What’s Up With American Gluten?

My patients frequently report they can’t tolerate gluten in America, but when they’re in Europe, they eat it and feel fine. I have the same experience. A lot of people hear this and say, ‘oh it’s just because you’re relaxed while you’re on vacation in Italy, so that’s why you tolerate pasta there.’ Okay, fair enough, except I put this theory to the test in my own life.

Last year my family traveled for 7 months around the world. I don’t tolerate a drop of gluten in America, but while I was in Italy, Greece, Israel, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, I ate ALL THE GLUTEN. And I’ve never felt better. Clear skin, calm belly, great energy, stable mood. Then we flew to Kauai. I was still 100% in the same state of relaxation and vacation mode as I was on the rest of the trip. Arguably, I was even more relaxed because I was in PARADISE, and yet one bite of the gluten on American soil sent my body straight back to all my old gluten-intolerance symptoms.

There is something about American gluten that is deranged. The next theory is that it’s the glyphosate (the active ingredient in the pesticide Roundup that we use on our wheat crop more than any other place in the world). I’m all for pointing to glyphosate as the root of all evil, but I’ve tested out this hypothesis in my own body too. Even when I eat organic long-fermented sourdough from the farmers market (100% glyphosate-free) in the US, I still get symptomatic. I will tolerate that less than a gas station croissant in Italy.

So what gives? Some theories I have are that the yeast in the air plays a role, or perhaps it’s actually the tap water used to make the bread. Even my organic farmers market sourdough was made with American municipal tap water, which contains glyphosate residue. Let me know if you have your own theories for why so many of us can’t handle American gluten but we can tolerate it abroad.