Have you noticed that there has been a drastic increase in the number of people who are eating gluten-free lately? The rate of not just gluten intolerance but actual Celiac Disease has risen sharply in the last 20 years. In 1990, 5.2 people out of 100,000 were diagnosed with the disease. In 2010, the rate was 19.1 per 100,000.

The increase in actual diagnosis of Celiac Disease indicates that the rise in gluten intolerance is not, as some have suggested, a fad.

At the same time, non-celiac gluten intolerance has also risen sharply. Symptoms of gluten intolerance are similar to those of Celiac Disease, without the specific damage to the lining of the small intestine that is seen with Celiac.

What could be causing this?

Scientists have known for a long time that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, kills gut bacteria. In fact, glyphosate is a patented antibiotic. Celiac Disease is associated with an imbalance of gut bacteria, where “good” bacteria are too few in number and “bad” bacteria have the opportunity to overgrow.

Certain bacteria in the gut can cause inflammation–and when the balance is thrown off, this can lead to autoimmune disease. Although people with Celiac Disease have genetic markers that indicate a predisposition to the disease, not all people with these genetic markers will develop the disease. Exposure to glyphosate may be one of the ways the autoimmune disorder is triggered.

In addition, patients with Celiac Disease show deficiencies in minerals that are known to bind to glyphosate, which is also a chelator (another patent held by the chemical is for use as an industrial pipe descaler). An increased risk of developing non-Hodgkins lymphoma is another red-flag that connects Celiac Disease to exposure to glyphosate.

While non-Celiac gluten intolerance may not produce the same sort of autoimmune intestinal damage, it does cause similar symptoms. It’s possible that the gene difference in Celiac patients is what leads to the development of full-blown Celiac vs. gluten intolerance. Either way, exposure to glyphosate may well be to blame.

Why is there so much glyphosate in gluten? Wheat is sprayed with large amounts of glyphosate before harvest, in order to dry it and make harvest and threshing easier. Because it’s applied right before harvest, it doesn’t have time to be rinsed away by rain and is present in large amounts when the wheat is processed. 

The glyphosate that ends up in wheat products can both cause gut damage and aggravate existing gut problems, because a damaged gut with an imbalanced microbiome does not digest gluten properly…allowing the protein to leak out of the gut and aggravate the immune system.

If you or someone you care about has Celiac Disease or non-Celiac gluten sensitivity, it’s even more important for them to stay away from Roundup or glyphosate and to work to balance the bacteria in your gut. While a gluten-free diet is vital to healing, protecting yourself from further damage and nurturing your microbiome can do a lot towards rebuilding your health!

On a side note: Anne, 69, was in pain as a little girl due to chronic autoimmune diseases that began when she was 8 years old. Doctors didn’t really know what to do and didn’t do much to help. On the contrary, they kept adding a new prescription drug every year, poisoning her body and making it unable to detox and heal itself properly.

But, at age 69, she came in and was treated with whole food supplements and herbs that helped her to quickly heal her gut by and purged toxins and parasites from her body which then restored her gut microbiome.

With guidance, Anne’s body healed by using safe, natural, whole food supplements and herbs — after suffering profound body damage for 61 years!

That’s how powerful natural medicine is!