Any reason removing gluten could increase inflammation

This is completely weird, but since I've gone strictly gluten free, my inflammation has returned with a vengeance. My head has been itchy and on fire the past few days.

Anyone have any thoughts why removing gluten could bring about this kind of reaction?

It's the only thing that has changed in my regimen.

There is a high % of people sensitive to gluten but you may be one of the lucky people in the group who is not sensitive to the glutenaide protein. When you removed gluten from your diet did you remove grains or are you avoiding foods with gluten in it? Did you add anything new to your diet to compensate for restricted foods with gluten?

Do you consume dairy-products? Milk products contain a protein named casein, which is extremely allergenic. Dr. T Colin Campbell also claims it is a carcinogen, able to stimulate free-IGF-1, which then stimulates/enlarges tumor-growth (among other things like the prostate and sebaceous-glands).

It is also interesting to note that if you add milk or cream to green-tea, the casein will deactivate the anti-oxidants and phytonutrients in the green-tea!

I removed gluten, but I'm still taking in rice/brown rice. I don't use dairy products. We drink rice milk. I've used some gluten free cereals.

Besides the increased inflammation I've also had the worst acne on my chin and nose area I've had in quite some time this week.

I don't understand how dropping gluten totally could bring out inflammation but something is up with my skin this week.

hadrion - are you a vegan diet?

When I was on a vegan restricted diet, heavy on the leafy greens and no grains, I developed a sever case of acne that last a couple of weeks and subsided on the third. It was almost as if my body was rejecting something, I think my face felt really oily at the time but after the third week no more oily face and the acne slowly went away.

tonyj wrote:hadrion - are you a vegan diet?

When I was on a vegan restricted diet, heavy on the leafy greens and no grains, I developed a sever case of acne that last a couple of weeks and subsided on the third. It was almost as if my body was rejecting something, I think my face felt really oily at the time but after the third week no more oily face and the acne slowly went away.

Are you still vegan? Why did you leave out the grains?

tonyj wrote:hadrion - are you a vegan diet?

When I was on a vegan restricted diet, heavy on the leafy greens and no grains, I developed a sever case of acne that last a couple of weeks and subsided on the third. It was almost as if my body was rejecting something, I think my face felt really oily at the time but after the third week no more oily face and the acne slowly went away.

When you switch to a diet heavy in leafy greens it is basically a detox diet. It sounds to me like the strict vegan diet you were on successfully detoxed your system. The acne that existed for two weeks then went away is a classic sign that your body was ridding itself of toxic overload, which typically takes about two weeks. Did you have any other symptoms, ie headaches, lethargy? After a couple weeks did you feel more energetic, clear headed?

tonyj wrote:hadrion - are you a vegan diet?

When I was on a vegan restricted diet, heavy on the leafy greens and no grains, I developed a sever case of acne that last a couple of weeks and subsided on the third. It was almost as if my body was rejecting something, I think my face felt really oily at the time but after the third week no more oily face and the acne slowly went away.

No. I'm not vegan. I'm eating meat and fish aplenty as I've gone gluten free.

The acne is really disturbing at this point. It's around my mouth, nose and chin. Why would giving up gluten cause this?

by misterE on Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:19 pm

Are you still vegan? Why did you leave out the grains?

I was a vegan for a couple of years. I was competing in amateur triathlons and I was trying to reducing my time on the mile so I followed Dave Scotts diet, 6 time winner of the Hawaiian Ironman, hoping to get a faster performance. Scott was about lowering his fat intake so much that he would wash his tofu to strain out as much fat from it as possible. I did manage get a somewhat faster time, but I was always irritable on his diet. I increased my grains to gain a little more weight and that's when I first notice the first acne flare up. I always had an acne problem and it wasn't severe before but it was persistent. But increasing the grains in my diet, the acne just went out of control. I thought it was strange because before going on the vegan diet, grains was always part of my diet. To compensate for the grains, I added more leafy greens and a little more cruciferous vegetables. If this was a detox, it certainly worked. My acne was never severe or persistent. I did get one or two flare ups afterward but these flare ups were never severe and after a several months, no more acne.

by johnt on Sun Sep 26, 2010 4:44 pm

When you switch to a diet heavy in leafy greens it is basically a detox diet. It sounds to me like the strict vegan diet you were on successfully detoxed your system. The acne that existed for two weeks then went away is a classic sign that your body was ridding itself of toxic overload, which typically takes about two weeks. Did you have any other symptoms, ie headaches, lethargy? After a couple weeks did you feel more energetic, clear headed?

Never felt lethargic, definitely had the headaches, and I did get a sense of well being and clarity that lasted for a while until I added grains back into my diet.

Once you stop the intolerable food source the body will begin to rid itself of the toxins produced
much quicker .. Stay on the gluten free path 100% for atleast four weeks, and see how things are then. Good luck

cpio wrote:Once you stop the intolerable food source the body will begin to rid itself of the toxins produced
much quicker .. Stay on the gluten free path 100% for atleast four weeks, and see how things are then. Good luck

Thanks for the advice Cpio. I don't plan on going off it unless the inflammation and acne increase past the bout I recently had. I've noticed since I've been strict gluten free that joint pain in my wrist and knee have gone away.

The inflammation seems to have calmed now although my face looks horrible with all the pimples. Got one of the giant one's right between my eyes. Hate those.

If gluten free isn't for me though, then I'm going to just give up the grains totally and go meat/fish and veggies for good.

Diet definitely is playing a role in my issues without a doubt.

I also think cpio is right on target with this one.

Thanks IH. I will stick with it. The joint pain in my wrist disappearing is pretty dramatic as I had chalked that up to carpal tunnel from being a writer at my keyboard 12 hours a day.

Now that I'm strictly avoiding gluten the wrist pain is gone. Also my left knee was constantly sore. I'd have to do the stretches on the foam roller from my hip to knee to get it to go away. Now the pain is gone.

That said, the acne is getting ridiculous. All around my chin and mouth. I've never had anything like this before acne wise. Hopefully, it's just a detox of sorts and will straighten out soon.

Congrats again on the supplement line. I sent Nid my first order today. Can't wait to try them out.