Foot Calluses? Go Gluten-Free!

By Bob Root

Keys Scientist and Founder

Soft feet will last you for a lifetime preserving your nerve sensitivity, stability and balance as you go older.  Calluses, on the other hand, will decrease you ability to feel as you walk, your inability to stand for longer periods and walk not balanced.  Not too mention how those calluses scratch and tear up those ebed sheets.

Take off your shoes and socks.  Look at your feet.  Calluses?  Probably gluten in your diet.

We have known for a long time that many common typical disorders have probable links to gluten.  Dark circles under the eyes, gum and periodontal issues and, yes, calluses have been linked to all that bread, pasta and wheat based products some intake.  In fact, Wendy, my wife and partner, had all three.  Going on a Paleo diet (gluten-free) reversed all of these maladies for her and she lost twenty pounds in the first three weeks as a bonus.  Wendy’s mom was a baker at home.  The kids came home from school to fresh baked cakes, cookies and all sorts of gluten intensive goodies.  Maybe not so good, her mom had foot callus problems all her life.  Could it have been the gluten?  Again, to repeat, Wendy’s dark circles, gum problems and her calluses started to disappear in two weeks and were gone in almost 30 days when she went gluten-free.

What is the Keys connection?

For almost ten years, we have had huge amounts of customer service requests of how to remove calluses without scraping, grinding or filing these tough patches.  Our answer has always been Tortuga Lotion because it works.  Some more severe cases have chosen MetaCare because it adds more essential oils.  The quest has been to stop these calluses which has eluded us until maybe now.   Yes, we have been able to suppress the thickening skin with our lotions, but the cause has been unknown.

I am writing a new book that links a number of skin disorders to diet.  Not the first or last book on the subject, but I am trying to write it for the rest of us in simple terms rather than drawing out and listing tons of science and trials.  In the book, I am not saying that the solutions I offer are the answers, but simple things to try.  These are all based on my ten years listening to customers.

Getting to the point, we have seen a significant reduction in calluses of the feet and toes when people eliminate gluten from their diets.  Our Tortuga and MetaCare lotions will speed the process, but the issue here is the cause.  We have confirmed this with an informal poll of Paleo diet and gluten-free people who noted a significant reduction in calluses after the first two-weeks.  Paleo people are fundamentally gluten-free.  Wendy’s own experience was remarkable.  So just maybe the theory that calluses are genetic is wrong.  Maybe it is our cultural heritages that are tied to wheat that could be the cause.

In the age of rapid technology shifts and skip generation thinking, much of the medicine that is practiced is way to far behind the power curve for me.  Things do not happen fast enough despite the order of magnitude increase in technological innovation. I suppose that if we really wanted to make a big deal of this, we would set up clinical trials, test the theory on a hundred or so people and see what happens.  Clinical trial standards would have us reintroduce gluten to see if the calluses returned.  Seems like a waste of time for something as simple, but troublesome as calluses.

We are not interested in clinical trials, but offer this as a “Try-It” solution.  If you have calluses, get off of gluten for three weeks to a month.  Then ask your self the following questions.

1. Have my calluses reduced or even gone away?
2. Do I feel better?
3. Have I lost weight?
4. Has my energy level increased.

Then it will be up to you to see how important you make it whether to keep on with your gluten lifestyle or venture into new wellness standards.

Dr. Amy Myers is a contributor here as well as a expert in gluten in diets.  http://www.amymyersmd.com/  Here is the link to Amy’s site regarding gluten.  http://www.amymyersmd.com/category/gluten-sensitivity/   I  hope she will weigh in.

Tortuga is still great for soft tired feet and will help with those calluses.  There is not a lot that is more refreshing or comforting then a good foot rub with Tortuga…especially when someone special is rubbing for you.

Post this writing, I also Googled the subject and found some interesting posts…Bob   Who Knew?

Incidentally, I believe every human has gluten sensitivities that range from minor to the severe celiac disease.  The only true way to find out your level of sensitivity is a E95 blood test or eliminating all gluten for at least two weeks.