Why Gluten Is Bad for Tens of Millions of Americans

    NEW LONDON, NH, January 23, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- It's easy to dismiss the recent explosion of gluten-free foods on America's tables and grocery shelves as simply the latest in a long line of trendy food fads. At the very least, some maintain, all this attention to gluten is a severe over-reaction. True celiac disease, the body's inability to process the wheat protein known as gluten, after all, is only found in a small percentage of the world's population.

But as Anne Sarkisian informs us in Toxic Staple: How Gluten May Be Wrecking Your Health and What You Can Do about It! (Max Health Press, paper, $17.95), her welcome new book on the subject, the devastating effects of gluten on people with celiac disease is only the smallest tip of the gluten iceberg. At least 10%, but perhaps as much as 40 percent, of Americans may be sensitive to gluten. And that sensitivity accounts for a smorgasbord of maladies--over 300 at last count--from arthritis to zits, with asthma, autoimmune disease, cancer, depression, fatigue, migraines, memory loss, and osteoporosis in the parade. "It's amazing how many chronic health conditions can be traced directly to gluten," says Sarkisian, an advocate for the awareness of celiac disease and non-celiac gluten intolerance who lives with her husband in a totally gluten-free household in New Hampshire. What makes it worse, she contends, is that a simple medical test to measure people's sensitivity to gluten is not yet recognized in the United States. "AGA testing is extremely effective for identifying gluten sensitivity. Unfortunately, it's rarely used in the U.S. The suffering of tens of millions of Americans could be eased just by getting the word out."

Gluten may damage the small intestine of those with a genetic sensitivity to the protein. The resulting malabsorption of vitamins and minerals has been associated with many cancers, neurological issues, bone and muscle ailments, infertility, schizophrenia, and dozens of other conditions. For people predisposed to problems with gluten, eliminating the protein, which is found primarily in wheat, rye, and barley, creates an almost instant abatement of symptoms. "It's quite remarkable," says Sarkisian, who set out to research the effects of gluten after watching her own grandchildren's compromised health spring back robustly the moment gluten was removed from their diet. "Eliminating it from the diet is the easy part. The hard part is getting doctors to take gluten sensitivity seriously and test for it adequately."

Toxic Staple makes very effective use of first-person stories, giving voice to individuals from a wide range of lifestyles, whose lives changed dramatically for the better once they and their loved ones stopped ingesting gluten. To that extent, Toxic Staple is a book of hope and empowerment--a compendium of success stories built on a foundation of prodigiously researched medical knowledge.

"Sarkisian raises valuable awareness not only about celiac disease, but also about non-celiac gluten intolerance," says Martha Bishop Pitman, M.D. "Toxic Staple is on the cutting-edge of the topic. It's a must-read for physicians and patients alike."

For Sarkisian the goal is simple. "Nearly every member of my family turned out to be sensitive to gluten. We were sick and now we're better. Letting people know how transformative a gluten-free lifestyle can be has become my passion."

Readers of Toxic Staple will: learn to recognize how gluten could be affecting their health, discover the health benefits of a gluten-free lifestyle, find hope in the inspirational stories of real people, get the full story on cutting-edge and traditional tests, and become empowered to maximize health with easy-to-read research to discuss with doctors.

"Toxic Staple is an exceptional book that integrates the vast amount of research on the gluten related epidemic. It is a must-read, a gift for health care professionals, physicians, psychologists, or anyone looking to improve his or her own health or that of a loved one."
--Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, PhD

"Toxic Staple is important reading for health professionals and the general public."
--Beatrice Trum Hunter, food editor, Consumers' Research Magazine

Toxic Staple: How Gluten May Be Wrecking Your Health--and What You Can Do About It!
By Anne Sarkisian
Foreword by Cynthia Rudert, MD, FACP
Max Health Press, 330 pp.
Paper, $17.95, ISBN 978-0-9892392-1-9
Laminated Hardcover, $28.95, ISBN 978-0-9892392-0-2
E-book: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, ISBN 978-0-9892392-2-6

About the Author

Anne Sarkisian is an advocate for celiac-disease and gluten-intolerance awareness. She has spent seven years researching literature, interviewing patients, and interacting with leading medical professionals around the world. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and taught elementary school before leaving the teaching profession to raise her family.

For more information, please visit www.toxicstaple.com and www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3zDNKIM4lg.

Media contact: Victor Gulotta
Gulotta Communications, Inc.
617-630-9286
http://www.booktours.com
victor(at)booktours(dot)com

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