Why It’s Hard to Go Gluten and Dairy Free

Science now explains why going GFDF is so hard. We’ll look at that, and then the encouraging news: If you tried going without but backslid, you still have made inroads in realizing your GFDF goals.

But first take a few seconds and imagine feeling utterly content. You’ve nary a suggestion of pain or suffering. You’re fully engaged in your sole job description, which is to relax and enjoy. Indeed, it feels good to feel good. Morphine elicits that sense, albeit fleetingly.

What’s morphine got to do with all this? Recently scientists have identified detectible morphine levels in both milk (both human and bovine) and gluten. This helps explain why our most popular comfort foods contain dairy and/or gluten. Indeed, a piece of toast or a glass of kefir can feel comforting. Gluten and dairy tend to quell uneasy feelings, and there’s no problem with that. So serve them up!

Yes, serve them up, but only if you’re fully assimilating them. And therein is the catch. For virtually everyone today with health issues, the odds are that gluten and dairy are a significant part of their problem. That’s a sweeping statement, but the booming GFDF market directly reflects the epic scale of people who find that gluten and dairy make them sick.

Historically people could fully digest wheat and (for people of European descent) dairy. For multiple reasons, including the use of chlorinated water, antibiotics, and refined foods, the lining of our intestines has become more permeable. This permeability, or “leaky gut,” enables pieces of amino acid chains from wheat and dairy to escape from the gut and go directly into the bloodstream. The opioid peptides in these amino acids belong to the same family as opium.

When such a peptide with its detectable amount of morphine escapes from your gut, within moments you feel relaxed and comforted. Ahhhhhhhhh. Euphoria.

And we all know what comes next . . . you crave another cookie.

That’s why we develop a chemical dependence on some of our favorite foods and the fleeting comfort they offer us. So to go GFDF, know that you’re facing a formidable foe. Girding your loins to overcome addiction requires more than merely wanting to change. It requires preparation and effort, and the good news is that it is doable.

So even if you’ve tried going GFDF before and failed, that alone is a step in the right direction. The chances of success get better every time you try to quit. Just like giving up smoking, many people need four attempts or more before they finally succeed. So if you’ve tried overcoming your food sensitivities and allergies and failed, just think of it as a rehearsal before you really quit.

Like clockwork, my clients who give up dairy and wheat quickly reduce inflammation and regain their health. Here’s how you can do it in three steps:

1. Clearly identify the foods you can’t assimilate.
2. Avoid them.
3. Enjoy three satisfying meals a day—only then can you successfully avoid the foods that aren’t good for you.

Now there’s ample cause for rejoicing.