The scientific evidence continues to prove that a healthy body is naturally able to digest gluten without sensitivity or allergic reaction.
I cover the science in my book on the topic. But one of the newest pieces of evidence illustrates the reality with clarity: Certain probiotics produce enzymes that break down gluten and gliadin proteins. They break down gluten proteins known to cause allergies and sensitivities if they are not broken down.
As my book shows, many of these probiotics are present in the intestines of healthy people – those who are not sensitive or allergic to gluten (celiac disease).
Certain probiotics – that colonize in healthy intestines – break down gluten and gliadin proteins to the point where they do not trigger an immune response.
This means the gluten and gliadin proteins are broken down into amino acids or small enough peptides that make them nutrients: And no longer recognizable as gluten or gliadin proteins.
The natural enzyme response produced by these probiotics was enough to convince the researchers that the enzymes could be employed for celiac patients: A small portion of the population who is allergic to gluten and/or gliadin proteins from wheat.
For those of you who might not understand this point of enzymes that break down (or cleave) proteins, let’s use a crude example:
Let’s say that you are going to install some 8-inch square pavers into your driveway. So you order up some paver blocks from the local building supplier. But instead of delivering you a pallet of pavers, the building supplier truck pulls up to your house with a gigantic boulder on the flatbed of the truck. What do you do?
Certainly, you will call the building supplier and tell them to take the boulder back. You cannot use a giant boulder. You can only use the pavers. Now you and the building supplier knows the pavers are made from crushed up boulders. But the boulder must be crushed down into powder before it can be molded into pavers.
In other words, these large gluten and gliadin proteins might be compared to large boulders – which the body cannot handle and sees as foreign. The body utilizes amino acids or small blocks of amino acids called peptides to make its own proteins. It’s not like the body will utilize complex proteins from our foods – even nuts or plant proteins – directly. They must be broken down into their components in order for the body to utilize them.