A new study in the journal, Science (August 16, 2012)1, has found that intestinal inflammation can alter your gut flora and promote cancer.
Food sensitivities are an immune response. Eighty percent of your immune system is in your intestinal tract walking can improve your health. The health of your intestinal tract depends on the proper balance of micro flora present in your gut.
An imbalance in your intestinal flora can be caused by antibiotics and other drugs as well as poor diet. This can lead to a leaky gut where partially digested foods pass from your gut into your bloodstream. Your immune system doesn’t recognize them as food. It sees them as foreign invaders, like bacteria or viruses, and attacks them. This causes inflammation to occur in your body. As long as you keep eating foods to which you are sensitive, you will continue to develop more and more inflammation.
The debate centers around whether there are negative health consequences from consuming GMO foods including those foods marketed as gluten free. There is currently a lot of information about allergic reactions and other kinds of symptoms that people are reporting and that studies are showing as a result of consuming GMO foods.
Studies show evidence that GM foods can cause infertility, immune system issues, aging at a faster pace, insulin regulation, changes affecting major organs and problems in the gastrointestinal system.
A very important reason to avoid genetically modified foods specifically is the potential for allergic reactions and other symptoms. GM ingredients may cause reactions and symptoms very similar to gluten intolerance related symptoms, so you may be mislead as to how eliminating gluten is actually working in your body.
There are efforts under way in many states to demand that all foods be labeled to identify GM ingredients. There is also a well funded GMO industry campaign to stop any effort to label GM foods. If all foods with GM ingredients were properly labeled we would have the opportunity to choose whether we want to eat GM food including those that are marketed as gluten free. At this point the only way to be sure whether any of the foods you are eating are not genetically modified is to buy only certified organic foods.
All other foods could have GM ingredients and you will not know and have no choice to make your own decisions.
There is a movement underway spurred by marketing strategies and the genuine desire to alert people by advertising foods as GMO free just like the packaging that says gluten free, and on occasion you might see packaging that says GMO and Gluten Free. This kind of labeling would be a great help to all those want to eat GMO free.