Alpha Health Education

Alpha ENF Formulas are gluten free and do not contain cows milk, soy or egg ingredients. They are suitable for vegetarians.

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Foods made with wheat are staples in North American and European diets. Unfortunately, wheat and its close relatives,  barley,  rye and oats have proved to be a problem in the diets of many of our patients. Allergy develops to proteins in these grains known as "gluten". Celiac Disease is the best-recognized form of gluten allergy.

There is strong evidence that gluten allergy in some people contributes to or causes asthma, eczema, hives, arthritis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cerebellar ataxia, diabetes 2, depression, migraine headaches,  Crohn's disease, irritable bowel, lymphoma and gastrointestinal cancers. There is a distinct possibility that gluten allergy contributes to the development of autism, schizophrenia, several autoimmune disorders and glomerulonephritis. People with any of these diseases should consider diet revision using the gluten-free Alpha Nutrition Program.

The Alpha Nutrition Program excludes cereal grains because of the high incidence of observed problems with cereal grain ingestion.

Gluten

Wheat proteins are collectively called "Gluten". Wheat is closely related to other cereal grains, especially rye, barley, and oats. Enthusiasm for "whole grains" to increase intake of dietary fiber, especially in the past decade, led to increased consumption of whole cereal grains. Relatively unrefined grains, often in combination, as with granola cereals and whole wheat breads fortified with bran, coarse flours, and other additives are now eaten in large quantities.

Gluten is a mixture of individual proteins classified in two groups, the Prolamines and the Glutelins. The prolamine, Gliadin, seems to be a major problem in celiac disease; gliadin antibodies are commonly found in the immune complexes associated with this disease.

When wheat is the principal problem food- barley, oats, and rye are excluded as well. Millet is usually an acceptable grain alternative. Corn and rice are usually tolerated when gluten prolamines are the chief and only food intolerance, although corn triggers food allergy for its own reasons.  Triticale is a new hybrid grain with the properties of wheat and rye, and is excluded on a gluten-free diet. The identity and the amount of the prolamine decides the kind of reaction that is likely to occur. It should be noted that there is considerable variability in the prolamine content of various foods made from cereal grains, and this variability is one of the many reasons why food reactions are not consistent. Spelt and Kamut, are gluten-containing wheat variants (despite claims to the contrary) and are likely to cause problems similar to other wheat varieties.

The general thesis is that immune responses to proteins found in cereal grains are a common cause of disease. The gastrointestinal tract is the primary target organ; however systemic disease is an important consequence of cereal grain ingestion in many patients. Latent disease may manifest as irritable bowel syndrome with iron deficiency anemia, but little or no diarrhea. Kelly in a  review of celiac disease stated that: "...there is increasing evidence that most people with gluten sensitivity have latent celiac disease with such mild manifestations (in the digestive tract) that the diagnosis is never made.  Celiac disease is associated with a variety of autoimmune disorders, carcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract and lymphomas. These associations suggest a diathesis to immune hypersensitivity diseases and a possible role for gluten antigens in causing systemic autoimmune disease. Increased incidence of diabetes mellitus, autoimmune thyroid disease, sarcoidosis, vasculitis, pulmonary fibrosis, encephalopathy and cerebellar atrophy have been reported in celiac patients. The prevalence of celiac disease among children with IDDM is 50 times more likely than chance. IgA deficiency is 10 times more common in celiac patients than in the general population."

A striking association is that celiac disease predisposes patients to the eventual development of lymphoma. If this relationship is re-stated as "cereal grains cause cancer" the implications are more easily understood. There is evidence that strict adherence to a gluten-free diet long term will reduce the incidence of lymphoma.

Gluten & Arthritis

The mechanisms by which wheat or any other food can cause disturbances are numerous. Painful inflammatory states may be the presentation of wheat allergy. The occurrence of pain in joints, particularly the hands, with slight swelling and stiffness is the early presentation of allergic arthritis; it can occur strictly as a manifestation of gluten allergy. A wheat gluten mechanism has been studied in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Wheat ingestion  may be followed within hours by increased joint swelling and pain. While this complex of events is known to occur with gluten antigens, many food allergens can trigger arthritis.