Dr. Tom O’Bryan is renowned for his work on autoimmune disorders, particularly around celiac disease. He joins Donna in this episode to talk about his work, the common misconceptions around gluten as well as the role of inflammatory diseases in our individual health.   KEY TAKEAWAYS So many people are now gluten-free but many of them don’t understand why. Being gluten-free has a bit of a fad reputation but there are legitimate reasons humans should be avoiding gluten. If you are struggling with a health condition, you should try going gluten-free to see if your immune system is fighting wheat. You can’t change your genetics, that’s what you are given but it isn’t always predetermined that you will get a disease, it means you might need to alter your lifestyle to help yourself avoid particular diseases. Environmental triggers for diseases come in two types, those from outside the body and those that come from inside the body; you have to deal with both. The gut is just one-cell deep. It’s extremely susceptible to damage and inflammation which is why it can cause us so many health problems. Our bodies are the same as our ancestors and this includes our digestive system, we even have the same protection our ancestors had against harmful bacteria. However, the protein structures of gluten are misrepresented as harmful by these protective systems in our gut. Most people learnt the dangers behind wheat through Coeliac disease but this unfortunately means that many doctors wrongly believe that the absence of the disease means you can tolerate wheat. Wheat is the most common food that people eat and that is part of the problem. When people go on a gluten-free diet they can create a whole host of new problems unless they are educated to do it right. You can’t just transition from wheat-based products to just ‘gluten-free’ based products. Just because you feel well, that doesn’t mean you don’t have an issue with gluten. In Dr. O’Bryan’s words, you have to ‘test not guess’.   BEST MOMENTS “I’ve been against gluten for probably 25 years”   “I never say everyone should give it (gluten) up but everyone should be checked accurately”   “Whether a gene gets turned up or down are (due to) environmental triggers”   “60-70% people have an immune system fighting wheat”   “The problem is people are using how they feel to determine whether it’s a problem or not”     Body Ecology is not a diet – it’s a way of life—based on 7 universal laws that always guide us toward the truth. If you want to know more about us, these 7 universal laws and our amazing effective products go to our website www.bodyecology.com. You can also get a transcript of this show there.   EPISODE RESOURCES   GUEST RESOURCES Dr. Tom O’Bryan   https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-tom-o-bryan-10433920/ https://twitter.com/theDr_com https://www.facebook.com/thedr.com.english/ Instagram handle is @dr.tomobryan https://www.instagram.com/dr.tomobryan/  www.thedr.com   ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Thomas O’Bryan DC, CCN, DACBN About Dr. Tom O’Bryan When it comes to getting healthy, Dr. Tom O'Bryan’s goal for you is ‘Making It Easy To Do the Right Thing’. As an internationally recognized, admired and compassionate speaker focusing on food sensitivities, environmental toxins, and the development of autoimmune diseases, Dr. Tom's audiences discover that it is through a clear understanding of how you got to where you are, that you and your Dr. can figure out what it will take to get you well. Dr. O’Bryan is considered a ‘Sherlock Holmes’ for chronic disease and teaches that recognizing and addressing the underlying mechanisms that activate an immune response is the map to the highway towards better health. He holds teaching Faculty positions with the Institute for Functional Medicine and the National University of Health Sciences. He has trained and certified tens of thousands of