasons that eating cake and cookies can make you feel happy and calm. So removing gluten from your diet can cause withdrawal symptoms that may last for weeks.
If you’re experiencing:
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Fever and chills…
You may be dealing with gluten withdrawal.
Add those to strong cravings for gluten-rich foods, and you may be tempted to ditch the new diet and go back to gluten… But then you’d just have to start the process all over again. It’s so much better to push through any initial discomfort than to relapse and risk further damaging your gut.
3. Prior gluten damage caused nutritional deficiencies.
When gluten damages your digestive tract, your body can’t process and absorb nutrients effectively. So you could end up undernourished even if you’re eating a super healthy diet. This is so common that at least 87% of people with celiac disease are severely deficient(10) in several vitamins and minerals including:
- B vitamins (especially vitamin B12 and folic acid)
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Zinc
- Iron
- Calcium
These deficiencies can bring on all sorts of health issues… and they won’t go away overnight – but, as your gluten-free digestive tract gets progressively healthier, nutrient absorption will increase.
Pro Tip: The same probiotics that help soothe your gut also produce several nutrients, including B vitamins and vitamin K.(11)
4. You’re eating gluten-free, but not in a healthy way.
If your new diet only focuses on gluten-free replacements for your favorite wheat-based foods, you could be eating a lot of unhealthy ingredients. To make up for the lack of gluten, some highly processed gluten substitutes often contain a lot of sugar and unhealthy fats. At the same time, they’re short on fiber and nutrients. And when you’re trying to bounce back from gluten-related injury and deficiencies, these foods can take you in the wrong direction.
Try to minimize the processed foods in your diet, at least while you’re still healing.
Instead, prioritize fresh fruits and vegetables, gluten-free whole grains (like brown rice and quinoa), and healthy fats like avocado and olive oil. Consider talking with a nutritionist to help you rebuild your diet in a proactive way to speed your gluten recovery.
5. You’re eating gluten-free foods that STILL contain gluten.
Frustrating but true: many foods labeled as gluten-free actually contain gluten.
Research shows that nearly 40% of gluten-free foods sampled contained gluten.(12) On top of that, cross-contamination in restaurants – even in your own kitchen – can expose you to accidental gluten, which can trigger the same cycle of symptoms you’re trying to avoid.
It can be tricky to avoid gluten, even if you’re sticking to a gluten-free diet. That’s why it’s important to take steps to protect yourself against accidental gluten.
According to experts, the best way to do that is with two special enzymes that specifically break down gluten into harmless bits.
DPP-IV and Tolerase G work sort of like gluten scissors, chopping up unmanageable gluten proteins to smaller pieces that can’t cause any trouble.
These enzymes can make a world of difference when it comes to eating, especially when you’re eating out.
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Going gluten-free is an important step in protecting your health. But diet alone can only do so much for you… especially because it’s nearly impossible to completely avoid gluten all the time. From cross contamination to not-so-gluten-free foods, you need to give your body proactive support against accidental gluten.
Gluten Away offers complete anti-gluten support to help you manage unexpected gluten thanks to a formula that features two powerful gluten-smashing enzymes: DPP-IV and Tolerase G.
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Gluten Away helps you break down unintended gluten while giving your gut the support it needs to feel comfortable every day.
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Sources:
- Kõiv V, Tenson T. Gluten-degrading bacteria: availability and applications. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021 Apr;105(8):3045-3059. doi: 10.1007/s00253-021-11263-5. Epub 2021 Apr 10. PMID: 33837830; PMCID: PMC8053163.
- Welstead L. The Gluten-Free Diet in the 3rd Millennium: Rules, Risks and Opportunities. Diseases. 2015 Jul 13;3(3):136-149. doi: 10.3390/diseases3030136. PMID: 28943615; PMCID: PMC5548243.
- Parada Venegas D, De la Fuente MK, Landskron G, González MJ, Quera R, Dijkstra G, Harmsen HJM, Faber KN, Hermoso MA. Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs)-Mediated Gut Epithelial and Immune Regulation and Its Relevance for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Front Immunol. 2019 Mar 11;10:277. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00277. Erratum in: Front Immunol. 2019 Jun 28;10:1486. PMID: 30915065; PMCID: PMC6421268.
- Moré MI. Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 — die medizinische Hefe verbessert die Funktion intestinaler Enzyme [Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 - the medicinal yeast improves intestinal enzyme function]. MMW Fortschr Med. 2019 Mar;161(Suppl 4):20-24. German. doi: 10.1007/s15006-019-0290-5. Epub 2019 Mar 20. PMID: 30895510.
- Rodríguez-Nogales A, Algieri F, Garrido-Mesa J, Vezza T, Utrilla MP, Chueca N, García F, Rodríguez-Cabezas ME, Gálvez J. Intestinal anti-inflammatory effect of the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii in DSS-induced colitis in mice: Impact on microRNAs expression and gut microbiota composition. J Nutr Biochem. 2018 Nov;61:129-139. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2018.08.005. Epub 2018 Sep 1. PMID: 30236870.
- Rodríguez-Nogales A, Algieri F, Garrido-Mesa J, Vezza T, Utrilla MP, Chueca N, García F, Rodríguez-Cabezas ME, Gálvez J. Intestinal anti-inflammatory effect of the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii in DSS-induced colitis in mice: Impact on microRNAs expression and gut microbiota composition. J Nutr Biochem.
- Shinde T, Perera AP, Vemuri R, Gondalia SV, Karpe AV, Beale DJ, Shastri S, Southam B, Eri R, Stanley R. Synbiotic Supplementation Containing Whole Plant Sugar Cane Fibre and Probiotic Spores Potentiates Protective Synergistic Effects in Mouse Model of IBD. Nutrients. 2019 Apr 11;11(4):818. doi: 10.3390/nu11040818. PMID: 30979002; PMCID: PMC6521199.
- Rhayat L, Maresca M, Nicoletti C, Perrier J, Brinch KS, Christian S, Devillard E, Eckhardt E. Effect of Bacillus subtilis Strains on Intestinal Barrier Function and Inflammatory Response. Front Immunol. 2019 Mar 29;10:564. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00564. PMID: 30984172; PMCID: PMC6449611.
- Bressan P, Kramer P. Bread and Other Edible Agents of Mental Disease. Front Hum Neurosci. 2016 Mar 29;10:130. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00130. PMID: 27065833; PMCID: PMC4809873.
- Wierdsma NJ, van Bokhorst-de van der Schueren MA, Berkenpas M, Mulder CJ, van Bodegraven AA. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are highly prevalent in newly diagnosed celiac disease patients. Nutrients. 2013 Sep 30;5(10):3975-92. doi: 10.3390/nu5103975. PMID: 24084055; PMCID: PMC3820055.
- Vera-Santander VE, Hernández-Figueroa RH, Jiménez-Munguía MT, Mani-López E, López-Malo A. Health Benefits of Consuming Foods with Bacterial Probiotics, Postbiotics, and Their Metabolites: A Review. Molecules. 2023 Jan 27;28(3):1230. doi: 10.3390/molecules28031230. PMID: 36770898; PMCID: PMC9920731.
- Lee HJ, Anderson Z, Ryu D. Gluten contamination in foods labeled as "gluten free" in the United States. J Food Prot. 2014 Oct;77(10):1830-3. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-14-149. PMID: 25285507.
