Are GMOs Increasing the Incidence of Gluten Sensitivities?

Jeffrey Smith and Tom Malterre, MS, CN Discuss GMOs and Gluten from Whole Life Nutrition on Vimeo.

I had the honor of interviewing author and GMO expert, Jeffrey Smith, at the recent Seeds of Doubt Conference in LA. We had a lively discussion on how the consumption of genetically engineered foods may be contributing to the rise in gluten sensitivities. Jeffrey shared some amazing facts on how GM foods increase leaky gut, decrease nutrient content, cause bacterial imbalances, interfere with normal digestion, and increase allergenic response.

Topics of discussion included:

1. Bt toxin found in GM Bt Corn (non-organic corn chips, tortillas, cornstarch, etc.) and Cotton (cottonseed oil in processed foods) crops can poke holes in the intestines of animals and humans leading to a leaky gut. Bt Toxin has now been found in the blood of 93% of pregnant women and 80% of their offspring in a recent study in Quebec.

2. Roundup use has increased 527 million pounds since 1996 mainly due to the introduction of Roundup-ready GM crops (soy, cotton, canola, sugar beets, corn). Roundup is a potent mineral chelator and antibiotic. Mineral deficiencies such as manganese, zinc, iron, magnesium, iodine, cobalt (think vitamin B12 or cyanocobalamin) have been found in plants and the animals who eat them. The use of Roundup contributes to intestinal imbalances of bacterium in animals and in the soil leading to an increased susceptibility to disease for both animals and plants. Recent research is pointing to bacterial imbalances in people with Celiac Disease; and mineral insufficiencies are commonly associated with immune imbalances.

3. An increase in allergies and allergenic reactions have been documented with the use of GM crops.

For more information on genetically modified foods and your health please watch Jeffrey's latest movie, Genetic Roulette (available online), or visit his site, The Institute for Responsible Technology.

If you are interested in understanding more of the underlying factors associated with this explosion of food sensitivities and allergies we're seeing then check out our new book, Nourishing Meals. We cover everything from GMOs to environmental toxicity and leaky gut syndrome.

You might also like:
Preserving the Genius of Life ~ A Call to Action
The Elimination and Detoxification Diet
How to Make Lacto-Fermented Vegetables

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Chocolate Chip Banana Teff Bread

Well that's a mouthful, we could just say Banana Bread and call it good. Who needs gluten or dairy when you can have this? Here is a real life testimonial from the mouth of my almost 4-year old daughter (with bread in hand): "This bread is so good you ever made, I love chocolate chips!"

This recipe is an example of how you can modify any of the muffin or quick bread recipes in my cookbook to use different flours. If you look on page 133 of my cookbook you will see our recipe for Banana Walnut Muffins. This bread recipe is identical but the brown rice flour has been replaced with a combination of brown teff flour and sorghum flour. I didn't add the walnuts either. My girls have decided that they don't like walnuts in their bread anymore. And of course the recipe just wouldn't be complete unless I added chocolate!

Have you tried the mini-chocolate chips from Enjoy Life? They are delicious. Unfortunately they are not organic but thankfully are gluten, soy, dairy, egg, and nut free! Truly a chocolate blessing for those affected with multiple food allergies. I bought a large bag from the glutenfreemall.com a while ago. I transferred them to glass jars and stored them in my freezer.

In this recipe I used Hemp Dream hemp milk. Hemp Dream, by the manufacturers of Rice Dream and Soy Dream non-dairy milks, has a fantastic flavor and consistency. 

I used maple sugar in this recipe instead of cane sugar. I know many people like to avoid cane sugar, so I wanted to share with you what a wonderful replacement maple sugar is! Be careful though about buying just any brand. Many of them are not gluten-free because of cross-contamination during processing. The maple sugar from Authentic Foods is GF, which is what I used here. You could also use coconut sugar. See the post I did on Links to Products We Use for where to purchase.

Teff flour is so nutrient dense and works so wonderfully well in baking that I am working on finding new ways to use it. Stay tuned for more teff recipes!

In the mean time, enjoy this little jewel of a recipe.