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Celiac.com 03/25/2023 - Researchers reported last month that they have discovered the cause of celiac disease: A small fragment of the gluten protein fails to break down and triggers the immune systems into action. In addition to discovering the key fragment that makes gluten so poisonous to celiacs, Dr. Chaitan Khosla, researcher and founder of the Celiac Sprue Research Foundation (CSRF), reports that he has also found a bacterial enzyme that breaks down the toxic peptide and appears to make gluten digestible and safe. The enzyme could well become the key to an oral medication for celiac disease. The CSRF is a science-driven public charity that seeks to improve the quality of life of celiac patients by promoting research and development, and by enhancing awareness of the disease among scientists, healthcare professionals, consumer product manufacturers and the general public. Its primary goal is to translate emerging knowledge about celiac disease into a comprehensive plan for developing a therapeutic alternative to a gluten-free diet. Once the Foundation’s initial drug development strategy has been launched, it will use available resources to promote basic research that might lead to fundamentally new insights into the disease, and to improve technologies for detecting new patients of this seriously under-diagnosed disease. It is anticipated that each of the therapeutic possibilities being researched by the CSRF will require 1-3 years of pre-clinical research before a suitable Investigational New Drug (IND) candidate can be identified for further clinical studies. Once an IND application has been successfully filed with the U.S. FDA or its European equivalent, extensive human clinical studies must be performed to thoroughly assess both the safety and efficacy of the drug candidate. These clinical trials can be expected to last 5-8 years before a prescription drug emerges in the marketplace. Until such studies are successfully completed, no candidate therapeutic agent can be considered suitable for use by celiac sprue patients. The CSRF has ambitious and achievable goals if it can gain the immediate support of the celiac community. The CSRF is actively raising funds to help support the above research and development efforts.

Celiac.com 01/13/2023 - Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which gluten consumption triggers gut damage. The only effective treatment is a strict gluten-free diet. Can hookworms help celiacs eat gluten? The answer is yes and no, coupled with some trade-offs. Here's the rundown. Earlier studies have indicated that hookworm infection may restore some level of gluten tolerance in celiac patients, however, none of these approximately one dozen studies were placebo controlled. We've done a number of articles on hookworms and celiac disease. We've even done an article on health claims from at least one hookworm-infected celiac patient who claimed he was able to safely eat gluten. Can Hookworms Help Celiacs Eat Gluten? To get a more detailed answer, a research team recently undertook a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of hookworm infection in nearly sixty people with celiac disease. The team included John Croese, MD; Gregory C. Miller, FRCPA; Louise Marquart, PhD; Stacey Llewellyn, BSc; Rohit Gupta, FRACP; Luke Becker, BAppSci; Andrew D. Clouston, PhD; Christine Welch, FRACP; Julia Sidorenko, PhD; Leanne Wallace, BSc; Peter M. Visscher, PhD; Matthew L. Remedios, FRACP; James S. McCarthy, MD; Peter O'Rourke, PhD; Graham Radford-Smith, PhD; Alex Loukas, PhD; Mark Norrie, PhD; John W. Masson, FRACP; Richard B. Gearry, PhD; Tony Rahman, PhD; and Paul R. Giacomin, PhD. They are variously associated with the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Australia; the Center for Molecular Therapeutics, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia; the Envoi Specialist Pathologists, Brisbane, Australia; the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia; the Department of Gastroenterology, Townsville University Hospital, Townsville, Australia; the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia; the Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Logan Hospital, Brisbane, Australia; and the Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch and Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch, New Zealand. Study Ran Nearly Two Years In a study that ran for just under two years, a research team of medical professionals treated celiac patients with with a placebo, or with either third stage larvae of the 20 or 40 Necator americanus hookworm (L3-20 group or L3-40 group). Patients then increased their gluten consumption to 5 grams per day for 12 weeks, 1 gram intermittent twice weekly for 12 weeks, and two grams sustained for six weeks, followed by liberal diet for 1 year. About forty to fifty percent of hookworm patients, and about fifty-five percent of placebo subjects made it to the main outcome point of 42 weeks, and hookworm-treated participants did show a sharp reduction in gluten-related events. Duodenal villous height: crypt depth deteriorated similarly compared with their enrollment values in each group, with an average change of −0.6 for the placebo group; -0.5 for the L3-20 group , −1.1 for the L3-40 group. A retrospective analysis showed that nearly one in four L3-treated participants failed to develop successful hookworm infection. Lower Quality of Life Scores for Hookworm Patients Between forty to fifty percent of participants in each group completed the study, but quality of life symptom scores after the gluten challenge were under forty percent in hookworm-positive participants, compared with over forty-five percent for the hookworm negative group. From their findings, the team concludes that hookworm infection DOES NOT restore gluten tolerance enough to allow sustained moderate consumption of gluten of two grams per day or more. However, hookworm infection did lead to better symptom scores after occasional consumption of lower doses of gluten. The findings undercut the idea that hookworm infection is some kind of magic bullet for gluten consumption for people with celiac disease. Hookworm Infection Not a Magic Bullet for Celiacs At best, the data support the idea that hookworm infection can help reduce symptoms of moderate gluten consumption in people with celiac disease, but that any reduction also likely comes with a lower overall quality of life score. This is the most definitive study we've yet seen on the effects of hookworm infection on the ability of celiac disease patients to tolerate gluten. The results are clear that any modest benefits of hookworm infection comes with some potential reduction in quality of life. Still, the ability of hookworms to help reduce symptoms of moderate gluten consumption in people with celiac disease merits further study. It's possible that hookworms hold some secrets in their biochemistry that might help to offer some extra protection against the inflammation triggered by limited gluten consumption. That is some exciting news. Read more at: Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2020 Dec; 11(12): e00274.

Celiac.com 11/03/2022 - Fair warning, this article talks freely about poop, poop storage, and poop replacement. Basically, this article is all about poop, and the role it might plays in your future good health, so if that's an issue, now is a good time to tune out, or in if you want to learn more. The crucial role of the gut microbiome in maintaining human health is just beginning to be understood. Many different cultures, and more than a few scientists, talk of a gut/brain connection. And healthy poop plays a major role in a healthy gut. We know that patients with C-diff and other gut maladies can benefit from fecal transplants from people with healthy guts. It's done via a medical procedure called fecal microbiota transplantation, or FMT. Some research shows FMT may help treat inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis. Studies in animals indicate that FMT may help treat obesity, lengthen lifespan, and reverse some effects of aging, such as age-related decline in brain function. Other clinical trials are assessing its potential for treating cancer. Now scientists are taking a serious look at the idea that banking fecal samples when we're young, and implanting them in our colons later in life, might help reverse damage, and restore gut health. The science behind this is not robust at the moment. It is mainly anecdotal and relies, in part, on extrapolating benefits from existing fecal transplants and extending those to regular people as a way to treat potential conditions later in life. Even so, a number of researchers are taking the lead and encouraging existing stool banks to permit regular folks to bank their poop now, so they can use it in the future when there is more science done to support the concept. That means the researchers feel strongly that future research, data and clinical experience will back them up and confirm their bet. Believe it or not, poop banks are already a thing. Just like sperm banks or blood banks, or any number of other banks for health-related specimens, stool banks exist for treating some of the conditions we've mentioned. So, the whole process of banking poop, would be pretty simple. You would head to your local stool bank. You would then provide a sample, which the bank would screen for diseases, wash, process, and deposit into long-term storage. Then, later in life, your doctors could access the sample for implantation to treat inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease, or type 2 diabetes, or even to restore your gut after medical treatment that wipes out your microbiome, like antibiotics or chemotherapy. In such cases, doctors could use medical procedure called fecal microbiota transplantation, or FMT, to implant your banked stool to revitalize your gut microbiome to its earlier, healthier state, Scott Weiss, MD, Harvard Medical School professor and a co-author of a recent paper on stool banking, told reporters. However, Weiss adds, it is best to use healthy samples, so ideally banking stool between the ages of 18 and 35, or before any serious medical condition impacting the gut. Although samples provided by people who are still healthy, even into their 50s, could still be helpful later. Certainly, a world in which we can treat major diseases with a simple transplant from our personal stool banks is an intriguing and attractive one. Just how much benefit can be gained from FMT remains to be seen, but results like these are encouraging. Stay tuned for more on this and related stories. Read more on this topic at WebMD.com

Celiac.com 03/27/2019 - For several decades starting in the 1920s, bananas came to be seen as a miracle food. Bananas were thought by many doctors to possess tremendous healing properties, and came to play a role in numerous health and dietary treatments. The banana diet even became a treatment for celiac disease. In 1924, Dr. Sidney Haas began to advocate the benefits of a the high-calorie, banana-based diet that excluded starches, but included bananas, milk, cottage cheese, meat and vegetables. The diet was initially so effective in celiac disease patients that it was adopted by numerous doctors, and endorsed in the 1930s by the University of Maryland, according to pediatric gastroenterologist Alessio Fasano, chair of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and a specialist in celiac disease. Doctors told mothers to feed bananas to their infants starting at 4 weeks. And for a long time, the banana diet seemed to help people "recover" from celiac disease. However, Dr. Haas and his colleagues were wrong about the curative powers of bananas, and that seemingly honest mistake had long-term consequences for numerous patients with celiac disease. For all its benefits in helping celiac patients to avoid wheat, their bodies never became tolerant to the gluten proteins that trigger celiac disease. So, when they re-introduced wheat into their diets, as many did, assuming they were cured, they suffered the common physical consequences of untreated celiac disease. One such patient was Lindy Redmond, whose celiac disease was “cured” with the banana diet as a child. "All my life I have told doctors I had celiac as a child," says Lindy Redmond, "and that I grew out of it. And all my life I have eaten wheat." Thinking she was cured, but suffering years of symptoms, Redmond, at 66 years old, finally underwent a gluten-antibody test and and received an intestinal biopsy. "My intestine was very damaged," she reports. "My doctor said she didn't know if it would ever recover." It was then that Redmond wondered about the possible connection between lifelong, untreated celiac disease and her two miscarriages, frequent bouts of colds and bronchitis, and interminable constipation. Now 74 and off gluten, Redmond says the colds and constipation are gone. The banana diet remained a common treatment for celiac disease until the early 1950s, when Dutch pediatrician, Willem Karel Dicke, and his colleagues identified gluten as the trigger for celiac disease, that bananas were finally discredited as a celiac disease treatment, and the gluten-free diet was born. Most doctors quickly acknowledged the contribution made by Dr. Dicke and his colleagues. However, Haas continued to speak out against the gluten-free diet and went on promoting his banana-based cure, claiming that only the banana diet could achieve "a cure which is permanent." This conclusion was, of course, simply wrong. Eventually, the European medical community adopted Dicke's gluten-free diet treatment, but in the United States, at least partly due to these erroneous medical beliefs, celiac disease remained under-diagnosed, and many patients suffered needlessly. Read more at NPR.org

Celiac.com 03/28/2020 - In theory, celiac disease could be treated, and potentially cured, by restoring T-cell tolerance to gliadin. A team of researchers recently set out to investigate the safety and efficacy of negatively charged, 500 nm, poly (lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles encapsulating gliadin protein (TIMP-GLIA) in 3 mouse models of celiac disease. The research team included Tobias L. Freitag, Joseph R. Podojil, Ryan M. Pearson, Frank J. Fokta, Cecilia Sahl, Marcel Messing, Leif C. Andersson, Katarzyna Leskinen, Päivi Saavalainen, Lisa I. Hoover, Kelly Huang, Deborah Phippard, Sanaz Maleki, Nicholas J.C. King, Lonnie D. Shea, Stephen D. Miller, Seppo K. Meri, and Daniel R. Getts. Negatively charged, 500 nm, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles encapsulating gliadin protein (TIMP-GLIA) by antigen-presenting cells was shown to induce immune tolerance in other animal models of autoimmune disease. TIMP-GLIA did not elevate maturation markers on cultured human dendritic cells, or activate T cells from patients with active or treated celiac disease. The team assessed the model 1 delayed-type hypersensitivity, the model 2 HLA-DQ8 transgenic, and the model 3 gliadin memory T cell enteropathy models of celiac disease. Injections of TIMP-GLIA substantially reduced gliadin-specific T cell generation in models 1 and 2. Further, injections reduced inflammatory cytokine secretion in all three models, circulating gliadin-specific IgG/IgG2c in models 1 and 2, ear swelling in model 1, gluten-dependent enteropathy in model 3, and body weight loss in model 3. In model 1, the effects were shown to be dose dependent. Splenocytes from HLA-DQ8 transgenic mice given TIMP-GLIA nanoparticles, but not control nanoparticles, showed increased levels of FOXP3, and gene expression markers associated with improved tolerance. Injecting gluten-sensitive mice with TIMP-GLIA nanoparticles nearly eliminated the immune response to gliadin, and reduced markers of inflammation and enteropathy. This approach might be refined and used to develop new treatments for celiac disease in humans. Read more in Gastroenterology The researchers are variously affiliated with the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology; the Translational Immunology Research Program; the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cour Pharmaceutical Development Company, Northbrook, IL, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Finland; Precision for Medicine, Frederick, MD, USA; the Discipline of Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, Bosch Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; and the Interdepartmental Immunobiology Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.

Celiac.com 12/18/2020 - This understanding of viruses is actually the culmination of my study—and the reason why my book has not been written—yet. I have been waiting for the “punch line” and this is it—how we actually reap what we sow in our physical lives. All it takes is a brief review of virology and what these little guys do in nature—which is vital to the creation and its moment-by-moment operation—and then we can see the truth about why it has all gone wrong. Am I over-dramatizing? I don’t think so. Simply put, viruses were made to adapt. They also are integral in the variation we see in nature. The other essential piece of information you need is how they incorporate their genetic information into ours. Once again, it is a scientific FACT that we have more viral information in our double stranded DNA than we do genes. Wow—does that answer a lot! So, do the genes that code for your eye color or the fact that you have two rams, two legs, one liver, and one nose suddenly mutate and give you a “genetic” disease? No, it is the viruses embedded in that DNA that do this. They have been there for generations and new ones are added with each generation. The acquisition of viruses was meant for good—to help us to adapt to our ever-changing environment. So, we should really thank someone who gives you a virus, shouldn’t we? If we were optimally healthy, we would acquire the guy and get on with our healthy lives. BUT, because of what we have done to ourselves, the environment, and the animals that harbor many of these viruses, some of the viruses have become “virulent”. Yes, they have been FORCED into adapting into something stronger because of what we have done. Once again, we reap what we sow. Then, as we become more and more unhealthy while continuing to challenge our viral inhabitants with lectins, chemicals, pollution and “carcinogens”, we reach critical mass. Our immune system IS the governor of this situation and is constantly trying to control this situation. We have all heard it said that we are fighting cancer at every moment of every day. Yep. So, what happens when we “assassinate our governor” by doing what we do? Yes, the poor nutrition, malabsorption syndromes caused by the “big 4” food intolerances, the lack of sleep, the chemicals, and more are ALL bullets that were firing away at our governor. Once again, we reap what we sow. With an ineffective, bullet-riddled governor and the continuation of the virus-challenging process, we lose our grip while the viruses are forced to adapt into something more powerful just to survive (which again is what they were charged with from the beginning—to adapt at all costs—even to our detriment if it came to that). Think of them as little robots. Well hey—look at them. Most of them LOOK like little robots. Have you seen them? They have a head that looks like the geodesic dome of the Epcot center. They have legs like a lunar lander and are very mechanical looking. So, the analogy is most accurate. Are they living or not? A great debate rages on about this. I think they have to be, just not by the standards that we normally use for “living”. Think of them as androids. Yeah, that’s it. And yes, once backed into a corner, they play their ultimate card—to induce a tumor that protects them and the cells in which they reside—a fortress that walls itself off from these continued challenges. I used to think they were trying to escape the immune system—now I know better. And, does a single tumor in a lung lobe or lymph node kill anyone? Hmmm—how about the drugs and radiation designed to kill that tumor? Hmmm—again. Oh oh. And what’s more, what does a virus get forced into doing if its new cocoon is threatened? MOVE, right? Yes, that is called metastasis. So simple, so clear—right? Question: Would cancer resolve IF we did enough right by stopping what we are doing that is driving these viruses crazy? We know we can prevent cancer by doing these things, right (Unfortunately, it is more appropriately put that we can accelerate cancer by doing enough bad things)? But could we take a person who has cancer (or any chronic viral disease), move them to a pristine location, feed them perfectly, give them unpolluted water, and alter their lifestyle so that they sleep well and get plenty of exercise and have that cancer or condition resolve? I believe the answer is a resounding YES, YES, YES. There is plenty of evidence of this. We hear stories of people curing themselves of cancer, MS, and other serious conditions and dismiss them because we simply don’t believe that we can recover from such things. What an attitude, eh? Where did that come from anyway? When did we lose faith in this miraculous body? And when did we start the process of literally handcuffing its attempts to heal itself by taking all of this symptomatic medication (e.g., NSAIDS to reduce fevers caused by viruses)? I know when and it fits like a glove into man’s history. I no longer put any limitations on what this body can do, only one what WE can do for our body. Does that pristine environment exist? Can we eat perfectly with what we have done to our food supply? The good news is that we don’t necessarily have to be perfect. The absolute worst of the worst do, unfortunately. But everything I have learned about medicine in the past six years screams at me that we are made to recover. We just start too late and rarely do enough—right? But once we see that disease is a “spectrum disorder”, with its victims ranging from the “best of the best” to the “worst of the worst”, we can easily see why some people get better with “holistic” treatment and others do not. Have those that don’t done enough right? So, what IS the cure for cancer? Does the answer lie in the laboratory? Is it hidden in the jungles of South America? OR does it lie within us all? I think we all really know the answer to this one now, don’t we? And once again—how cool is that?

Celiac.com 08/17/2020 - The case of a man whose celiac disease went into remission after he took an off market drug for alopecia, even though he was eating gluten, is getting some attention from researchers. An alopecia patient at the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium, tried to control his celiac disease by following a gluten-free diet. After some modest improvement in symptoms, the patient returned to a non-gluten-free diet, and the symptoms returned. The patient chose to continue eating gluten, and to keep an eye on the symptoms. At about that time, he began taking off-label Tofacitinib to treat his alopecia. Tofacitinib is a Janus kinase inhibitor approved for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and bowel diseases. Tofacitinib inhibits enzymes associated with symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, but it’s also used to treat alopecia and certain bowel diseases. To the surprise of his clinicians, a follow-up visit showed complete histologic and serologic remission of the man's celiac disease, despite his ongoing consumption of gluten. Blood tests for celiac antibodies all came back in the normal range. The result is intriguing, but is only a single case, and it will require a larger study to reveal whether this might also work in others with celiac disease. Since Tofacitinib has already been approved by the FDA as a safe and effective treatment for several non-celiac conditions, positive studies of it successfully treating celiac disease could mean that people with celiac disease may soon have a new drug option to manage their condition. Still, this case report is only one single patient, and much more research needs to be done before drawing any conclusions about whether this drug will work in others with celiac disease. The clinicians are encouraging further study of the relationship between Tofacitinib and celiac disease remission. At the same time, they advise caution, because Tofacitinib can have potentially serious side effects, and may not be suitable for long-term use. In fact, if Tofacitinib proves useful against celiac disease, it may be especially helpful for people with refractory celiac disease. Read more about the team's report in Annals of Internal Medicine

Celiac.com 12/31/2019 - Happy New Year everyone! Yes, we know many of you are planning on festive celebrations that might include a little or a lot of drinking. There are some tricks to pulling off a good drinking night without suffering too much. Among them, eat the right foods both before and after your festivities. So we've put together this list of some of the best gluten-free hangover foods, for both the pre-game prevention, and the post-game recovery. We've also included a few of our favorite recipes for gluten-free foods that are good for preventing or nursing a hangover. The list is far from comprehensive, and if you have a favorite gluten-free hangover food, be sure to share it in our comments below. Best Gluten-Free Foods for Hangover Prevention Nuts Packed with healthy fats and protein, nuts like almonds and walnuts can slow the absorption of alcohol. Salted nuts will help offset the loss of sodium that can come with drinking alcohol. Pickles Because pickles are cured in salt-rich brine, they are packed with sodium, and work much like an an edible sports drink. Pear Juice Asian researchers have shown that beer drinkers who pregame with a cup of Asian pear juice had less severe hangover symptoms the next day compared to those who just drank beer. In addition to reducing hangover severity, Asian pear juice helped to improve concentration the day after drinking, which is great, because you need your brain to function, even if it's just to watch a football game. Spinach The leafy greens are loaded with folic acid, sulfur and vitamin C—all nutrients that help ward off hangover symptoms. If it's not too late, pregame with a spinach salad: Spinach is rich in fiber, which helps keep you fuller longer; you'll be less apt to drink heavily. Tacos Tacos are packed with fat and protein that can help slow the absorption of alcohol. Eating some tacos before, during, or after drinking is a good way to keep the edge off a hangover. Hamburgers Hamburgers are packed with fat and protein that can help slow the absorption of alcohol. If you're looking to save calories, then skip the fries and go for a spinach salad. Whole Milk Milk is packed with protein and fat, which help line the stomach and slow the absorption of alcohol, which experts say helps to prevent hangovers. Best Gluten-Free Foods for Hangover Cure Asparagus According to a study in the Journal of Food Science, the amino acids and minerals found in asparagus may alleviate hangover symptoms and protect liver cells against toxins. The veggie spears are also a natural diuretic, which will help flush the excess toxins from your system. Avocados Avocados are high in potassium, which can help reduce muscle spasms, dizziness, and weakness that come with hangovers. They are also rich in fiber, B6, carotenoids, and heart-healthy fats, all of which help promote neuromuscular function, proper heart function, muscle contraction, and keeps sodium at bay. Bananas You can lose a lot of potassium when you drink. Bananas are not only high in potassium, they're also one of nature's best sources of vitamin B6. A study in the Annals of Nutrition showed that topping off vitamin B6 levels can reduce hangover symptoms up to 50 percent. Beets Beets are rich in potassium, vitamin C, fiber, and folate, and high in nitric oxide, which increases blood flow and oxygen efficiency, and helps maintain healthy blood pressure. That makes beets a good food for getting your energy levels back up after the big party. Coconut Water Coconut water has ultra-high of electrolytes. A single 12-ounce can contains more that double the potassium found in bananas. According to a 2012 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, coconut water was as effective as sports drinks for rehydrating after fluid loss. Eggs Eggs are a rich source of cysteine, an amino acid that helps break down alcohol's leftover toxins. Two eggs will give you a full day's allowance! Make an omelet with asparagus, wash it down with tomato juice, and you'll be up and among the living dead in no time. Other rich sources of cysteine include Soy, beef, chicken, and turkey. Gatorade or Sports Drinks Even a cheap sports drink will help you with a hangover, largely by replacing precious fluids and electrolytes lost through drinking and dehydration. Fluids, minerals and electrolytes will help reduce dizziness and headaches. Greek Yogurt Alcohol not only causes dehydration, it interferes with the body's blood sugar balance. One great way to counter that is to eat a serving Greek yogurt topped with half of a banana and some honey. Excellent sources of potassium, protein and carbs, yogurt helps stabilize blood sugar, and curb nausea and hunger. Ginger Ginger tea is one of the great cures for an upset stomach. Best of all, ginger tea is easy to make. Just add a few slice of fresh ginger to a mug, add boiling water, cover and steep for five minutes. Sip away! Honey Honey is high in sucrose, which has been shown to compete with alcohol metabolism, thus helping your body to eliminate alcohol more quickly. Honey also helps to replace the blood sugar lost by drinking. Stir honey into your ginger tea for a powerful hangover remedy. Citrus Fruits Citrus fruits are packed with an antioxidant called de-limonene, a powerful compound found in the peel that stimulates liver enzymes, among other benefits. Citrus is also rich in vitamin C, which may prevent the loss of glutathione, an antioxidant that helps your body metabolize alcohol, and is often depleted after heavy drinking. Oatmeal Studies have shown that starchy carbohydrates like oatmeal can improve mood, and boost serotonin. Salmon Alcohol can deplete the body of the B-complex vitamins, causing you to feel weak and lightheaded. Rich in EPA and DHA fatty acids, salmon is high in protein and contains all essential amino acids and vitamin B12. Just 3oz of cooked salmon provides over half of the daily value for vitamin B12. Soups Dozens, if not hundreds of broth-based soups like Chicken soup, Korean Ox-tail soup, Korean som tong Gai (ginger soup), Vietnamese Pho, Chinese Won-Ton soup, Mexican Caldo de pollo, menudo, or broth from traditional Barbacoa, have long been touted as hangover cures. When a hangover calls, some good broth soup is never a bad idea. Tomato Juice Tomatoes have been shown to improve liver function, which is impaired by heavy drinking. They're also rich in sodium and potassium, and electrolytes that can help reduce the effects of dehydration, such as headaches and dizziness. Turmeric Research shows that curcumin, the bright yellow chemical compound related to ginger, and found in the spice turmeric, helps to reduce liver inflammation, which can come with too much drinking. Watermelon In addition to being loaded with water, watermelon is also packed with potassium, magnesium, and L-citrulline, an amino acid that promotes blood circulation, and helps improve fatigued muscles. Add some salt and you've got a powerful hangover recovery food. Gluten-Free Hangover Recipes Eggs Benedict Over Hash Browns Rumor has it that Eggs Benedict was concocted by a hungover stock broker. True or not, eggs Benedict is one of the long-touted hangover meals. Why is that? Packed with cysteine, an amino acid that helps break down alcohol's leftover toxins, eggs are one of the best hangover foods there are. Good Hollandaise sauce includes extra egg yolks and a nice dash of lemon juice. Add in the carbs from the potatoes, which help to improve mood, and boost serotonin, some sodium-rich Canadian bacon, and you have a powerhouse hangover meal. Toss in a glass of lemon, grapefruit or orange juice (watered down if it's too acidic) to replace electrolytes, and you'll be back on the road to good health in no time. Tip: Swap out the Canadian bacon for salmon, which is rich in EPA and DHA fatty acids, high in protein and contains all essential amino acids and vitamin B12. In addition to being high in potassium, bananas also loaded with vitamin B6. A study in the journal Annals of Nutrition shows that topping off your vitamin B6 can reduce hangover symptoms by as much as 50 percent! In addition to causing dehydration, alcohol interferes with the body's blood sugar balance. One great way to counter that is to eat a serving Greek yogurt topped with half of a banana and some honey. Excellent sources of potassium, protein and carbs, yogurt helps stabilize blood sugar, and curb nausea and hunger. Honey helps your body to metabolize alcohol faster. Here's a great Recipe for Gluten-Free Hangover Eggs Benedict over Hash Browns Here's a recipe for Gluten-Free Dutch Eggs Benedict (with Salmon) Here's a recipe for simple Greek Yogurt with Banana and Honey: Just put a half a cup of Greek yogurt in a bowl, top with half a banana and a tablespoon of honey and enjoy!

Celiac.com 10/10/2018 - The Technical University in Vienna has announced a new remedy for celiac disease symptoms that they say can “alleviate or even completely eliminate the symptoms of celiac disease.” It should be available commercially in only a few years. Because most current efforts to treat celiac disease affect the immune system, possible side effects must therefore be fully assessed. This means years of study, and a long approval process. However, the TU Wien research team worked in collaboration with the industrial partner Sciotech Diagnostic Technologies GmbH to create a different approach. Their team based its approach for a celiac disease treatment on using only the part of the antibody that binds to gluten, which allowed them to create a product that works extremely well, but does not rely on triggering an immune response. Instead of a drug that works on the immune system, TU Wien created a simple medical product that directly attacks the gluten molecules to render them harmless. This makes the approval process much simpler, meaning that the product should be available in ordinary pharmacies as early as 2021. According to Professor Oliver Spadiut, head of the Integrated Bioprocess Development Research Group at TU Wien, “bodies produce antibodies that fit intruding antigens precisely, like a key to a lock. This immune response makes these antigens harmless.” He goes on to say that “If a new antibody fragment is found and produced that docks to and blocks the invading gluten molecule without triggering the immune system, the symptoms of celiac disease can be suppressed." The goal of their research project was to produce a complex of two such antibody fragments that envelop the gluten molecule at a molecular level, so that it can no longer have any further effects in the intestines. The result is a groundbreaking treatment for celiac disease and gluten intolerance. The process is complicated, and requires the team to re-program certain bacteria so that they produce exactly the desired antibody fragment. The full process took a while to iron out, but, says Spadiut, it “can be easily reproduced, can be scaled up to industrial application and delivers a very good yield of the desired product." This is very exciting news. Aside from efforts toward an outright vaccine, this is the first news of a potential treatment that can negate the effects of gluten without affecting the immune system itself. If all goes well, Spadiut says, the product “will be available in ordinary pharmacies in a few years.” Stay tuned for news about ongoing developments of this interesting treatment for celiac disease. Read: Additional scientific information Source: TUWien.ac.at

Celiac.com 06/22/2017 - Once upon a time, bananas were thought by many doctors to possess tremendous healing properties. Bananas were used to help diabetics to use weight. Doctors told mothers to feed bananas to their infants starting at 4 weeks. And for a long time, the diet seemed to help people "recover" from celiac disease. Invented by Dr. Sidney Haas in 1924, the high-calorie, banana-based diet excluded starches, but included bananas, milk, cottage cheese, meat and vegetables. The diet was so effective in celiac disease patients that it was adopted by numerous doctors, and endorsed in the 1930s by the University of Maryland, according to pediatric gastroenterologist Alessio Fasano, chair of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and a specialist in celiac disease. The general public picked up the trend, and embraced bananas as one of the great health foods. But, whatever the medical and public perception about bananas may have been, Dr. Haas was wrong about the curative powers of bananas, and that seemingly honest mistake had long-term consequences for numerous patients with celiac disease. That's because the bananas did not cure the condition, as was commonly thought. The bodies of the patients involved did not become tolerant to wheat. So, when they reintroduced wheat into their diets, as many did, assuming they were cured, they suffered physical consequences. One such patient was Lindy Redmond, whose celiac disease was “cured” with the banana diet as a child. "All my life I have told doctors I had celiac as a child," says Lindy Redmond, "and that I grew out of it. And all my life I have eaten wheat." Thinking she was cured, but suffering years of symptoms, Redmond, at 66 years old, finally underwent a gluten-antibody test and and received an intestinal biopsy. "My intestine was very damaged," she reports. "My doctor said she didn't know if it would ever recover." It was then that Redmond wondered about the possible connection between lifelong, untreated celiac disease and her two miscarriages, frequent bouts of colds and bronchitis, and interminable constipation. Now 74 and off gluten, Redmond says the colds and constipation are gone. It wasn't until 1952 that Dutch pediatrician, Willem Karel Dicke, and his colleagues identified gluten as the trigger for celiac disease, and the gluten-free diet was born. But Haas railed against the gluten-free diet and went on promoting his banana-based cure, claiming that only the banana diet could achieve "a cure which is permanent." The European medical community quickly adopted Dicke's gluten-free diet treatment, but in the United States, at least partly due to these erroneous medical beliefs, celiac disease remained under-diagnosed, and many patients suffered needlessly. Reda more at NPR.org

Celiac.com 06/23/2017 - Dr. Alessio Fasano from the University of Maryland's Celiac Research Center published a paper in Clinical and Developmental Immunology last month. It focused on a new drug developed by Dr. Fasano that has shown promising results in both animal and human trials. But is this the 'magic pill' that will cure celiac disease and gluten sensitivity? Let's take a look. The new drug, formerly called AT1001 but now renamed Larazotide Acetate, is a zonulin inhibitor. For those who have never heard the word 'zonulin', you might think it's a term from a science fiction movie. But zonulin is the protein that causes the 'gates' or openings between the cells making up the lining of the small intestine to open and close. These openings are called tight junctions and when zonulin gets excessive, a leaky gut ensues. Dr. Fasano has made great inroads to prove that a leaky gut is a problem that must be handled with gluten intolerance. The leaky gut perpetuates gluten's negative impact on other parts of the body. It can also initiate autoimmune disease. One key point to keep in mind is that 'leaky gut' occurs because molecules can pass between cells when they shouldn't. In addition, molecules can pass through cells which they also shouldn't. Unfortunately this new drug only impacts the former, not the latter. So, the drug Larazotide Acetate is a zonulin inhibitor. Now that we've reviewed what zonulin does as regards opening the gates, the purpose of inhibiting its action should make sense. How well does it work? In the recent human trials that were double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled (the best type of study, but I would expect no less from the stellar Dr. Fasano), a gluten exposure created a 70% increase in intestinal permeability (leaky gut) in 57% of the placebo group but only 28.6% of the patients receiving the drug (4 out of 14 patients) experienced such increased permeability. Further, gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly more frequent among patients of the placebo group as compared to the group that received the Larazotide. A pro-inflammatory substance known as interferon gamma was also evaluated. This is manufactured by the body when a specific foreign/toxic agent is recognized by the body's immune system. As expected, levels of interferon gamma increased in 4 out of 7 of the placebo patients (57%) but only 4 out of 14 larazotide patients (28.6%) saw any increase. The good news is that this drug seems well tolerated and it does reduce the leaky gut response that gluten ingestion normally creates. Further, it also reduces the percentage, by about half, of the production of interferon gamma. These are all excellent results. But, and it's unfortunately a very big 'but', we have a very long way to go before such a drug would be useful for your typical celiac or gluten sensitive patient. Will Dr. Fasano and his team be able to tweak this drug such that it functions at a higher level of efficacy? I certainly hope so, but let's analyze exactly what this drug does in its present state: The drug still resulted in almost 30% of the patients experiencing a 70% increase in permeability (leaky gut) – Not good. A highly pro-inflammatory (this means that it creates degenerative disease) substance known as interferon gamma was also produced in nearly 30% of the drug-consuming patients tested – Not good. Leakiness, or the passage of negative substances through cells is not affected by this drug – Not good. Of course on the plus side, over 70% of those tested DID have a very good result with apparently no untoward side effects – Very good. At what point is the efficacy high enough that you'd be willing to subject yourself to a possible reaction? Do realize that any gluten ingested increases your chance of disease, chief amongst them cancer and autoimmune disease. Is there a level of function of the drug that you would chance taking it? Is it 90%, 99%? Does any drug ever get that good? Well, as a big fan of Dr. Fasano's, I would say that if anyone can do it, he and his team can. But at the same time, I cannot help but think of all the other drugs I have encountered. As 'wonderful' as they sometimes seem initially, they almost always fall from grace when some horrible side effect is realized. Would I guinea pig my own health that I've fought so hard to regain? Would I recommend taking such a chance to my children just so that they could consume some white flour product? I don't think so. How about you? What do you think? If the drug were available right now at its efficacy of 71%, would you take it and hope you weren't in the 29% for whom it didn't work? I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you are wondering if you're gluten intolerant or know that you are but still aren't enjoying good health, consider calling us for a free health analysis: 408-733-0400. We are here to help! Our destination clinic sees patients from across the country and internationally so you do not need to live locally to receive assistance. To your good health! Reference: Alessio Fasano, Clinical and Developmental Immunology, Published online 2012 October 10. "Novel Therapeutic/Integrative Approaches for Celiac Disease and Dermatitis Herpetiformis."