Our Love-Hate Relationship With Gluten

by Mila McManus, MD

There was a time in history when this conversation was unnecessary, and wheat (our primary source of gluten) would have been included in a healthy diet. Why all the ruckus about gluten[1] now?

The wheat we eat today is not what we ate even fifty years ago. Today, conventionally produced wheat crops undergo super-hybridization as well as chemical and radiological mutations so that it is highly resistant to pesticides. Another way to say it is to describe wheat as a man-made fake food. Wheat is also treated with noxious chemicals twice, including just before harvesting. As a result, when we eat wheat, we are consuming these poisons in every bite. Additionally, processing techniques used in the United States and Australia also increase the gluten content, especially in wheat, making it even more difficult to digest.

What happens when we eat wheat or other glutinous foods?[2] Even people who do not have a sensitivity[3] to gluten may have a temporary leaky gut and increased inflammation after consuming it.

In the gut during digestion, gluten:

First: Activates zonulin, a protein that regulates the tight junctions of the small intestine.

Second: When zonulin is released, the tight junctions open slightly, allowing larger particles of food, including gluten, to pass through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream.

Third: The body releases anti-inflammatory cytokines to help heal the leaky gut situation. Chronic consumption of gluten makes healing extremely difficult.

Fourth: In the meantime, the immune system, specifically a number of immunoglobulins (e.g. IgG, IgA), move in to attack the larger food particles which are recognized as foe, rather than friend, since they are not broken down properly during digestion. (food sensitivities result, as does inflammation and congestion caused by them).

Specifically, the permeability of the gut barrier and an imbalance of microbiome is a primary trigger of the inflammatory process in the human body.

The truth about gluten is one of our least and most favorite messages to share with our patients. It is a love-hate topic. Hate, because glutenous foods are all around us and they are some of the most popular, well-loved foods in the world from bread and pastries to hamburger buns and pizza. Love, because we witness over, and over, and over again, the dramatic improvement in gut health and overall health, and weight when it is removed from the diet.

We love you too much to not tell you what you hate to hear. Eat well, Be well.

You can learn more about this topic by reading this article we published in 2017 about gluten:

Ghostly Gluten – You May Think You Know, But We Bet You Don’t

[1] Gluten is a protein found in specific grains including wheat and its many derivatives, rye, barley, malt, and brewer’s yeast. An excellent resource for sources is found here:

[2] Goodness Lover Pty Ltd. The Inflammation Solution: Top 29 Gut Healing & Inflammation-fighting Foods.2022.

[3] About 2 million people in the US and 1% of the global population have been diagnosed with celiac disease, the most extreme gluten sensitivity. An estimated 20% of the population has a non-celiac gluten sensitivity. We find most people feel significantly better and experience greater health by avoiding it.

By Admin|2022-07-06T13:02:21-05:00July 7th, 2022|General|

ROOT CAUSES OF DISEASE

By Mila McManus MD

Dr. Mila McManus’s mission for TWIHW is to work with individuals to navigate the complexity of the body and get to the root cause of disease.

Root Causes of Disease:

Poor gut health
- Antibiotics
- Dysbiosis
- Steroids
- High sugar diet
- Leaky gut
  - NSAIDs (e.g., Advil, Aleve)
  - Glyphosate pesticides on wheat products
  - Lectins
Poor nutrition/diet
- vitamin deficiencies
  - from poor intake
  - from poor absorption
  - side effect of medications (e.g. birth control pills, anti-acids, and blood pressure medications)
- inflammatory diet
  - fried foods, grains, standard meat products, sugar, chemicals
Food allergies and sensitivities
o IgE vs IgG vs IgA reactions, as well as intolerance and non-Ig-mediated reactions to foods
Hormone imbalance and decline
o Adrenal dysfunction
o Estrogen dominance
o Hypothyroidism and Functional hypothyroidism
o Low testosterone from toxins, stress, insulin resistance
Toxins
o PCBs, phthalates, food dyes, preservatives, pesticides, artificial sweeteners and flavors, to
name a few
Sleep disorders
Microbes
- e.g., viruses, parasites, tick borne illness (lyme, babesia, bartonella, etc)
Inactivity
Stress
Medication side effects
- including everything on the list the pharmacist gives you
- many cause deficiencies of important nutrients which will manifest in myriad ways
Genetic predispositions, minor and major mutations
EMF Exposures-wi-fi, cell phones, laptops, appliances, etc
o Causes a lot of oxidative stress and damages mitochondria (children more than adults)
o Linked to many chronic diseases and cancer

Functional medicine seeks to identify and treat the underlying cause of your condition. It centers on the idea that one condition may have many causes or one cause can have many conditions. Integrative medicine uses a combination of therapies and lifestyle changes to treat and heal the whole person.

The Woodlands Institute for Health and Wellness is here to serve your entire family. Call us today @ 281.298.6742.

By Admin|2022-10-28T11:07:46-05:00March 30th, 2022|General|

Affordable, Effective, and Many Ways to Use This

By Mila McManus MD

Hydrogen peroxide has long been accepted and used as a safe, affordable, disinfectant on surfaces and wounds.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has long been accepted and used as a safe, affordable disinfectant on surfaces and wounds. The intense bubbling you see on a bacteria-laden wound treated with hydrogen peroxide is oxygen being released and bacteria being destroyed in the wound.

Did you know that your white blood cells make hydrogen peroxide and use it to destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, and fungi? In fact, the ability of our cells to produce hydrogen peroxide is essential for life.

New research indicates that hydrogen peroxide is needed for a multitude of chemical reactions that take place throughout the body. Our friendly bacteria found in our mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, sinuses, lungs, digestive tract, and urinary tract are aerobic. This means they flourish in high oxygen environments. Hydrogen peroxide is oxygen-rich!

One very interesting connection is being made to leaky gut syndrome and other diseases of the gut. Dr. Thomas Levy, MD, JD, explains in his book, Hidden Epidemic (MedFox Publishing, 2017), what happens following any acute respiratory viral syndrome, such as the flu, COVID, or a common cold. The nasal and oral cavities remain in a low-grade infectious state with disease-causing colonies known to protect themselves with biofilms. This allows them to persist chronically. The tonsils and other parts of the immune and lymphatic systems in the oral cavity remain persistently challenged and infected. This infection also gravitates to teeth, gums, and the gut, as the pathogens are swallowed continually and transported to the gut. This causes persistent oxidative stress in the gut, destroying the gut’s barrier and leading to leaky gut syndrome.

So why haven’t we heard more about the use of hydrogen peroxide for healing? Interest in hydrogen peroxide waned in the 1940’s when prescription medications came on the scene. There has been little economic interest in funding research for something so inexpensive that can’t be patented. In other words, there is no money to be made with hydrogen peroxide therapies.

Despite that, therapeutic uses for hydrogen peroxide have continued to be reported in both standard medical journals and alternative health publications for the last 25 years. It appears that there are an astounding number of conditions that could be helped by H2O2 therapy. We’ve heard more about it recently because of its use in the prevention and treatment of COVID.

Hydrogen peroxide can be used internally (food grade ONLY!). It can also be used externally using numerous delivery methods, including orally, nebulized, intravenously, topically, and for douching. (Note: A nebulizer turns liquid medicine into a very fine mist that a person can inhale through a face mask or mouthpiece).

What are the benefits of nebulizing H2O2? Here are a few to consider:

A dramatic increase in the oxygen content of the blood and body tissues which creates an environment that is not conducive to disease states.
Hydrogen peroxide breaks down biofilm that protects disease-causing bacteria and mold from the immune system. Antibiotics often fail due to inability to penetrate through biofilms.
H2O2 destroys harmful bacteria in the nasal/oral cavity, protecting the teeth, gums, and gut from oxidative stress and infection.
Most strains of harmful bacteria are anaerobic and cannot survive in the presence of oxygen-rich hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen peroxide stimulates enzyme systems throughout the body, increasing metabolic rate, dilating small arteries, and increasing blood flow to the heart and brain, enhancing the distribution and use of oxygen throughout the body.
Hydrogen peroxide therapy has been used for allergies, influenza, asthma, bacterial infections, yeast and fungal infections, cancer, parasitic infections, heart disease, Herpes, gingivitis/periodontal disease, shingles, sore throat, and emphysema, to name a few.
H2O2 nebulization is affordable and can be easily self-administered at home.

Hydrogen peroxide nebulizer treatments are available at The Woodlands Institute for Health and Wellness. Ask your health care provider if this might be a wise therapy for you.

References:

Levy, Thomas E., Rapid Virus Recovery, (Henderson, NV:MedFox Publishing, 2021)

Levy, Thomas, Hidden Epidemic

Mercola.com

By Admin|2022-11-01T15:22:22-05:00May 19th, 2021|General|

I was a mess at my first appointment…

by L.G.

My neighbor recommended Dr. McManus to me in 2017. I am so happy she did! Dr. McManus and her entire staff are wonderful. Everyone on staff is knowledgeable, friendly, helpful and kind. I was a mess at my first appointment. Suffering from food allergies, inflammation, leaky gut, over weight and just miserable. It didn’t take long for me to start feeling better. Dr. McManus knew where to start. I’m still a work in progress, but I am no longer miserable and feel great most of the time. Thank you Dr. McManus, Sandra, Nancy, Tami, Nina, Kim, Diane! Everyone is awesome……

By Admin|2020-07-07T09:54:52-05:00July 8th, 2020|General, Testimonials|