IT WASN’T A FREAK STORM or pulmonary edema that nearly derailed Dave Hahn’s attempt to top out on Mount Everest for the second time, in 1999. It was a piece of bread. For two years, the mountaineering legend had battled a host of maladies—upset stomach, diarrhea, and a lingering weakness—but he never suspected the foods he was eating to fuel himself (pasta, cereal, bread) were the root of his problem. Hahn, it turned out, had developed celiac disease, an autoimmune response to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. “It was hell,” says Hahn, recalling the trip. “I was supposed to be the old hand, but because of me we got back down late, after it was already dark.”
Now 49, gluten-free, and trying for his 13th Everest summit, Hahn has never felt better. “I could not have continued climbing had I not been diagnosed,” he says.
Since Hahn’s near disaster at 29,000 feet, celiac disease has reached almost epidemic proportions, afflicting 1 in 133 Americans and creating a $2.6 billion market in gluten-free foods. Now, growing
evidence suggests that it’s not just athletes with celiac who may benefit from giving up their pre-race pasta feed. A study published in March by the University of Maryland’s Center for Celiac Research
suggests that approximately 20 million people who don’t test positive for celiac or its less potent cousin, wheat allergy (which affects roughly 500,000 people), suffer from gluten sensitivity. Symptoms can range from fatigue to depression to joint and abdominal pain.
Like celiac, gluten sensitivity prompts the immune system to inflame cells throughout
the body. And though the symptoms usually aren’t as severe as with celiac, which causes toxic particles to leak into the body, gluten sensitivity can have a corrosive
impact on athletes trying to stay at the top of their game.
Just ask professional mountain biker Brian Lopes. Though he has never been tested for celiac, Lopes gave up gluten eight months ago and is riding 5 to 10 percent faster. “I stopped eating gluten because my friend said it would make me fart less,” says Lopes, who’s won four world championships. “Now I don’t fart and I’m faster.”
According to Alessio Fasano, M.D., lead author of the Maryland study, Lopes’s bowel distress is a common side effect of gluten intolerance. “And if you do have a sensitivity to gluten,” says Fasano, “exercise may make the problem even worse.”
That’s old news to Robby Ketchell, the director of sports science for the Garmin-Cervélo pro cycling team. Since 2008, riders have experienced improved post-ride recoveries, which Ketchell attributes to the team’s gluten-free diet. “When our guys ride, they’re tearing muscle fibers, and that creates inflammation in their bodies,” says Ketchell. “We need to get rid of that inflammation so they can ride strong the next day. The last thing we want is something that causes more inflammation.”
Scientists aren’t exactly sure why there’s been an increase in gluten intolerance in recent years, but they believe it may have something to do with the proliferation of bread, pasta, and other gluten-laden foods in the American diet. “Gluten is increasingly found in the things we eat,” says Fasano. “It may be that our bodies just aren’t equipped to handle that much of it.”
Comments
Great article! It might not make much sense that there are (apparently) more gluten-sensitive people these days... but there's no reason to fight the trend. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the so-called 'Paleo Diet' is catching on: it's gluten-free. One of my favorite online destinations, LiveYourLifeMag, just ran a terrific article/gluten-free recipe for chicken stew. OUTSIDE readers may find this interesting: http://www.liveyourlifemag.com/CHEF-S-CORNER/CHEF-S-CORNER/stone-age-chicken-stew.html
Flag ThisWent Paleo in January after reading Outside's article about Erwan LeCorre's MovNat and haven't looked back. Never felt or looked better in my whole life. It's amazing how something as insidiously harmful as gluten has become so ubiquitous. Just because we can eat it doesn't mean we should.
Flag This1 in 133 is hardly epidemic. Less than 1% of the population. Lactose issues are much more prevalent.
Flag This5-10% faster... uh, huh. Proof please?
Flag ThisGreat article. I am happy to see the word getting out on gluten intolerance as a possibility vs. only Celiac disease, for which there are many false negative tests, and then there is this whole other issue of just the intolerance. After years of battling multiple health problems, I went gluten-free about a year ago and have NEVER felt better. The kicker is, I never had a GI symptom. I would suggest trying this to anyone who has unexplained health issues.
Flag Thisi also have been wearing magnets on my wrists and have never felt better. GO BUY A PAIR FROM (insert fraudulent company purporting pseudo-science here)
Flag ThisWhat man wants to fart less?!
Flag ThisWhy should you give up pasta, bread, muffins, or even pastry? They all come made with corn (maize) instead of glutenated flour; or they do in countries that aren't governed by conglomerates and where these "new-fangled" medical conditions have been acknowledged for several decades! Wheat and gluten intolerances (and some people are intolerant only of wheat, but can eat other glutenated grains) contribute to sudden, unexplained fatigue, lethargy, bloating and overweight and a bunch of other symptoms other than GI, depending on the person, so it can't hurt to try it. You may have to learn to bake, though.
Flag ThisExcellent article. As a gluten free physician in Boise, I have seen many patients have real improvements from the diet. Joint pain, fatigue, GERD, headaches, arm or leg tingling, abdominal bloating, canker sores, itchy skin, cystic acne and blisters are just some of the symptoms that can improve in 2 weeks.
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