LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Questions Everyone Asks About Gluten

Answers to the 7 Big Questions Everyone Asks About Gluten

Jill Richardson should stick to the facts in “The Foodist:  Answers to the 7 Big Questions Everyone Asks About Gluten.” She makes a personal judgement about applied kinesiology while answering question #4: Does Anyone Else Besides Celiac Sufferers Need to Go Gluten Free?

Richardson writes “That said, not everyone who says they can’t eat gluten suffers so severely.  Some are told by chiropractors or other alternative health practioners that they cannot eat gluten after undergoing tests using a practice called ‘applied kinesiology’ that is little more than quackery.”

Applied kinesiology was developed by  Dr. George J. Goodheart, Jr. (1918-2008) who had a chiropractic practice in Detroit and Grosse Pointe for over 50 years.  He attended the University of Detroit, National College of Chiropractic, and National University of Health Sciences.  He began to write about his ideas of AK in 1964.  He founded International College of Applied Kinesiology in 1976. Dr. Goodheart was the first chiropractor to serve on the U.S. Olympic medical team in 1980.

Applied kinesiology is a diagnostic system using manual muscle testing to evaluate areas of dysfunction within the body.  Goodheart based AK on the idea that problematic shifts in muscles and movement are triggered by an internal problem or other causes including environmental toxins, nutritional deficiencies, food sensitivities, and emotional issues. AK is not used to diagnose Celiac disease which is diagnosed using a blood test and gut biopsy.  http://www.coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-disease/getting-diagnosed/home-testing/

Personally, my health was improved with Nutrition Response Testing (Applied Kinesiology) at The Nutritional Healing Center of Ann Arbor (www.TheNutritionalHealingCenter.com).  Dr. Darren Schmidt, chief clinician, chiropractor, and CEO at NHCAA, shared his view with me.

He said “It always comes down to clinical results and that should be the main message about healthcare. Avoiding gluten helps many people. Whether you find a gluten sensitivity with AK or a blood test or clinical results, it doesn’t matter. What matters is getting sick people better.”

Readers can watch a demonstration of Nutrition Response Testing done by Dr. Freddie Ulan, who developed this system, on YouTube.

Nancy Witter

Ann Arbor