Written By: Gina

There has been a steady stream of attention recently regarding following a Gluten Free Lifestyle. A recent today show article talked about the gluten free cake served at Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. If this was a major discussion point about the wedding of a former first daughter, this must be big news! As many of you know, my kids have been following a gluten free diet since they started on solid foods and I started a couple of years ago. When I am regimented, I feel better. I am less bloated, cranky and have a lot more energy. I also tend to avoid sugar when I eat gluten free products as I do not crave them like I do when I eat poorly.

What is Gluten Free?

Gluten, a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley, wreaks havoc in people with celiac disease, triggering an immune reaction that damages the small intestine and prevents absorption of nutrients.

According to statistics from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, an average of one out of every 133 otherwise healthy people in the United States suffers from celiac disease (CD), but previous studies have found that this number may be as high as 1 in 33 in at-risk populations.

Despite its rapidly increasing prevalence, the disease is still commonly misdiagnosed or missed altogether; it still takes an average of four years to reach a diagnosis, and that’s if you’re symptomatic.

This delay in proper diagnosis can dramatically increase your risk of developing other diseases such as autoimmune disorders, neurological problems, osteoporosis, and even cancer.

Most People are Better Off Avoiding Gluten -- Even Without Celiac Disease

Large numbers of people, perhaps even the majority of the population, are adversely affected by gluten on some level, and most of them do not have full-blown celiac disease, just a lesser form of gluten intolerance.

Grains and sugars are inherently pro-inflammatory and will worsen any condition that has chronic inflammation at its root -- and not just inflammation in your gut, but anywhere in your body.

Those with celiac disease know the importance of eliminating grains from their diet, as many cannot tolerate even minute amounts of gluten, but this message has still to take root in the collective mind when it comes to dealing with autoimmune diseases and other inflammatory conditions.

In fact, if you want to avoid heart disease, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes or even cancer, you will want to severely limit your grain consumption, or avoid grains entirely.

In my experience about 75-80 percent of ALL people benefit from avoiding grains, even whole sprouted grains, whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or neither of those conditions. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/03/media-finally-starts-to-catch-on-to-gluten-free.aspx

So if Gluten affects people in this way, what about animals? Especially one who weighs 4 pounds?

Here’s where I learned something new. We have a new Pug puppy named Milo. Unfortunately, we lost our 14 ½ year old Pug Vinnie last month and I just couldn’t bear to not have another Pug roaming around the house. As we were caring for Vinnie during his final weeks, we kept hearing over and over again from Veterinary staff and doctors, “Your Pug is 14 ½? That’s unheard of!” Usually Pugs do not live to be 14 ½ because they have a lot of special needs regarding their noses, ears and hips. We knew we took really good care of our dog but we took things one step further. Once I had become educated about how to eat in a truly healthy way by Dr. Cart and his wife Bettye, I could not possibly give toxic food or products to my dog anymore than I could to myself or my kids. But a whole new world has opened up to me now having a new puppy.

Vinnie was easy. He started out eating Iams dog food…which is good. But once I learned how to read labels, organic food it was. Vinnie started to act like a young puppy again! It really was amazing….he had more energy and was still able to jump up to greet us- at 13! We also spaced out his shots. We found that just like our doctor, our Veterinarian was willing to work with us so as not to compromise the dog’s Immune System. With Vinnie being so old, we knew that a vaccination or being placed under anesthesia for a teeth cleaning could be detrimental.

Now there’s Milo. I had not been to a pet store in quite a while. You can imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw aisles and aisles of product! It was like being at a pet grocery store! I started by searching for “natural” and “organic” foods which turned out to be not really natural or organic. No surprise- I encounter the same thing when purchasing my food. I read labels and found a lot of the same junk used to preserve people food is used to preserve pet food. I did find food with a USDA Organic seal and was fortunate as well in finding dog treats. Both the food and treats are without wheat, soy, meat by-products, corn, dairy or artificial colors or flavors- Gluten Free! I am so excited by this I cannot even tell you. I feel like I am doing right by my pet. We feel our Pug is a part of our family..we do not see him as “just a dog.” My point of this blog is that 10 years ago, I would probably have never found a thing that was all natural or Gluten free, or if I did it would have been pretty difficult as such products would not have been in high demand nor have been store top sellers.

Now I needed dog shampoo. There is an “organic” section marked in the pet store and I was not surprised to find that when I read the ingredients, I sincerely wanted to scream! It’s the same thing I deal with when trying to find shampoo for my kids. Parabens. Sulfates. Fragrance. And all of them say not to use on a dog under the age of 12 weeks. So I stood wondering why something that is labeled “safe, natural and organic” cannot be used on a puppy under the age of 12 weeks? Interesting right? I followed the Gluten Free rule of thumb. If you can pronounce and it and you would eat it, it’s probably OK!

Then the puppy started to itch. We took him to the Vet and found that this is called puppy “hot spots.” So back to the pet store I went in search of a healthy oil or topical gel to give the poor dog so he can be comfortable. I found that almost every topical ointment, foam or gel for dry, itchy skin, contains alcohol. Alcohol dries out the skin. Wouldn’t this product make the problem worse? It took me almost 30 minutes of reading labels to find a product that had ingredients I could read and understand, but I did find something. And again, five years ago, I would not have known better and would have probably given the dog steroids or used one of the topical ointments that contained standard toxins. And I certainly would not have read the labels to find out that the product was not safe for puppies under 12 weeks of age.

The skin is the body’s largest organ…this means for animals too. I have also learned that many Rescue organizations and farms follow a Gluten free diet for their pets. In good conscience I cannot give my puppy anything that would hurt him. I know better so I have to do better.

Gina