"Gluten Free Warrior" Dr. Peter Osborne Destroys Disease through Diet
Nine-year-old Ginger suffered with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since her diagnosis at age 2. She was given IV medicines through a permanent port for pain prevention and methotrexate, an immunosuppressive and chemotherapy drug capable of destroying the gut lining.
The doctors warned Ginger’s family that her time was limited. There was nothing more they could do. Hope felt lost until Ginger’s mother discovered Dr. Peter Osborne’s functional medicine clinic in Sugar Land, Texas.
Osborne conducted extensive laboratory tests, which identified gluten sensitivity as the main culprit. Within six months of following a gluten-free diet, doctors removed the port in Ginger’s arm. A year later, Ginger was off all medications and in complete remission.
Founder of the Gluten Free Society and author of “No Grain, No Pain,” Osborne takes an alternative and holistic approach to medicine. He said his passion lies in helping people, and he does so by emphasizing diet over drugs to treat and prevent chronic disease.
Published in 2016, “No Grain, No Pain” identifies the link between a gluten-heavy diet and inflammation using evidence-based research and success stories from thousands of satisfied clients. The book includes a 30-day diet for eliminating the root cause of chronic pain.
“That little girl, Ginger, really molded and shaped who I became,” Osborne said. “That message, to me, was critical. There’s 46 million people in the United States alone with autoimmune disease.”
Ginger was one of them. According to the American Journal of Public Health, autoimmune diseases are among the top 10 causes of death for females under age 65. Ginger’s story would have ended differently had it not been for Osborne’s intervention.
Osborne’s functional medicine practice continues to transform lives by addressing and treating the underlying causes of chronic disease. His YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/glutenology) is home to over 50 success stories from clients like Ginger, and his videos today reach nearly 63,000 subscribers.
At Origins Health Care Center, Osborne looks beyond nutritional guidelines, using lab technology and one-on-one consultations to get to the root of the problem.
“We have a deep conversation about what they’re struggling with and about how they got to where they’re at,” Osborne said. Laboratory tests look for food sensitivities and issues surrounding the digestive tract. “We remove what’s interfering with their body’s ability to repair.”
Osborne’s path to functional medicine began when a college Anatomy & Physiology sparked his interest. But before that, he served in the U.S. Air Force between 1991 and 1994. A native to the Lone Star State, Osborne continued his education at Texas Chiropractic College, where he found a mentor in his nutrition professor, Dr. Ron Grabowski.
“He took me under his wing. He let me teach his classes. He brought me into his practice, and let me observe and shadow him,” Osborne said.
After earning his Doctor of Chiropractic and a Diplomate in Clinical Nutrition, Osborne picked up teaching positions at Texas Women’s University and Houston Community College. And in June 2003, he opened his first alternative medicine clinic in Sugar Land, Texas.
Inspired by success stories like Ginger’s, Osborne founded Gluten Free Society in 2009 (www.glutenfreesociety.org), an online resource that offers products, educational videos and articles pertaining to all things gluten. “That’s part of my passion project, because it allows me to research robustly,” Osborne said. He spends an average of 16 hours per week on nutrition research to produce new content for his online media platforms.
For Osborne, the reward in the job comes from seeing people recapture their lives and return to activities that were nearly impossible to manage with chronic inflammation. “It’s the hug they give me. It’s when they’ve come to the realization that the drugs aren’t necessary,” Osborne said. “They can actually get up out of bed. They can share loving moments with their family without fearing massive levels of pain.”
The world of functional medicine is not always smooth-sailing, however. According to Osborne, the obstacles never quit. He’s been brought against medical boards and chiropractic boards who have accused him of practicing medicine without a license.
“Part of what I do is working against a system that doesn’t like me,” Osborne said. Recently, New York Post and Business Insider released articles accusing Osborne of prescribing lethal doses of vitamins and minerals to build immunity during the coronavirus pandemic. “Their article completely took what I said out of context. It was an outright lie, and I had to sue them for liable to get them to retract their statements,” Osborne said.
Nutritional battles are being fought every day. And in the midst of those battles, the functional medicine expert said he turns to those who have served as inspirations throughout his career- people like Ginger, Dr. Grabowski and even God Himself.
“I believe very firmly that God uses me as a tool. He’s molded me, and He’s shaped me. He works through me, so that I can help teach others and impact their life in meaningful ways. There’s no greater reward than coming to work every day and loving what I do, and seeing people get better that had lost hope,” Osborne said.
“If I look back at my practice and my career, the biggest impact was Ginger. And the reason why is because I was willing to listen and learn from her. Had I not been willing to do that, I never would’ve founded Gluten Free Society. I never would’ve written No Grain, No Pain. I never would’ve gotten on PBS and reached 3 million homes in the United States. I never would’ve been featured on Netflix. I never would’ve been featured in many of the major mediums, where my message has reached millions and millions of people, all from a very small office in a small corner of Sugar Land, Texas.”
