According to Google Trends, it’s just about as popular now as it was at its peak six years ago, and gluten-free foods still pack the shelves of grocery stores, coffee shops, bakeries, and the like.
In other words, gluten-free dieting is no longer just a buzzword among bloggers, paleo fanatics, and health gurus.
It’s become a bonafide mainstream diet fad.
Despite this, gluten is still a hotly debated and polarizing little protein. Some claim it’s literally poison and should be avoided at all costs and others say the only people that need to limit their gluten intake are people with celiac disease.
To help clear up this confusion surrounding gluten and present a fair, balanced take on the current weight of the evidence, I invited Danny Lennon to join me on the podcast.
It’s been a number of years since I last had him on the show, but he’s been a member of the Legion Scientific Advisory Board since its inception and also has a master’s degree in Nutritional Sciences.
He’s also the host of his own podcast called Sigma Nutrition Radio, where he interviews world-renowned experts from the fields of nutrition, medicine, and sports performance.
In this episode, Danny and I discuss all things gluten, including what gluten is, what happens when we eat it, the difference between celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, whether “leaky gut” is a real thing, and more.
Time Stamps:
7:14 – What is gluten?
8:12 – Why is gluten an issue for some people and not others?
10:34 – What kind of symptoms does celiac disease cause and what happens when people with celiac disease eat gluten?
12:52 – What is intestinal permeability and is it related to leaky gut?
15:05 – Why is having an increased intestinal permeability bad?
18:34 – What is a gluten allergy?
20:04 – How does a gluten sensitivity differ from an autoimmune response and a gluten allergy?
21:56 – Are there any tests to see if you have a gluten sensitivity?
24:33 – What happens with repeated exposure to gluten? Is it different for every individual?
25:36 – What are some common symptoms of the non autoimmune and nonallergic gluten sensitivity?
27:29 – What is the percentage of people that have a gluten sensitivity?
32:00 – What studies best explain why some people have gluten problems and others don’t?
35:13 – How would someone with a gluten sensitivity be diagnosed?
30:31 – What are fodmaps and how can it confuse someone who is trying to find out if they have a gluten sensitivity?
What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
Legion Featured Author
Mike Matthews
Mike Matthews is the founder of Legion as well as the author of several award-winning fitness books, including Bigger Leaner Stronger, Muscle for Life, and The Shredded Chef.
His simple and science-based approach to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy has sold over a million books and helped thousands of people build their best bodies ever, and his work has been featured in many popular outlets including Esquire, Men’s Health, Elle, Women’s Health, Muscle & Strength, and more, as well as on FOX and ABC.
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We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the UK or Canada, your order ships free when it’s over $99.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
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Many ingredients in supplements don’t have any scientifically validated benefits, and many ingredients that do are often underdosed to the point of irrelevance.
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That’s why we test every ingredient of every supplement we produce for heavy metals, microbes, allergens, and other contaminants and ensure they meet the strict purity standards set by the FDA.
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That’s why all of our supplements are naturally sweetened and flavored and contain no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk.
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Many ingredients in supplements don’t have any scientifically validated benefits. That’s why we only use choice ingredients shown to be effective in peer-reviewed scientific studies.
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“Natural” doesn’t always mean “better,” but in many cases, natural ingredients are superior to artificial ones for various reasons, including purity, safety, and efficacy.
That’s why all of our ingredients in all of our products come from plant and animal sources, including sweeteners, colors, and flavors.
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In consideration of the services and/or products offered by Legion Athletics, Inc. (“Legion”) including, but not limited to, nutrition plans, exercise routines and coaching, and in addition to the payment of any fee or charge:
I knowingly and voluntarily enter into this waiver and release of liability and hereby waive any and all rights, claims or causes of action of any kind whatsoever arising out of my use of Legion’s services and/or products, and I hereby release and hold harmless Legion and its consultants, officers, contractors, agents, owners and employees from any and all responsibility, liability, cost and expenses, including for injuries, damages or disorders (physical, metabolic, or otherwise), resulting from my use of Legion’s services and/or products.
I understand that fitness activities including, but not limited to, strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular exercise, with or without the use of equipment, are potentially hazardous activities that involve a risk of injury and even death, and I am voluntarily participating in these activities and using equipment and machinery with knowledge of the risks involved. I hereby agree to assume and accept any and all risks of injury or death related to said fitness activities.
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Analyzed for purity and potency in a state-of-the-art ISO 17025 accredited lab by Labdoor™, the gold standard of third-party lab testing.
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Thanks to their connections, credentials, and academic experience, this team of MDs, PhDs, and other professionals has access to a wealth of research published in the largest and most prestigious journals in the world.
This allows them to not only review individual studies but also analyze the overall weight of the evidence on any and all topics related to diet, exercise, supplementation, and more.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, misleading, out-of-date, or anything less than factual, please let us know in the comments section of the article in question.
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We follow a detailed, rigorous, multi-step process to create content that meets the highest standards of clarity, practicality, and scientific integrity.
First, our research associates provide our editorial team with accurate, up-to-date, proven scientific evidence.
Then, our editorial team uses this research to draft articles and outlines for podcasts and videos.
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If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, misleading, out-of-date, or anything less than factual, please let us know in the comments section of the article in question.
