If you have GERD, going against the grain may be a good idea.

Many of us blame wheat for common gastrointestinal problems such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea, and eliminate white foods trying to tame our heartburn. But, the more likely culprit is often gluten. According to Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, author of the American Dietetic Association Guide to Better Digestion, it may be gluten that is irritating your gut.

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, and is also the common ingredient in most of the grain-based products we eat including cereals, breads, and pasta. It is found in salad dressings, yogurt drinks, frozen yogurt, cold cuts, egg substitutes, and beer. Gluten content is not required on labels in the US so your best choice if you are trying to eliminate gluten is to look for products that are labeled "gluten-free". Some medications may also contain gluten so if you are concerned, check with your pharmacist.

Although simple gluten intolerance is usually uncomfortable, the symptoms are often fleeting. Gluten intolerance is not a food allergy, but, actually a condition encompassing a variety of symptoms. Eating gluten does not usually cause damage unless it progresses beyond a certain point of frequency, duration, and intensity, and actually triggers the body's immune system. At this point it is called celiac disease and is considered an autoimmune disease. People with celiac disease have immune systems that respond to gluten by damaging the villi - the tiny fingerlike projections in the small intestine that absorb nutrients from food. As with everything else, your best option is to get a professional diagnosis. Celiac disease effects one in 133 American and can run in families, sometimes being linked to other autoimmune diseases.

If you think you have mild gluten intolerance some of the things to avoid are wheat and its forms, rye, barley, oat bran, wheat germ, graham, gluten or durum flour. Do eat amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, popcorn, cornmeal, millet, rice, potatoes, and breads, cereals, crackers, and pasta made from rice, potatoes, soy, arrowroot, tapioca, flax, and hominy.

Oats have been somewhat controversial but lately, are getting a thumbs up provided they are pure and not combined with gluten containing grains.

Get more zzzzz's - Improve your memory!

New research from the Harvard Medical School suggests that if you want to remember something - sleep on it. A small group of subjects were asked to learn a list of 20 pairs of words and tested on them 12 hours later. Half the subjects were taught the words at 9 a.m.; the other half learned the words at 9 p.m. and then went to sleep. The results - the sleep group remembered 12% more words than the group who learned the words in the morning. Half of each group was then asked to learn a second list just before testing to study the effect of distracting information on recall. Again, the sleep group subjects did better - they recalled 44% more words.

Acid Reflux Articles

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