Eating gluten- and dairy-free has taken the health food industry by storm. Food manufacturers are realizing that unless they offer a gluten-free version of their product, it is increasingly difficult to be competitive. Studies show that within a single year, as many as 100 million Americans consume gluten-free products. Non-dairy foods and milk substitutes have become more common: In 2015, the U.S. dairy alternatives market was worth 2.09 billion, and growing. I invite you to join me in exploring the nature of food sensitivities and the trending gluten-free and dairy-free diets that often accompany such sensitivities.

Are these types of elimination diets really necessary? I wrote this book because, for 30 years, I have been clinically able to help my patients start eating wheat, dairy and other hard-to-digest foods again, simply by rebooting the strength of their digestive system and helping them navigate around the highly processed versions of these foods. The "grain brain" phenomenon--namely, the notion that gluten negatively affects our brains and our health and should thus be avoided--has now been challenged by a recent scientific discovery that explains the reaction many people have to wheat and dairy. Researchers have found minute lymphatic vessels in the brain and central nervous system (CNS) that drain directly into the body's main lymphatic system. The discovery is groundbreaking; as previously, science did not know these lymphatic vessels even existed. The science shows that numerous toxins---including beta-amyloid plaques, which are linked to Alzheimer's disease---are drained from the brain through the brain's lymphatic channels while we sleep. This research is so compelling because it suggests that commonly, in the case of "grain brain" and other food intolerance health issues, these brain and CNS lymphatics as well as other lymph channels may be congested, and thus cannot flow or drain toxins out of our systems properly. Let's follow this to its logical conclusion: Lymphatic congestion can lead to a heightened immune response resulting in inflammation in the body. Inflammation is directly linked to a host of digestive issues, food sensitivities and other health concerns.

Therefore, it's not the "grain," but the "drains" that may be the real culprit behind this food sensitivity epidemic. A healthy lymphatic system starts with good upper digestion and a healthy intestinal tract. It is the primary circulatory system that processes both nutrients and toxins from the intestines. When the ability to digest certain proteins breaks down---which is all too common today in our stressful world laden with toxins---proteins like gluten and casein from dairy, ultimately clog the lymphatic system surrounding the intestinal tract. Over time, the lymphatic system, which drains waste from every cell in the body, can become congested, leading to food intolerances that we have blamed on foods like wheat, dairy, and others. Our direct human ancestors have been eating wheat and other grains for 3.4 million years and early humans have been grinding wheat into flour for 30,000 years, making the path to continue eating wheat in our modern times very clear: Decongest the lymphatic system, reboot digestive strength and shift our food focus away from simple sugars to good, healthy fats, along with foods in their whole, natural state. Your digestive system is responsible for delivering nutrients as well as escorting dangerous toxins out of your body.

If your digestion is weak, simply eliminating wheat or dairy from the diet is an oversimplification of the real problem, and does not begin to address the root cause of the issue.