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Celiac Disease & Gluten-Free Diet Blogs

  • kareng's Blog
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  • An Unmistakeable Journey
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  • Trials and Tribulations
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  • Research on South African Celiac Tours
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  • Melissa.77's Blog
  • Keating's Not-so-Glutenfree life
  • AmandasMommy's Blog
  • Coeliac, or just plain unlucky?
  • bandanamama's Blog
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  • Ellenor Whitty's Blog
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  • Silly Yak 08's Blog
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  • Searchin for a Primary Care Dr. In Redlands That is Knowledgeable about Celiac disease
  • num1habsfan's Blog
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  • Jason's Mommy's Blog
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  • Chele's Blog
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  • Michael Fowler's Blog
  • Living in Japan with Ceoliac Disease
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  • MJ
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  • Joe pilk
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  • GlutenFreeLexi's Blog
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  • HONG KONG GLUTEN, WHEAT FREE PRODUCTS
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  • Gail Marie's Blog
  • Healthy Food Healthy You
  • SydneyT1D - Diabetic and Celiac YouTuber!
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  • SMAS: www.celiac.com
  • gardener1's Blog
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  • JordanBattenSymons' Blog
  • JillianC
  • Sugar's Blog
  • Blanche22's Blog
  • Jason's Blog
  • Gluten-Free Sisters :)
  • Eab12's Celiac Blog
  • ohiodad's Blog
  • Newly Self Diagnosed?
  • misscorpiothing's Blog
  • anshika_0204's Blog
  • Petroguy
  • abqrock's Blog
  • WhoKnew?'s Blog
  • Soap Opera Central
  • nurcan's Blog
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  • w8in4dave's Blog
  • Mr J's Blog
  • Rachel Keating's Blog
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  • krisb's Blog
  • deetee's Blog
  • CAC's Blog
  • EmilyLinn7's Blog
  • Teri Kiefer's Blog
  • happyasabeewithceliac's Blog
  • quietmorning01's Blog
  • jaimekochan's Blog
  • Cheryl
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  • donna mae's Blog
  • Colleen's blog
  • DawnJ's Blog
  • Gluten Challenge
  • twins2's Blog
  • just trying to feel better's Blog
  • Celiac Teen
  • MNBelle blog
  • Gabe351's Blog
  • moosemalibu's Blog
  • Coeliac Disease or Coeliac Sprue or Non Tropical Sprue
  • karalto's Blog
  • deacon11's Blog
  • Nyxie's Blog
  • Swpocket's Blog
  • threeringfilly's Blog
  • Madison Papers: Living Gluten-Free in a Gluten-Full World
  • babinsky's Blog
  • prettycat's Blog
  • Celiac Diagnosis at Age 24 months in 1939
  • Sandy R's Blog
  • mary m's Blog
  • Jkrupp's Blog
  • Oreo1964's Blog
  • keyboard
  • Louisa's Blog
  • Guts & Brains
  • Gluten Free Betty
  • Jesse'sGirl's Blog
  • NewMom's Blog
  • Connie C.'s Blog
  • garden girl's Blog
  • april anne's Blog
  • 4xmom's Blog
  • benalexander60's Blog
  • missmyrtle's Blog
  • Jersey Shore wheat no more's Blog
  • swezzan's Blog
  • aheartsj's Blog
  • MeltheBrit's Blog
  • glutenfreecosmeticcounter
  • Reasons Why Tummy tuck is considered best to remove unwanted belly fat?
  • alfgarrie's Blog
  • SmidginMama's Blog
  • lws' Blog
  • KMBC2014's Blog
  • Musings and Lessons Learned
  • txwildflower65's Blog
  • Uncertain
  • jess4736's Blog
  • deedo's Blog
  • persistent~Tami's Blog
  • Posterboy's Blog
  • jferguson
  • tiffjake's Blog
  • KCG91's Blog
  • Yolo's Herbs & Other Healing Strategies
  • scrockwell's Blog
  • Sandra45's Blog
  • Theresa Marie's Blog
  • Skylark's Blog
  • JessicaB's Blog
  • Anna'sMommy's Blog
  • Skylark's Oops
  • Jehovah witnesses
  • Celiac in Seattle's Blog
  • March On
  • honeybeez's Blog
  • The Liberated Kitchen, redux
  • onceandagain's Blog
  • JoyfulM's Blog
  • keepingmybabysafe's Blog
  • To beer, with love...
  • nana b's Blog
  • kookooto's Blog
  • SunnyJ's Blog
  • Mia'smommy's Blog
  • Amanda's Blog
  • jldurrani's Blog
  • Why choosing Medical bracelets for women online is the true possible?
  • Carriefaith's Blog
  • acook's Blog
  • REAGS' Blog
  • gfreegirl0125's Blog
  • Gluten Free Recipes - Blog
  • avlocken's Blog
  • Thiamine Thiamine Thiamine
  • wilbragirl's Blog
  • Gluten and Maize-Free (gluten-free-MF)
  • Elimination Diet Challenge
  • DJ 14150
  • mnsny's Blog
  • Linda03's Blog
  • GFinDC's Blog
  • Kim UPST NY's Blog
  • cmc's Blog
  • blog comppergastta1986
  • JesikaBeth's Blog
  • Melissa
  • G-Free's Blog
  • miloandotis' Blog
  • Confessions of a Celiac
  • Know the significance of clean engine oil
  • bobhayes1's Blog
  • Robinbird's Blog
  • skurtz's Blog
  • Olivia's Blog
  • Jazzdncr222's Blog
  • Lemonade's Blog
  • k8k's Blog
  • celiaccoach&triathlete's Blog
  • Gluten Free Goodies
  • cherbourgbakes.blogspot.com
  • snow dogs' Blog
  • Rikki Tikki's Blog
  • lthurman1979's Blog
  • Sprue that :)'s Blog
  • twinkletoes' Blog
  • Ranking the best gluten free pizzas
  • Gluten Free Product
  • Wildcat Golfer's Blog
  • Becci's Blog
  • sillyker0nian's Blog
  • txplowgirl's Blog
  • Gluten Free Bread Blog
  • babygoose78's Blog
  • G-freegal12's Blog
  • kelcat's Blog
  • Heavy duty 0verhead crane
  • beckyk's Blog
  • pchick's Blog
  • NOT-IN-2gluten's Blog
  • PeachPie's Blog
  • Johny
  • Breezy32600's Blog
  • Edgymama's Gluten Free Journey
  • Geoff
  • audra's Blog
  • mfrklr's Blog
  • 2 chicks
  • I Need Help With Bread
  • the strong one has returned!
  • sabrina_B_Celiac's Blog
  • Gluten Free Pioneer's Blog
  • Theanine.
  • The Search of Hay
  • Vanessa
  • racecar16's Blog
  • JCH13's Blog
  • b&kmom's Blog
  • Gluten Free Foodies
  • NanaRobin's Blog
  • mdrumr8030's Blog
  • Sharon LaCouture's Blog
  • Zinc, Magnesium, and Selenium
  • sao155's Blog
  • Tabasco's Blog
  • Amanda Smith
  • mmc's Blog
  • xphile1121's Blog
  • golden exch
  • kerrih's Blog
  • jleb's Blog
  • RUGR8FUL's Blog
  • Brynja's Grain Free Kitchen
  • schneides123's Blog
  • Greenville, SC Gluten-Free Blog
  • ramiaha's Blog
  • Kathy P's Blogs
  • rock on!'s Blog
  • Carri Ninja's Blog
  • jerseygirl221's Blog
  • Pkhaselton's Blog
  • Hyperceliac Blog
  • abbiekir's Blog
  • Lasister's Thoughts
  • bashalove's Blog
  • Steph1's Blog
  • Etboces
  • Rantings of Tiffany
  • GlutenWrangler's Blog
  • kalie's Blog
  • Mommy Of A Gluten Free Child
  • ready2go's Blog
  • Maureen
  • Floridian's Blog
  • Bobbie41972's Blog
  • Everyday Victories
  • Intolerance issue? Helpppp!
  • Feisty
  • In the Beginning...
  • Cheri46's Blog
  • Acne after going gluten free
  • sissSTL's Blog
  • Elizabeth19's Blog
  • LindseyR's Blog
  • sue wiesbrook's Blog
  • I'm Hungry's Blog
  • badcasper's Blog
  • M L Graham's Blog
  • Wolicki's Blog
  • katiesalmons' Blog
  • CBC and celiac
  • Kaycee's Blog
  • wheatisbad's Blog
  • beamishmom's Blog
  • Celiac Ninja's Blog
  • scarlett54's Blog
  • GloriaZ's Blog
  • Holly F's Blog
  • Jackie's Blog
  • lbradley's Blog
  • TheSandWitch's Blog
  • Ginger Sturm's Blog
  • The Struggle is Real
  • whataboutmary's Blog
  • JABBER's Blog
  • morningstar38's Blog
  • Musings of a Celiac
  • Celiacchef's Blog
  • healthygirl's Blog
  • allybaby's Blog
  • MGrinter's Blog
  • LookingforAnswers15's Blog
  • Lis
  • Alilbratty's Blog
  • 3sisters' Blog
  • MGrinter's Blog
  • Amanda
  • felise's Blog
  • rochesterlynn's Blog
  • mle_ii's Blog
  • GlamourGetaways' Blog
  • greendog's Blog
  • Tabz's Blog
  • Smiller's Blog
  • my vent
  • newby to celiac?'s Blog
  • siren's Blog
  • myraljo's Blog
  • Relieved and confused
  • carb bingeing
  • scottish's Blog
  • maggiemay832's Blog
  • Cristina Barbara
  • ~~~AnnaBelle~~~'s Blog
  • nikky's Blog
  • Suzy-Q's Blog
  • mfarrell's Blog
  • Kat-Kat's Blog
  • Kelcie's Blog
  • cyoshimit's Blog
  • pasqualeb's Blog
  • My girlfriend has celiacs and she refuses to see a doctor
  • Ki-Ki29's Blog
  • mailmanrol's Blog
  • Sal Gal
  • WildBillCODY's Blog
  • Ann Messenger
  • aprilz's Blog
  • the gluten-free guy
  • gluten-free-wifey's Blog
  • Lynda MEADOWS's Blog
  • mellajane's Blog
  • Jaded's Celiac adventures in a non-celiac world.
  • booboobelly18's Blog
  • Dope show
  • Classic Celiac Blog
  • Keishalei's Blog
  • Bada
  • Sherry's blurbs
  • addict697's Blog
  • MIchael530btr's Blog
  • Shawn C
  • antono's Blog
  • Undiagnosed
  • little_d's Blog
  • Gluten, dairy, pineapple
  • The Fat (Celiac) Lady Sings
  • Periomike
  • Sue Mc's Blog
  • BloatusMaximus' Blog
  • It's just one cookie!
  • Kimmy
  • jacobsmom44's Blog
  • mjhere's Blog
  • tlipasek's Blog
  • You're Prescribing Me WHAT!?!
  • Kimmy
  • nybbles's Blog
  • Karla T.'s Blog
  • Young and dealing with celiacs
  • Celiac.com Podcast Edition
  • LCcrisp's Blog
  • ghfphd's allergy blog
  • https://www.bendglutenfree.com/
  • Costume's and GF Life
  • mjhere69's Blog
  • dedeadge's Blog
  • CeliacChoplin
  • Ravenworks' Blog
  • ahubbard83's Blog
  • celiac<3'sme!'s Blog
  • William Parsons
  • Gluten Free Breeze (formerly Brendygirl) Blog
  • Ivanna44's Blog
  • Daily Life and Compromising
  • Vonnie Mostat
  • Aly'smom's Blog
  • ar8's Blog
  • farid's Blog
  • Sandra Lee's Blog
  • Demertitis hepaformis no Celac
  • Vonnie Mostat, R.N.
  • beetle's Blog
  • Sandra Lee's Blog
  • carlyng4's Blog
  • totalallergyman's Blog
  • Kim
  • Vhips
  • twinsmom's Blog
  • Newbyliz's Blog
  • collgwg's Blog
  • Living in the Gluten Free World
  • lisajs38's Blog
  • Mary07's Blog
  • Treg immune celsl, short chain fatty acids, gut bacteria etc.
  • questions
  • A Blog by Yvonne (Vonnie) Mostat, RN
  • ROBIN
  • covsooze's Blog
  • HeartMagic's Blog
  • electromobileplace's Blog
  • Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom
  • Fiona S
  • bluff wallace's Blog
  • sweetbroadway's Blog
  • happybingf's Blog
  • Carla
  • jaru24's Blog
  • AngelaMH's Blog
  • collgwg's Blog
  • blueangel68's Blog
  • SimplyGF Blog
  • Jim L Christie
  • Debbie65's Blog
  • Alcohol, jaundice, and celiac
  • kmh6leh's Blog
  • Gluten Free Mastery
  • james
  • danandbetty1's Blog
  • Feline's Blog
  • Linda Atkinson
  • Auntie Lur: The Blog of a Young Girl
  • KathyNapoleone's Blog
  • Gluten Free and Specialty Diet Recipes
  • Why are people ignoring Celiac Disease, and not understanding how serious it actually is?
  • miasuziegirl's Blog
  • KikiUSA's Blog
  • Amyy's Blog
  • Pete Dixon
  • abigail's Blog
  • CHA's Blog
  • Eczema or Celiac Mom?'s Blog
  • Thoughts
  • International Conference on Gastroenterology
  • Deedle's Blog
  • krackers' Blog
  • cliniclfortin's Blog
  • Mike Menkes' Blog
  • Juanita's Blog
  • BARB OTTUM
  • holman's Blog
  • It's EVERYWHERE!
  • life's Blog
  • writer ann's Blog
  • Ally7's Blog
  • Gluten Busters: Gluten-Free Product Alerts by Celiac.com
  • K Espinoza
  • klc's Blog
  • Pizza&beer's Blog
  • CDiseaseMom's Blog
  • sidinator's Blog
  • Dr Rodney Ford's Blog
  • How and where is it safe to buy cryptocurrency?
  • lucedith's Blog
  • Random Thoughts
  • Kate
  • twin#1's Blog
  • myadrienne's Blog
  • Nampa-Boise Idaho
  • Ursa Major's Blog
  • bakingbarb's Blog
  • Does Celiac Cause Sensitivites To Rx's?
  • delana6303's Blog
  • psychologygrl25's Blog
  • Alcohol and Celiac Disease
  • How do we get it???
  • cooliactic_BOOM's Blog
  • GREAT GF eating in Toronto
  • Gluten-free Food Recommendations!
  • YAY! READ THIS!!
  • BROW-FREE DIET BLOG
  • carib168's Blog
  • A Healing Kitchen
  • Shawn s
  • AZ Gal's Blog
  • mom1's Blog
  • The Beginning - The Diagnosis
  • PeweeValleyKY's Blog
  • solange's Blog
  • Cate K's Blog
  • Layered Vegetable Baked Pasta (gluten-free Vegetarian Lasagna)
  • Gluten Free Teen by Ava
  • mtdawber's Blog
  • sweeet_pea's Blog
  • DCE's Blog
  • Infertility and Celiac Disease
  • What to do in the Mekong Delta in 1 Day?
  • glutenfreenew's Blog
  • Living in the Garden of Eden
  • toddzgrrl02's Blog
  • redface's Blog
  • Gluten Free High Protein
  • Ari
  • Great Harvest Chattanooga's Blog
  • CeliBelli's Blog
  • Aboluk's Blog
  • redface's Blog
  • Being in Control of Your Gluten-Free Diet on a Cruise Ship
  • jayshunee's Blog
  • lilactorgirl's Blog
  • Yummy or Yucky Gluten-Free Foods
  • Electra's Blog
  • Cocerned husband's Blog
  • lilactorgirl's Blog
  • A Little History - My Celiac Disease Diagnosis
  • How to line my stomach
  • sewfunky's Blog
  • Oscar's Blog
  • Chey's Blog
  • The Fun of Gluten-free Breastfeeding
  • Dawnie's Blog
  • Sneaky gluten free goodness!
  • Chicago cubs shirts- A perfect way of showing love towards the baseball team!
  • Granny Garbonzo's Blog
  • GFzinks09's Blog
  • How do I get the Celiac.com podcast on my mp3 player?
  • quantumsugar's Blog
  • Littlebit's Blog
  • Kimberly's Blog
  • Dayz's Blog
  • Swimming Breadcrumbs and Other Issues
  • Helen Burdass
  • celiacsupportnancy's Blog
  • Life of an Aggie Celiac
  • kyleandjra.jacobson's Blog
  • Hey! I'm Not "Allergic" to Wheat!
  • FoOdFaNaTic's Blog
  • Wendy Cohan, RN's Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Cooking Classes
  • Lora Derry
  • Dr. Joel Goldman's Blog
  • The Ultimate Irony
  • Lora Derry
  • ACK514's Blog
  • katinagj's Blog
  • What Goes On, Goes In (Gluten in Skin Care Products)
  • What’s new in hydraulic fittings?
  • cannona3's Blog
  • citykatmm's Blog
  • Adventures in Gluten-Free Toddling
  • tahenderson67's Blog
  • The Dinner Party Drama—Two Guidelines to Assure a Pleasant Gluten-Free Experience
  • What’s new in hydraulic fittings?
  • sparkybear's Blog
  • justbikeit77's Blog
  • To "App" or Not to "App": The Use of Gluten Free Product List Computer Applications
  • Onangwatgo
  • Raine's Blog
  • lalla's Blog
  • To die for Cookie Crumb Gluten-Free Pie Crust
  • DeeTee33's Blog
  • http://glutenfreegroove.com/blog/
  • David2055's Blog
  • Gluten-Free at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco
  • Kup wysokiej jakości paszporty, prawa jazdy, dowody osobiste
  • Janie's Blog
  • Managing Hives & Gluten Allergies
  • User Is it safe to use GB WhatsApp pro in 2024?
  • Bogaert's Blog
  • Janie's Blog
  • RaeD's Blog
  • Dizzying Disclaimers!
  • Dream Catcher's Blog
  • PinkZebra's Blog
  • Hibachi Food and Hidden Gluten Hazards (How to Celebrate Gluten-Free)
  • jktenner's Blog
  • OhSoTired's Blog
  • PinkZebra's Blog
  • gluten-free Lover's Blog
  • Gluen Free Health Australia
  • Melissamb21's Blog
  • Andy C's Blog
  • halabackgirl9129's Blog
  • Liam Edwards' Blog
  • Celiac Disease in Africa?
  • Suz's Blog
  • Gluten-Free Fast Food
  • mis_chiff's Blog
  • gatakat's Blog
  • macocha's Blog
  • Newly Diagnosed Celiacs Needed for Study in Chicago
  • Poor Baby's Blog
  • the loonie celiac's Blog
  • jenlex's Blog
  • Sex Drive/Testosterone can be Depleted by Certain Foods
  • samantha79's Blog
  • 21 Months into the Gluten-free Diet
  • WashingtonLady's Blog-a-log
  • James S. Reid's Blog
  • Living with a Gluten-Free Husband
  • runner girl's Blog
  • kp3972's Blog
  • ellie_lynn's Blog
  • trayne91's Blog
  • Gluten-free Lipstick!
  • Nonna2's Blog
  • Schar Chocolate Hazelnut Bar (Gluten-Free)
  • pnltbox27's Blog
  • Live2BWell's Blog
  • melissajohnson's Blog
  • nvsmom's Blog
  • Diagnosed with Celiac Disease and Still Sick
  • snowcoveredheart's Blog
  • Gluten Free Nurse
  • Gluten-Free Frustration!
  • Melody A's Blog
  • novelgutfeeling's Blog
  • Trouble Eating Out Gluten-Free...Good or Bad?!
  • dilsmom's Blog
  • theceliachusband's Blog
  • amanda2610's Blog
  • Pancreas and Celiac Disease Link?
  • epiphany's Blog
  • Patty55's Blog
  • The Latest Gluten-Free Food Recalls
  • kenzie's blog
  • CVRupp's Blog
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  1. Celiac.com 06/22/2023 - Living with celiac disease requires strict adherence to a gluten-free diet to prevent uncomfortable symptoms and long-term complications. However, accidental gluten ingestion can occur, causing distress and discomfort for those with celiac disease. When that happens, there are steps you can take to alleviate symptoms and support your recovery. This article combines the best home remedies for accidental gluten ingestion, as submitted by members of our forum, and from comments by readers of our articles. Accidental gluten ingestion can lead to a range of symptoms in individuals with celiac disease such as upset stomach, inflammation, diarrhea, bloating, and skin rash. Recognizing the consequences of gluten exposure is essential for implementing effective management strategies. Officially, beyond simply waiting it out, there is no clinically accepted treatment for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity who accidentally eat gluten. However, there are things that many people claim will reduce the suffering and promote healing when this happens. So what works? Or, what do people say works for them? The remedies listed below are not ranked in any particular order of importance or efficacy. This list is not intended to be authoritative or comprehensive. Nor is it intended as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice. As with any health remedy, do your research and make the choices that are right for you. Immediate Steps to Alleviate Symptoms Taking immediate action is crucial to minimize the impact of gluten exposure. Hydration, rest, and the application of heat can help alleviate symptoms like stomach pain and cramping. Avoiding additional irritants in the diet is also important. Fasting Fasting—Studies indicate that fasting for a couple of days can help to reset the immune system, which might be beneficial for those suffering from an adverse gluten reaction. Be sure to check with a doctor before fasting, just to be safe. Return to a Strict Gluten-Free Diet Recommitting to a strict gluten-free diet immediately after accidental exposure is paramount. Emphasize naturally gluten-free foods and avoid processed or spicy foods that may further irritate the digestive system. Digestive Enzymes for Bloating Relief Digestive enzyme supplements, such as GliadinX, Eater's Digest and Gluten Defense, can provide relief from bloating. These enzymes are known to assist in the digestion of gluten and may help alleviate symptoms, especially when exposed to small amounts of gluten. Herbal Remedies and Medications Herbal remedies like green tea, peppermint tea and echinacea have been reported to offer soothing effects for digestive discomfort. Additionally, antihistamines such as Benadryl, Claritin, or Zyrtec may provide relief for some individuals. Marshmallow root is known for its potential to soothe stomach and gas pain. Probiotics for Gut Health Incorporating probiotics into a general gut maintenance program can be beneficial both before and after accidental gluten exposure. Probiotics help promote a healthy gut microbiome and may aid in reducing symptoms. Nutrient-Rich Broth for Gut Healing Nutrient-rich broths, such as beef, chicken, or fish broth, contribute to gut healing and provide essential nutrition. Incorporating these broths into the diet can support recovery after gluten exposure. Long-Term Strategies for Intestinal Health Rebuilding intestinal health is crucial for managing celiac disease. Implementing an anti-inflammatory diet, including supplements such as L-Glutamine, coconut oil, fat-soluble vitamins (A, E, D, and K), calcium, magnesium, B-vitamins, essential fatty acids, and probiotics, can aid in the healing process. Personalized Approach and Seeking Medical Advice A personalized approach to managing accidental gluten ingestion is important. It is advisable to seek medical advice and consult healthcare professionals, such as dietitians, to develop tailored strategies and receive personalized guidance based on individual needs. Coping with Emotional Challenges Managing accidental gluten ingestion involves addressing not only the physical symptoms but also the emotional challenges that may arise. Prioritizing self-care, seeking support from loved ones or support groups, and engaging in activities that promote overall well-being are essential for navigating the emotional aspects of living with celiac disease. Tummy Rescue Smoothie 1 cup hot freshly brewed nettle leaf tea (anti-histamine, anti-spasmodic) ¼ cup Santa-Cruz pear juice (flavoring/sweetener - pears are the least allergenic of fruits) ¼-½ teaspoon whole fennel seed (reduces gas & bloating) 2 Tablespoons slippery elm powder (healing & soothing to mucous membranes and the gut) 1 Tablespoon flax seed oil (soothing, anti-inflammatory) ¼ - ½ cup rice milk (hypoallergenic, use to thin to desired consistency) Directions: Purée in blender until smooth, and slightly thickened. It is most soothing when consumed while still warm from the hot tea. This smoothie is best consumed in small sips over an hour or so. Magnesium also helps with pain and relaxes muscle spasms, so taking a little extra magnesium may be of benefit. For severe symptoms, drink the smoothie while reclining in bed, with a warm castor oil pack over the abdomen, covered by a heating pad set on low. Do not leave the pack in place for more than an hour. Conclusion Accidental gluten ingestion can be distressing for individuals with celiac disease. While there is no clinically accepted treatment for gluten ingestion, there are practical steps to manage symptoms and support recovery. By implementing strategies such as immediate symptom relief, adherence to a strict gluten-free diet, digestive enzymes, herbal remedies, probiotics, nutrient-rich broth, and long-term gut healing strategies, individuals with celiac disease can minimize the impact of accidental gluten exposure and promote their overall well-being. Living with celiac disease requires vigilance and careful attention to one's diet. Accidental gluten ingestion may happen despite best efforts, but there are steps that can be taken to alleviate symptoms and support recovery. By following these guidelines and seeking appropriate medical advice, individuals with celiac disease can navigate the challenges of accidental gluten exposure with greater ease and maintain their overall health and well-being. If you have any thoughts or insights on how best to treat accidental gluten ingestion for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, please share them in our comments section below.
  2. Celiac.com 05/13/2023 - Norman Cousins, a noted littérateur, Editor of Saturday Review, and a member of the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles suffered much pain from spondylitis (inflammation of the vertebrae). Concerned by this, he wondered if there might be a connection between his emotional state and his painful spondylitis. If so, he reasoned positive emotions might be helpful. Guided by this reasoning he concocted the following therapeutic scheme for himself: He ceased consuming anti-pain medicines; He rented a private room at a local hostelry; and He stocked that room with a large supply of amusing movies featuring the Marx Brothers plus numerous reels of Candid Camera. Additionally, he induced his attendants to read to him from humorous publications he had accumulated. Within some eight days after beginning this peculiar, self-imposed program, his pain began to subside, and clinically he improved rapidly and progressively. Indeed, in short order he felt well enough to resume his professional activity. Despite Cousins’ clinical improvement, the medical profession at large viewed his unusual therapy negatively. Fortunately, soon thereafter scientific data began to appear that supported his unique approach: Doctors and others, working at Loma Linda University, California, reported experimental evidence that laughter: Stimulates the immune system as evidenced by an increase in the number and activity of “Killer” and “T” cells, both of which act against invading organisms; Steps up the production of new immune cells as well as gamma interferon (an immune booster); and Lowers the level or cortisol, a hormone that suppresses the immune system. Stanford University reported that 20 seconds of robust laughter affects heart action to a degree equivalent to that resultant from three minutes of hard rowing. They also estimated that laughing heartily 100 times a day elicited the same physical benefits as may derive from riding a stationary bicycle for 15 minutes. More recently, a collaborative study presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Neurosciences disclosed that immediately after watching a chosen video, vigor increased 37%, depression and anger both dropped 98%, fatigue fell 87%, confusion reduced 75% and tension lessened 61%. The researchers concluded from these observations that the anticipation of a humorous event alone may have positive benefits. Appearing in the foregoing report titled "Did You Know?" was the comment: "It takes ten minutes of rowing to double your heart rate, but only ten seconds of belly laughter to attain similar ventilating and heart strengthening results!" It therefore would seem entirely reasonable to conclude that, particularly in our everyday stresses, laughter is good medicine! Reference: Practical Gastroenterology August 2002

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  4. I (F) was diagnosed as coeliac when I was 16 and have just had a yearly check up and am now 5ft 9’’. My last check up before this was when I was 20 I measured 5ft7’’ and I just wondered if anyone has experienced something similar?
  5. Celiac.com 03/09/2023 - After nearly a year on a gluten-free diet, I now look back at my recovery to evaluate its success—the severe joint pain, muscle weakness, bone pain, fatigue, abdominal bloating, steatorrhea, and weight loss plagued me until my treatment commenced in earnest. Much of the extra-intestinal symptoms resolved within the first few months. However, the intestinal and stomach symptoms have taken much longer, and my weight loss recovery is ongoing. The road to recovery has been long and arduous. Many of us experience an array of residual and persistent symptoms even with the complete removal of gluten from our diets. Intestinal Absorption Traditionally, response to a gluten-free diet has been assessed by blood antibody tests and biopsies. It has long been known that the intestinal villi, seen in biopsy samples, do not always revert back to normal even after a prolonged gluten-free diet (1) . A recent study by Cummins et al. found that area of the villi improved significantly by three months on a gluten-free diet, but improved only slightly more during the six to 24 month period (2) . After two years on a gluten-free diet, the villi area increased to about four times that at diagnosis of CD, but was still only about half of normal. Similarly, Wahab et al. found that at two years of follow-up on a gluten-free diet, 37% of the celiac patients still had varying degrees of villous atrophy (3) . After five years, 12% of the adult patients had villous atrophy, of which half still had total villous atrophy. All children in the study recovered completely and recovered faster than the adults in long term follow-up. Besides intestinal biopsy, assessment of serum IgA class endomysial antibody (EmA) has been evaluated as a predictor of intestinal mucosal recovery4 . However, EmA conversion from positive to negative status was not found to be a reliable predictor of complete mucosal recovery. Intestinal mucosal recovery was incomplete in 47% of patients who had become EmA negative after 12 months on a gluten-free diet, and EmA sensivitivity for total villous atrophy and partial villous atrophy was only 33% and 9%, respectively. Likewise, Cummins et al. found that even after two years on a gluten-free diet, patients who tested positive or negative for anti-endomysial antibodies showed no difference in villous atrophy (2). Another assessment of recovery is disaccharidase activity, which can be deficient secondarily to mucosal injury from celiac disease. Disaccharides are sugars (such as lactose, sucrose, and maltose) which must be split by disaccharidases (enzymes produced by villi in the small intestine) to be absorbed properly as monosaccharides and utilized by the body. Disaccharides such as lactose and sucrose are likely to be malabsorbed in patients with villous atrophy2 . Cummins et al. found that lactase activity increased by more than double after two years on a gluten-free diet, but this was still only about 55% of normal. Similar two-year recovery patterns were seen for activity levels of sucrase (83% of normal) and maltase (79%), yet, because disaccharidase activities improve despite incomplete recovery of the surface lining, they are thought to be the main reason why clinical symptom relief comes early on in treatment. (1) Gastrointestinal Symptoms Fine et al. found that celiac patients initially experienced chronic diarrhea (79%), excessive flatulence (74%), abdominal bloating (68%), nausea (36%), vomiting (19%), and constipation (6%)5 . After one year on a gluten-free diet these gastrointestinal symptoms completely resolved with the exception of chronic diarrhea, although 17% of celiac patients had chronic diarrhea to a lesser extent than before starting the diet. Anemia Celiac patients’ anemia-related symptoms receded and resolved as normalization of hemoglobin levels correlated with intestinal mucosal improvement on a gluten-free diet, even without oral iron supplementation (6) . This finding suggested that iron absorption was inefficient due to villous atrophy, and that oral iron therapy may not be effective during the first six months of treatment. After six months on a gluten-free diet, 78% of adult celiac patients recovered from iron deficiency anemia based on an assessment of their hemoglobin levels, and only 28% were no longer iron deficient based on serum ferritin levels. From 12 to 24 months of treatment, 94% of the patients were no longer anemic; however, only 55% of the patients reversed from iron deficiency (i.e., iron absorption was greater than iron loss) after 24 months of treatment. Bone Osteoporosis and osteopenia are common findings in newly diagnosed and untreated celiac patients. The deficiency of serum vitamin D which results in secondary calcium malabsorption is associated with low bone mineral density at diagnosis. A five year study follow-up with of adult celiac patients on a gluten-free diet found that bone mineral density improves or may normalize over the long-term, but that nearly all of the improvement occurs in the first year (7) . Blood 25(OH) vitamin D, the active form of vitamin D, increased 14% in the first year of a gluten-free diet, and increased another 80% by the fifth year. A slight (7%) but significant increase in blood calcium was seen after the first year with a further slight increase by the fifth year. Villous atrophy changes and the adherence to a gluten-free diet did not correlate with bone mineral density improvement. Patients’ weight gain in the study was associated with an increase in their bone mineral density. In a separate one-year study, bone mineral density and bone metabolism markers significantly improved in 43 percent of CD patients despite incomplete mucosal recovery (8) . These markers improved even in postmenopausal women and patients with low serum vitamin D levels. These studies confirm that recovery can take a long time and can often be incomplete in adults. Cummins et al. studied patients for villous atrophy up to 15 years after diagnosis, while most of the studies followed patients from one to five years after diagnosis. Indeed, more follow-up studies need to be performed to address the length of time it takes to achieve complete recovery in all aspects. To the extent that recovery is still incomplete, future studies need to identify and explain the reasons why.
  6. Celiac.com 04/07/2021 - It is not uncommon for people with celiac disease to have ongoing digestive symptoms and other systemic problems, even on a gluten free diet. Even though celiac disease is becoming better understood each year, much remains to be learned about the effects of the disease on the body and its ongoing symptoms. Not everyone with celiac disease who goes on a gluten-free diet will recover, according to the following study: While this article is intended to address celiac-related issues that you may want to explore with your health care provider, it is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a physician for any medical advice related to celiac disease or any issues mentioned in this article. Celiac Disease Follow Up Treatment A number of follow up tests are recommended, both immediately after a celiac disease diagnosis, and on an ongoing basis, including: Blood work for vitamin and mineral deficiencies Micronutrient deficiencies are common in adults with celiac disease, as are vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The most common vitamin and mineral deficiencies in celiac patients include the following vitamins and minerals: B vitamins (especially B12); Vitamin A; Vitamin D; Vitamin E; Vitamin K; Iron; Calcium; Carotene; Copper; Folic acid; Magnesium; Selenium; and Zinc. Thyroid Screening Because celiac disease is linked to autoimmune thyroid disease, thyroid screening is recommended for newly diagnosed celiac disease patients. (Note: Patients on thyroid replacement and other medications may need frequent monitoring for dosage adjustment as their absorption improves.) Bone Density Scan Up to 75% of celiac patients have low bone mineral density. Because of this, bone density scans are recommended for newly diagnosed celiacs. Liver Enzymes Research from Stanford University School of Medicines Celiac Management Clinic is noting continued absorption problems with many individuals who are on a gluten free diet. A 72 hour quantitative fecal fat test and a 25-gram xylose sugar absorption test can help diagnose continued absorption problems. Healing progress on the gluten-free diet may be monitored by re-testing whichever diagnostic blood test was initially highest, at an interval of 6 - 12 months. Children are likely to heal within a few months; adults may take a few years, and some may never totally heal. Note: Calcium and Iron status will improve in most individuals, even without supplements, once the gut heals. Several doctors recommend NOT prescribing drugs such as Fosamax and Evista until after the intestine heals and more calcium is being absorbed from the diet. Celiac Disease and Ongoing Symptoms After a Gluten-Free Diet Most individuals will experience a significant decrease of symptoms within a few weeks or months of starting a gluten free diet. However, some individuals may continue to experience significant digestive problems or may have a relapse of symptoms. Some possible explanations are summarized below: Hidden Gluten Exposure New research shows that most people with celiac disease are regularly exposed to gluten, even when they are trying to be careful. Moreover, for most celiacs, gluten exposure is usually ongoing and silent. This article explores how much gluten exposure do celiacs get on a gluten-free diet. Moreover, celiac patients are really bad at judging gluten-exposure based on symptoms. Look for any possible sources of gluten exposure. Consider binders in medication, cross contamination, misunderstanding of the strictness required of the diet, etc. Repeat blood tests might give an indication of continued gluten exposure; however these may not be sensitive enough to note low level exposure. Many celiacs report positive results after taking AN-PEP enzymes (GliadinX is a brand that we've reviewed) before meals whenever they eat outside their homes. These enzymes have been shown in multiple studies to effectively break down small amounts of gluten in the stomach, before it reaches your intestines. Lactose Intolerance Enzymes needed to digest lactose are manufactured by the intestinal villi, which, in celiacs, are damaged by exposure to gluten. Many people with celiac disease suffer intolerance to lactose, a protein found in dairy products. Often, this intolerance subsides as the gut heals. Lactose intolerance is a common misdiagnosis in celiac patients, because the mucosal damage from gluten leaves them unable to digest lactose-containing products. Testing for lactose intolerance can be done with a hydrogen breath test, Lactose H2. Suggested treatment includes using an over-the-counter lactose enzyme when ingesting dairy products. Re-colonizing the small intestine with probiotic bacteria (see probiotics below) is also helpful. How is lactose intolerance related to celiac disease? Helicobacter Pylori A study by Villanacci, et. al, published 8/28/2006 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology noted that 44% of individuals diagnosed with celiac disease tested positive for helicobacter pylori at the time of, or within 1 year of their celiac disease diagnosis. Interestingly, patients with helicobacter pylori colonization have a decreased risk of celiac disease. An Iranian study showed a connection between helicobacter pylori and celiac disease. Small Bowel Bacterial Overgrowth In a report published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, Vol. 98, No. 4, 2003 of 15 persons with continuing symptoms, 10 showed evidence of overgrowth of bacteria within the small bowel. Testing included Lactulose H2 breath testing. Suggested treatment includes the non-systemic, prescription antibiotic, Rifaximin (800 mg. per day for one week). Note that the antibiotic used is called Rifaximin in England and Xifaxam in the U.S. Digestive function should also be evaluated as the underlying cause of SBBO. For more information, check these related articles: Breath Tests for the Non-invasive Diagnosis of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis, and Rosacea and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Yeast Overgrowth Some individuals report continuing symptoms due to overgrowth of yeast. Testing includes blood antibody testing for Candida. Suggested treatment includes ½ tsp Nystatin powder (mix with water), twice a day and 200 mg Ketoconizole once per day for 2-3 months. Monthly liver function testing during treatment is recommended. Nystatin powder may be ordered, by prescription, through pharmacies which offer custom compounding of medications. Digestive function should also be evaluated as the underlying cause of yeast overgrowth. Dietary changes may also be considered. Other Food Sensitivities Additional IgG food sensitivities may be seen. An IgG sensitivity is different from the IgE allergies most allergy doctors check for. Common food sensitivities include dairy casein, corn, soy and eggs. Treatment includes avoiding the food, and food rotation. There are some reports of a reduction of food sensitivities when digestive function improves. To begin an elimination diet, it makes sense to start with the top most common food allergens, as identified by regulatory agencies like the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and health organizations like the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and eliminate them one at a time for 2-3 weeks, then add the item back and record any symptoms or issues you might have. It might make sense to start this process in this order: Milk Eggs Peanuts Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts) Soy Fish Shellfish (such as shrimp, crab, lobster) Sesame seeds Mustard Lately, there's also been focus on FODMAPS (See below). A low FODMAP diet has been shown to help reduce symptoms of IBS. This older article also has some interesting ideas. Cross-Reactivities for Celiac Patients A recent study indicates that Silicon Dioxide (Food additive E551) May Trigger Intestinal Damage and Inflammation in People with Celiac Disease or Gluten Sensitivity. Cross-reactivity between anti-gliadin antibodies and certain spice proteins indicates that patients with celiac disease or wheat allergies may also have an intolerance to many spices, even if they are gluten-free. Some spices can also be a source of cross-contamination, as wheat flour may be used as an anti-caking agent. This article explores this topic in more detail: Beyond Gluten: Exploring Lesser-Known Triggers and Cross-Reactivities for Celiac Patients Digestive Function Multiple problems with digestive function may be found. A complete evaluation should be done. One source for a comprehensive stool analysis may be obtained, by mail and by prescription. Intestinal Motility Increased intestinal motility may contribute to continuing diarrhea. Try reducing motility by using a fiber supplement like Benefiber or Citracel. Particularly in individuals who have had their gall bladder removed, consider Cholestid, a prescription drug used for lowering cholesterol, which may also slow motility. It acts by binding to irritating bile salts. Decreased Stomach Acid Low stomach acid (hypochlohydria) may interfere with the effectiveness of digestive enzymes, and promote yeast or bacterial overgrowth. A good source of information is the book "Why Stomach Acid is Good for You" by Wright & Lenard. For testing, using the Heidleberg Capsule or Gastrocap tests. Some celiacs with low stomach acid find benefits from taking supplemental Betaine HCl, bitters, digestive enzymes and probiotics, available at a health food store. Related articles include: Reduced Fecal Acidity Mirrors Rise in Celiac Rates. Beneficial Bacteria Probiotics are very helpful for regaining the balance of the intestinal flora. Use products that have multiple types of bacteria. Those found in the refrigerated section of health food stores will have the highest level of bacteria. Kefir, raw kimchee and raw sauerkraut, also found in the refrigerated section, have high levels of active cultures. Related articles include: Celiac Disease Onset Changes Gut Microbiota in Children; What Can Gut Microbiomes Teach Us About Gastrointestinal Distress in Children?; and Gut Microbiota Reflects Disease Severity in COVID-19 Patients. Digestive Enzymes Pancreatic enzymes assist with more complete digestion, discouraging unhealthy bacterial growth. Many people with celiac disease prefer vegetable based enzymes. which may be purchased online, or at health food stores. Animal derived enzymes are available by prescription. Experiment to see what works best. To prevent heartburn, start by sprinkling ½ of a capsule on food, and increase as needed and tolerated. Be sure to make sure your enzymes are gluten-free. Watch out for Maltase, which can often be made from barley. Related articles include: Are Gluten-Busting Enzymes the Best Hope for Future Celiac Treatment and Maintenance?; Could Enzymes from Oral Bacteria Treat Celiac Disease?; Researchers Review Potential of Gluten Degrading Enzymes for Treatment of Celiac Disease; and Imagine a Gluten-Busting Enzyme that Worked Like LactAid. Carbohydrate Intolerance Some individuals do not digest carbohydrates and sugars well. The undigested carbohydrates encourage the growth of harmful yeasts and bacteria. More information on a diet low in carbohydrates may be found in the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Gottschall, who recommends eliminating all complex carbohydrates to kill off "bad" bacteria. Parasites and other Bacterial Problems Check for parasites and other bacterial problems, including Giardia lamblia and Ascaris lumbricoides. Just because an individual has celiac disease, doesn't mean they cant have the bugs that a normal person with diarrhea may have! Other Autoimmune Diseases A number of autoimmune conditions are associated with celiac disease. At least one in three people diagnosed with adult celiac disease will also have another autoimmune disease. Many report a significant improvement in their other autoimmune disease after beginning a gluten free diet. However, some individuals with celiac disease may develop other autoimmune diseases even after beginning a gluten free diet. Watch for Type 1 diabetes, liver, thyroid, pancreas and adrenal diseases, peripheral and central nervous system damage, connective tissue and other rheumatoid inflammations. Related articles include: Celiac Disease is Linked to Autoimmune Thyroid Disease; and The Ten Risk Factors Most Associated with Celiac Disease. FODMAPS FODMAPs is an acronym, short for “fermentable, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols.” FODMAPs is a single name for a bunch of different molecules, common in many in foods, that are poorly absorbed by some people. People who can’t tolerate FODMAPs can suffer celiac-like gastrointestinal symptoms. A low FODMAP diet has been shown to help reduce symptoms of IBS, and could be helpful to some people with celiac disease. FODMAPs have also been shown to play a role in non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). Now, a new app can help people zero in on FODMAPs in food. Related articles include: Can Low FODMAP Diet App Help Some Celiac and IBS Patients?; What's the Deal with FODMAPs and Gluten-sensitivity in IBS?; and FODMAPs, Food Intolerance and You. Article originally published 03/25/2007, updated 04/07/2021.
  7. Celiac.com 02/29/2020 - It has been a long and winding road, and around each curve something new has been discovered. I have learned more than I ever thought there was to know about celiac disease. I am forever grateful for having received a celiac diagnosis because it was on that day that I began my journey back to health. On my first day of diagnosis I set out to find out as much as possible about this seemingly rare, but obviously complicated disease. My diagnosis answered a lot of questions for me, yet I was also struck by how many new questions arose. What was the trigger for celiac disease, of course gluten played a part, but what in my past history put me over the edge? What had changed? Did the doctors know so little about the trigger for celiac disease that it was only now becoming clinically identifiable? My last article was an attempt to explain how genetics and environment intersect in celiac disease, but I may have gotten part of it wrong, in part because the International Journal of Celiac Disease (IJCD) got it wrong (at least in my case they did). After the IJCD cited Pellagra in celiacs at a 58% percent rate, I piled on the bandwagon. Quoting “The two diseases can be connected in two aspects. 58% of pellagra patients were shown to have malabsorption and many had intestinal pathology on biopsies.” But we were both wrong I now believe—hold onto that 58% thought, as it will come up later—and I think it's important in helping to confirm my new theory. So where did my pellagra position go wrong? I chose the capstone, pellagra, and not the cornerstone, which may actually be thiamine (B1), and this is easier to do than you might imagine. These diseases have diffuse symptom’s common in their pathogenesis, and only testing can confirm my high suspicion that I may have had undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed, beriberi. Beriberi is is caused by low thiamine (B1). I recently came across research that is 30+ years old that establishes, in mammal’s at least, a trigger for thinning villi titled “Effect of dietary thiamin deficiency on intestinal functions in rats.” To quote from the research “The activities of brush border sucrase, lactase, maltase, alkaline phosphatase, and leucine aminopeptidase were reduced by 42 to 66% in thiamine deficiency, compared to pair-fed controls. Kinetic studies with sucrase and alkaline phosphatase evinced that a decrease in Vmax (61 and 64%, respectively) with no change in Km (33.8 and 4.3 mM, respectively) was responsible for observed impairment in the enzyme activities in thiamine deficiency.” This research leads me to believe that the lactose intolerance so common in those with celiac disease may actually be triggered by thiamine deficiency. I had many of the symptom’s of beriberi, but since I was not in a concentration camp or was not an alcoholic the clinical suspicion was not high enough to have me tested for a thiamine deficiency, despite thiamine and other B vitamins deficiencies that are common in celiac disease. Unfortunately even going on a gluten-free diet does not always correct B vitamin deficiencies, and thiamine, niacin and riboflavin deficiencies have been excluded from most celiac disease studies. One study entitled “Evidence of poor vitamin status in Celiac patients on a gluten-free diet for 10 years" shows that such deficiencies can continue long after diagnosis. Another study entitled “Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies Are Highly Prevalent in Newly Diagnosed Celiac Disease Patients” says: “Almost all celiac disease-patients (87%) had at least one value below the lower limit of reference.” Testing for certain vitamin deficiencies is standard care following a celiac disease diagnosis, however levels of thiamine (B1), niacin (B3) and riboflavin (B2) are not usually part of a standard screening. It is my hope from reading this that you are alerted to possible B vitamin deficiencies so that you can ask your doctor to have your levels checked, especially if you have been recently diagnosed, or are still struggling with diffuse symptoms years later, for example fatigue, muscle cramps, tingling in your feet and hands, burning feet syndrome, worse at night, etc. You may still be low in thiamine, riboflavin and/or niacin, and doctors often overlook screening for these deficiencies in celiac disease. Celiac Disease is a Genetic Disease with an Environmental Trigger This is where B vitamins come in, as they help us make energy and regulate our environment at the cellular level. It is a 50/50 equation of stress vs. environment combined with genetics, and this can be a hard concept to understand because many people believe that it's all due to DNA. Research from December 2019 entitled “DNA Has Relatively Little Say in Disease Risk (Usually)” says: “In fact, for such (most) diseases, the genetic contribution to disease risk is just 5–10%. There are diseases, however, for which the genetic contribution is about 40–50%. These diseases include Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and macular degeneration.” B Vitamins, Especially Thiamine (B1), Could be the Missing Pieces to the Puzzle Via the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) the neurotransmitter "acetylcholine" regulates our organ functions throughout the body, and could be why both undiagnosed celiac disease and beriberi affect so many organs in the body. Without enough thiamine our body can’t synthesize enough acetylcholine to regulate it’s organs, which may cause the body to go into high alert mode and trigger a runaway auto-immune reaction like celiac disease. Another study shows a connection with the microvilli that line organs and how they can trigger auto-immune reactions throughout the body. What about that 58% I mentioned earlier? It happens to be the same rate that Japanese sailors developed beriberi, which is what you would expect to find when someone relies on too many carbs, including too much rice or wheat in their diets. It's possible that when the carb happens to be wheat this deficiency could trigger celiac disease, a disease that was discovered by Willem-Karel Dicke in the post WWII Netherlands, or present itself as beriberi when one only eats rice. It took 20 years and countless deaths before the Japanese army discovered what the Japanese navy had learned 20 years earlier, and this article on the “Barley Baron” supports why there is a strong need to enrich gluten-free bread with B vitamins, exactly as regular wheat bread is enriched. According to this article, "(w)e now know that beriberi stems from a lack of vitamin B1, which the body requires for metabolizing carbohydrates and maintaining neurological functions. Without it, a person succumbs to nerve damage and eventually death." So, perhaps a thiamine deficiency is one of the overall environmental triggers of celiac disease in those who have the genetic disposition? Could beriberi trigger celiac disease in susceptible individuals? Hopefully more research will be done to determine this, but in the meantime, get your thiamine levels checked! Additional Resources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23379830 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29982183 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4863043/

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  9. Celiac.com 08/20/2022 - It is not much of a reach to suspect additional food sensitivities in the context of celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. After all, celiac disease causes increased intestinal permeability(1) otherwise known as “leaky gut.” Since large, undigested gluten proteins can sometimes pass into the bloodstream, other food proteins are also likely to reach the circulation. The immune system reacts against such foreign proteins in an attempt to protect us. The presence of non-self proteins causes an immune system reaction just as if they were infectious microbes. And herein lies one answer to some, perhaps many, cases of incomplete recovery and refractory sprue. These conditions may sometimes be relatively easy to correct through the detection and avoidance of additional food sensitivities. Adult-diagnosed celiac patients have usually experienced many years of a leaky gut, with or without symptoms and ill health. Admittedly, these signs and symptoms can result from a variety of causes including nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorption, abnormal immune responses, damage to the protective mucosa of the intestinal wall resulting in a leaky gut, additional autoimmune conditions, and opportunistic infections. It sometimes seems that celiac disease just rolls out the red carpet for a host of additional ailments. Increased intestinal permeability, resulting in additional food allergies, is just one of the many contributors to this witches’ brew of additional ills that arise in untreated celiac disease and may continue despite careful avoidance of gluten. Considerable evidence has long pointed toward additional food allergies. Unfortunately, this information has largely been ignored. But recent developments in serological testing are now making it feasible, economical, and convenient, to identify and correct such food allergies. One article appeared almost thirty years ago in the peer reviewed literature reporting complete resolution of what was previously diagnosed as refractory sprue following removal of additional allergenic foods from the diet(2) . Another such publication documented the progress of one celiac patient who was thought to have refractory sprue. This individual recovered with the additional dietary exclusion of egg, chicken, and tuna(3) . This patient became very ill before the possibility of immune reactions to other dietary proteins was considered. More recent reports of the success of elemental diets in reversing refractory sprue further support this perspective(4) . Another group has indicated that 36% to 48% of celiac patients demonstrate antibody reactions to milk proteins(5) . Although there are some reports that the frequency of such sensitivities reduce with treatment time on a gluten-free diet(6,7), they also report a higher initial frequency of reactions to milk proteins. I have not heard of any new evidence suggesting that the injury to the intestinal mucosa caused by gluten can now be distinguished from similar injuries caused by milk protein allergies. Thus, any of a variety of food allergies might be contributing to such damage to the mucosa. The peer-reviewed reports cited above, along with the many posts to the Celiac Listserv indicating that additional food sensitivities are a factor in individual cases of celiac disease, suggest the need for vigilance among celiac patients, particularly those who are experiencing incomplete recovery on a strict gluten-free diet. Before leaping to the use of steroids, further antibody testing seems prudent. There are a number of commercial laboratories in the United States and at least one in the United Kingdom that offer IgG testing for delayed-type allergies to common foods. Although such tests are not perfect, they can provide valuable information for those who have not experienced a full recovery on a gluten-free diet, or some individuals who have been diagnosed with refractory sprue. The therapeutic use of systemic steroids can produce some very dangerous side effects. IgG blood testing and dietary exclusion of identified allergens, on the other hand, involves a simple, convenient test followed by the kind of dietary inconvenience that most of us are already well versed in. If possible, ELISA or similar testing ought to be done prior to beginning steroids, as such drugs may be unnecessary, or they may compromise the accuracy of the blood test. Sources: Pizzuti D, Bortolami M, Mazzon E, Buda A, Guariso G, D'Odorico A, Chiarelli S, D'Inca R, De Lazzari F, Martines D. Transcriptional downregulation of tight junction protein ZO-1 in active coeliac disease is reversed after a gluten-free diet. Dig Liver Dis. 2004 May;36(5):337-41. Baker AL, et al. Refractory sprue: recovery after removal of non-gluten dietary proteins. Ann Intern Med. 1978 Oct;89(4):505-8. Volta U, et al. Antibodies to dietary antigens in coeliac disease. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1986 Oct;21(8):935-40. Mandal A, Mayberry J. Elemental diet in the treatment of refractory coeliac disease. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2001 Jan;13(1):79-80. Kemeny DM, Urbanek R, Amlot PL, Ciclitira PJ, Richards D, Lessof MH.Sub-class of IgG in allergic disease. I. IgG sub-class antibodies in immediate and non-immediate food allergy. Clin Allergy. 1986 Nov;16(6):571-81. Paranos S, et al. Lack of cross-reactivity between casein and gliadin in sera from coeliac disease patients. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 1998 Oct;117(2):152-4. Scott H, et al. Immune response patterns in coeliac disease. Serum antibodies to dietary antigens measured by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Clin Exp Immunol. 1984 Jul;57(1):25-32.
  10. Celiac.com 07/08/2022 - My name is Mandy and I’m 16 years old. I was diagnosed with celiac disease less than a year ago after having symptoms for about four years. I love playing soccer, hanging out with my friends, listening to Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band, and now, eating! My eyes are shut tight. I’m relying on my senses of smell, taste, and touch to keep this piece of pizza real, just in case when I open my eyes it’s not there. The crust is warm and moist in my hands. I can feel some rogue strands of cheese dangling over the edge, and droplets of grease and rich tomato sauce fall onto my hand. I open my eyes just for a split second, and the pepperoni seems to smile at me, just waiting for me to enjoy this delicacy. I close my eyes again and slowly start to bring this slice of pizza toward my mouth, which is already watering at the thought of this culinary delight coming into contact with my taste buds—”Mandy!” My eyes fly open and I’m face to face with a friend of mine, who’s just exited the lunch line. I guiltily hand over her pizza, which I was holding while she purchased a carton of milk and three luscious looking chocolate chip cookies. My daydream is shattered, and I’m back in the real world, the world of rice pasta, corn flour, and of course, pieces of pizza that beckon unfairly. However, I’m not disappointed. The daydream will be back again. Until then, I have a delicious chocolate fudge brownie to enjoy, made, of course with the oh-so-decadent rice flour. I may be only 16 years old, and barely starting to make any sort of distinguishable impact on the world around me, but I am already one of the most unique people at my high school. I have the honor of having an immune system that amuses itself by pretending gluten is poison, and intestines that, apparently bored of their mundane life, go along with the joke. Yes, I am a celiac, a proud member of the exclusive club of funky immune systems. A part of me still thinks this is a pretty unfair deal. The same part of me that wants to scream like a maniac as I watch my friends eat. But another part of me, the rational part, thinks that, along with my disease, I am pretty unique—and so is my story. I experienced the first of what I call celiac attacks when I was 12. That incident seems to have blocked itself from my memory, but I do recall one night during my family’s Cold Days and Clear Skies By Mandy Taylor vacation in Hawaii. I don’t remember what I ate, but I remember the worst stomach pain I have ever had, and being in the bathroom all night. My memory then flash forwards up two years to a soccer practice with my club team. Running along in a scrimmage, I was suddenly stricken with the most intense stomach pain. My brain couldn’t even seem to comprehend this pain, and I lay on the grass dizzy and in a fog. On the way home, I brilliantly ate a chicken quesadilla on, of course a flour tortilla. When I got home, it was all I could do to writhe on my bed. My 14-year-old brain figured this sort of pain must be death. Sitting up on my bed, my bedroom began to spin in fast circles, and I passed out on my floor. Upon waking up, sweaty, the pain was gone, and there was a buzzing in my ears so loud it sounded like there was a bee hive hidden in my shirt. I don’t remember telling my parents what happened. All I know is soon I was in the emergency room, being told the pain was simply that time of the month that every girl has to endure. I figured these doctors knew what they were talking about, and I let it go. This horrible experience left a huge impression on me, and I would never forget that pain. I only prayed it wouldn’t happen again. But it did. It happened again, and again, and again, until I was afraid to eat anything, afraid to leave the house, afraid to live my life. Each time the waves of pain and dizziness swept over me, I only wanted it to kill me. It seemed to be the only thing to make the pain stop. And each time I woke up from passing out, whether it was lying shivering in the bathroom or huddled in the hallway, the hopelessness I felt was nearly as unbearable as the pain. An entire year of having these attacks slowly went by. When I was fifteen, I underwent arthroscopic knee surgery for my right knee, as a result of chronic knee pain that had mysteriously developed. The surgeon discovered numerous cracks on the underside of my kneecap. I didn’t know it then, but this too was a result of this disease that was ravaging my body. Along with the knee problem and the stomach pain attacks, I experienced bad headaches almost daily. I had trouble sleeping and focusing on school. My stomach was so bloated that I sometimes appeared pregnant. My vision deteriorated as well. When I was 13 I had been told that I was legally blind in my left eye, and over a year later my once perfect right eye vision rapidly began to join my left. Whatever illness I had, it was taking over my life. I began to lose touch with my best friends, because I was always sick. Some days I would simply go without eating; during one particular severe episode after my knee operation, I lost eleven pounds in a week from living off a bowl of applesauce a day. I needed answers—and fast. I began to see doctor after doctor. My childhood doctor, having known me since babyhood, figured because I had nearly always been a little sickly (I suffered from sinus infections from infancy on), that this was just another one of those times. I saw her at least four times, and she told me at least four times that my problems were bad cramps and a sensitive stomach. The doctors at the emergency room also thought it was cramps, and perhaps a little anxiety. After countless blood, stool, and urine tests that seemed to find nothing, I was told I would grow out of it. Everyone else seemed to think I was a hypochondriac, and my hope was fading fast. One afternoon, while surfing the Internet looking for illnesses with my symptoms, I found a medical message board website. Pure impulse made me post my symptoms on that website, sparking what tiny shreds of hope for a diagnosis I had left. Over the next few days, I read the answers to my post, which told me it sounded like I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I was elated, thrilled that I was finally getting some sort of answer. After spending days reading about this syndrome I received an email from someone from the message board site. The email told me it may very well be Irritable Bowel Syndrome—but, had I heard of Celiac disease? My mom made countless urgent phone calls to my doctor, who finally got me an appointment with a gastroenterologist. The day I walked into this doctor’s office was the day that changed me forever. Right away he seemed to recognize my symptoms as Celiac disease, or Celiac Sprue and wanted to get a definite diagnosis right away. Although this would involve a colonoscopy, not the friendliest of procedures, and small bowel biopsy, I was elated. I could finally have a real diagnosis! I spent a weekend prepping for the procedures: two fun-filled days of strong laxatives and clear liquids. It would have gotten a little boring, but luckily I had stocked the bathroom with a good supply of magazines. Another day was spent at the hospital, getting a tube shoved down one end and up another. Not fun at the time, but now I look back and realize it was a little amusing. It was all worth it a week later, when we got a call from the doctor. My diagnosis: a severe case of celiac sprue—and so began my new life. It took several months for the fact to sink in that I could no longer have wheat, oats, rye, malt, and barley, which, of course, are included in seemingly every food, beverage, and sauce on this planet. I felt even sorrier for myself than I had when I was still very sick. It made me want to cry when I looked at pizza or cake, or walked into the mall and smelled the aroma of the world’s best cinnamon rolls. Several months were spent deeply depressed, thinking that my life was over. I couldn’t be around my friends because I couldn’t stop thinking they could eat whatever they wanted. When I was around them, I blew up at them countless times for enjoying their cookies or pasta or numerous other things. Days were spent staring longingly at the box of fettuccine alfredo in our cupboard, and at the package of chocolate muffins on top of the refrigerator. I stifled so many urges to stuff as many hot dogs buns in my mouth as I could. But as the long days passed, something changed. I went a full month without a severe attack. I began to sleep better. I was learning, and along with the learning came living. My mom and I began to enjoy experimenting with different recipes. We mostly made brownies, trying nearly every gluten-free recipe we could find, and then gorging ourselves on them afterward. One evening, for the first time in months, I enjoyed a delicious plate of rich cheese fettuccine, made with the rice pasta I had mistakenly thought would be disgusting. The pasta was, instead, even better than “normal” pasta—so were the brownies—and pretty soon, so was the cake and the pizza. Something changed in those days of experimenting and shopping and making discoveries—it was me. Slowly, my view on life began to change. Yes, I had a disease, and yes, it was a very serious one, but there was no way it was going to stop me from enjoying the life I finally had back. I began enjoying the little things again, something that years before I had prided myself on. I got a few laughs as my friends tried to digest my diagnosis, constantly saying things like “But…pasta doesn’t have wheat in it, right?” and “Well, at least you can have potato bread, since it’s made out of potatoes.” I even got a few “Oh, I know exactly how you feel—I’m on a diet, too.” But gradually the confusion gave way to understanding, and they supported me. So did my parents. My dad by making constant runs to the store to pick up something I was craving, and my mom by spending 24 hours in the kitchen concocting all sorts of meals which always turned out to be surprisingly delicious. My energy came back, and so did my love for life. My headaches subsided, and my stomach bloat began to look only two months pregnant instead of six or seven. After my last surgical procedure (a laparoscopy to check and see if any of my other organs were scarred) was finally over, my junior year in high school began. It was a new beginning after a horrific summer of pain, surgery, and hopelessness. I played on my school’s varsity soccer team, and began to fully enjoy school again. I was finally healthy and planned on staying that way. I knew because of my entire ordeal, I would never even consider drinking, smoking, or drugs. It had taken so much effort and energy to get healthy—I would do nothing to ruin it. One afternoon, I sat at my desk at home studying for a math test and craving about a thousand different foods. As I began to feel slowly overwhelmed, I heard a rumbling outside and looked up to see the UPS truck pull up our driveway. It was the gluten-free donuts and hot dog buns I had ordered from a wonderful gluten-free food company. I tore open the box and took my first bite of a rich chocolate donut. It was the smallest thing for most people: a bite of a donut. But the second it took me to take that bite simply made my day. It’s the little things like that that we celiacs must remember to enjoy. Something important has been taken from us for reasons we’re not sure about—perhaps it’s our genes and a little bad luck. We must learn to fill that void with whatever we can. In a way, we are all blessed. Yeah, this disease isn’t fun, but even though it’s taken many things from my life, it’s given me so much more. I love everything about life now. I love being with my amazing friends and family. I love cold days and clear skies. I love when I look across the road to the car across from me and see the person inside singing along to the same song on the radio I’m listening to. I love putting on clothes warm from the dryer, I love when friends hug me good morning, and I love it when my cat falls off a chair and tries to pretend she meant to all along. In short, I love the little things. I realize that life is not all about everything being perfect—it’s about enjoying what you have—and I have celiac disease to thank for that. I could have been handed a disease that would have ended my life— instead, I was lucky enough to have been handed a disease that would help it to begin again. ©A Personal Touch Publishing, LLC. This article originally appeared in the book A Personal Touch On...™ Celiac Disease
  11. Celiac.com 05/13/2022 - It all began when Dr. Malawer called. “Good news,” he said! “We found out what’s causing your symptoms. The tests confirmed you have celiac disease” (Gastroenterologists, he explained, rarely find definitive causes for their patients’ intestinal complaints; hence his excitement). “What this means is that you’ll have to be on a strict gluten-free diet for the rest of your life—no wheat, no rye, no barley, no oats. And no cheating—you have to stick with the diet 100 percent! But let me warn you that once get the gluten out of your system and start absorbing your food you may gain weight. I had one patient who gained 50 pounds in three months!” Dr. Malawer was elated. I was depressed. Give up bread—for the rest of my life? It seemed a sentence too cruel for someone whose favorite food, second only to fruit, was the staff of life! Tearing into a long loaf of French bread fresh from Marvelous Market and slathering it with butter was one of my favorite pastimes. I could eat the whole thing in one sitting. And what about the six-grain loaves and the Jewish ryes (with seeds, please) from Breads Unlimited where I shopped every Saturday morning? And oh my God, bagels! Big fat garlic bagels, onion bagels, cinnamon bagels, poppy seed bagels right out of the oven from Whatsa Bagel, and the flatbread bagels smothered with onions and poppy seed called bialys—never again? This was seriously depressing. Dr. Malawer had suspected celiac disease (also known as gluten intolerance) and ordered a biopsy of my small intestine and blood tests when, in taking my family history, he learned that I had a third cousin with the disease and that when I was very young I had heard my parents mention the possibility of celiac disease when discussing the cause of my many food allergies with my pediatrician. My symptoms had begun at least ten years prior to my diagnosis. I had frequent bouts of abdominal distress, gas, and diarrhea, which I could not associate with anything in my diet. I frequently talked with my internist about this, and for about a year I kept a daily journal on the state of my abdomen and what I had done or eaten, but no pattern emerged. Over that time period several sigmoidoscopies were performed and they repeatedly tested me for parasites and giardia—all test results were negative. The only thing we could figure out was lactose intolerance. When I went on a lactose-free diet or used lactose pills my distress lessened, but the diarrhea continued. My doctor finally told me that if I had another bout of diarrhea he would refer me to a gastroenterologist. That is how I became a patient of Dr. Malawer’s. While trying to absorb the news about my diagnosis of celiac disease and its implications, I asked Dr. Malawer if there were any organizations that could help me with the dietary and life style changes that I’d need to make. His receptionist directed me to the Washington Area Celiac Sprue Support Group (WACSSG), which meets bimonthly and puts out a highly informative newsletter about all aspects of the disease that includes gluten-free recipes and listings of gluten-free products available in local supermarkets or by mail. To my surprise, WACSSG’s membership of adults, children, and families of celiacs was more than 100 when I joined about 12 years ago, at a time when the disease was thought to be relatively rare. Membership has been increasing with heightened awareness of the true prevalence of the disease in the United States—about 1 in 133 Americans and 1 in 22 family members of diagnosed celiacs, according to a recent epidemiologic study. The first meeting of WACSSG I attended featured a speaker from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) on hidden glutens found in the “fillers” of prescription and over the counter drugs. Fillers are the non-therapeutic ingredients used as binders. She urged us to contact the manufacturer of each drug we were taking to find out what substances they used as fillers. Certain fillers were not acceptable, and we needed to find out whether they came from corn, potatoes, or wheat, and of course avoid taking drugs with wheat starch fillers. What a tedious process! Not only was it almost impossible to read the fine print containing the ingredients and the manufacturer’s phone number (if listed) on a bottle of antihistamines or my prescription drugs, but when I called the manufacturers I was cycled through numerous “experts” on the abstruse matter of fillers before I got my answer. Fortunately, in most cases, the fillers were made of corn or potato starch and I was able to continue using the drug. In some cases, however, the type of starch used as filler varied from batch to batch, as the manufacturers competed on the open market for the lowest priced ingredients. If the manufacturer could not guarantee that wheat starch was never used, I could not take the drug. Aside from the obvious things I could no longer buy for myself, such as bread and wheat pasta, I had to learn, first and foremost, to read the ingredient labels on every food item I intended to eat. I was surprised to learn how many canned, bottled, and packaged food items contain wheat or oats, or barley. Wheat, in particular, seems to be ubiquitous. In a long list of ingredients, it is not atypical to find the words “wheat starch” toward the end, even in such products as soups and chicken broth, catsup, and soy sauce. Hidden glutens, I was to learn, lurked everywhere! Once I got over the shock of the diagnosis (an autoimmune disorder, which can manifest itself at any age) and stopped focusing on all those things I could no longer eat, I became aware of excellent gluten-free packaged products, cookbooks, and recipes for breads and baked goods which I could easily prepare. Among my first purchases was a “Zo” (Zojirushi) bread machine, which is particularly effective with gluten-free flours, such as white and brown rice flour, potato flour, tapioca flour, and cornstarch, to which xanthan or guar gum can be added to provide the elasticity which is lost when gluten-containing flours such as wheat cannot be used. A perennial challenge for celiacs, however, is eating in restaurants or dining with friends in their homes. I’m still shocked at the number of waiters who don’t realize that noodles, at least in this country, are typically made from wheat flour. What they lack in knowledge, however, they are usually quite willing to ask about in the kitchen. If they cannot find out whether or not a particular soup or meat dish I’m contemplating contains any gluten, I choose something else. On the other hand, some restaurants, such as Bonefish Grill (I just recently discovered), can provide a diner with a gluten-free menu; and some stores, such as Trader Joe’s, have a list of all the gluten-free products that they carry. When I eat out with friends or acquaintances, I tell them that the only kind of restaurant I really have to avoid is a pizza joint. My solution to eating in other people’s homes is to bring a dish I can eat to share with others. I tell the cook to prepare whatever they want for the guests and not to worry about me. Usually there are some things I can eat and some I can’t. To my surprise and pleasure, after I became gluten-free I was able to tolerate dairy products—including milk, yogurt, and most cheeses—quite well. Whenever people start eating something I can’t eat in my presence, they usually apologize when it dawns on them that I can’t have it. I am now able to say, “It’s OK. I remember exactly what that tastes like and I’m getting vicarious enjoyment watching you eat it.” Sometimes I’ll take a plate of frosting from a chocolate cake, or scrape out the innards of a cheesecake that is coated with graham cracker crumbs (once I’ve verified that the innards contain no gluten). But then there’s the fresh bread…that’s when I have to look away! A celiac always needs to be thinking about emergency foods, particularly sources of carbohydrates or high energy foods for travel, in case one cannot count on gluten-free products being available, such as at airports, train stations, or in foreign countries. I travel with Balance Bars (not advertised as gluten-free, but they are in fact), raw almonds, raisins, and hard-boiled eggs, or corn chips. I keep a couple of Balance Bars in my car at all times, in case I’m on the road and become hungry. One Balance Bar can usually forestall the need for a meal until I arrive home or at my destination.
  12. Celiac.com 04/05/2022 - You have just been diagnosed with celiac disease. Wonderful! Now all your gastro problems, aches and pains and fatigue and food allergies will go away. All you need to do is maintain a gluten-free diet—NOT! Many—if not most—of us who are gluten intolerant have quickly found our various health problems, sadly, do not go away simply by eliminating gluten from our lives. In fact, our health problems may increase over time. Many futilely and desperately search in vain for “hidden” gluten which they are sure must be present in something they missed causing them problems. If you are among the lucky ones whose health fully recovers after starting a gluten-free diet, great! The fact is, your gastrointestinal tract and immune system may have been under attack for years. Malabsorption is likely to have caused years of vitamin, mineral, and amino acid deficiencies resulting in damage to your body systems. You may have acquired various other autoimmune conditions along the way. If you are diagnosed over age 40, your body systems may be slowing down and not able to fully recover. The mix of beneficial bacteria and microorganisms which inhabit your gut may have become altered, depleted, or in complete disarray. Your stomach may no longer be producing a sufficient quantity of stomach acid, affecting your ability to digest food and absorb essential vitamins and minerals. Intestinal permeability and perhaps a thymus gland impaired by mineral and vitamin deficiencies may have resulted in the acquisition of multiple food allergies and intolerances. Vitamin B12 deficiency could have caused permanent neurological damage. Bones may have weakened. There may be weak, brittle and malformed finger and toe nails, skin rashes, bruising, and inflammation. Fatigue and muscle pains may be present. The list goes on. So what can one do? Low Stomach Acid After a diagnosis of celiac disease or gluten intolerance , you should first immediately assess if you have a low stomach acid condition. Low stomach acid or hypochlorhydria will continue to cause malabsorption problems and vitamin, mineral and amino acid deficiencies. Hypochlorhydria can lead to multiple food allergies. Low stomach acid also allows potentially harmful bacteria and microorganisms to colonize the stomach where they should not be at all. The stomach cells which produce stomach acid also produce a substance called “intrinsic factor” which is necessary to allow the intestine to absorb vitamin B12. If you have low stomach acid, intrinsic factor may be low and you may not be able to absorb vitamin B12 sufficiently. In this case, sublingual or “under-the-tongue” vitamin B12 tablets can be taken to improve absorption. In some cases, vitamin B12 injections are necessary to prevent pernicious anemia. During digestion, stomach acid levels normally increase. The higher acid level results in a secretion of hormones which, in turn, signal the pancreas to release digestive enzymes and acid-neutralizing bicarbonate ions into the small intestine to complete the digestion of contents leaving the stomach. Maintaining a normal stomach acid level is, thus, crucial for digestion in both the stomach and intestine. Low stomach acid is also present in the vast majority of heartburn sufferers, and improper digestion due to low acid is the cause of most heartburn. Taking acid suppressors for heartburn is exactly the wrong thing to do if you have low stomach acid. Taking an acid supplement to normalize digestion can actually prevent heartburn in most cases. An excellent reference on stomach acid is the paperback book Why Stomach Acid Is Good for You by Jonathan V. Wright, M.D. and Lane Lenard, Ph.D. Low stomach acid can be treated by taking digestive enzymes and an acid supplement, such as betaine HCl, with every meal, likely for the rest of one’s life. There are many digestive enzyme formulations available, and the choice depends on your individual metabolism. I prefer the pricey but high-quality fungal derived enzymes from Enzymedica, and take one Carbo capsule with every meal. The Carbo formulation has a modest level of protease enzymes. High levels of protease can cause a burning sensation in the bowels in some people, including myself, which normally goes away after a few weeks of use. Since I am mostly vegetarian, my need for protease to digest meat and proteins is reduced. Betaine HCl is available in tablet form, or as 10-grain capsules containing powdered betaine HCl, which works faster. You need to adjust the number of betaine HCl capsules to suit your low acid condition, and this usually means taking more than just one or two capsules with each meal. The number is adjusted by increasing it until you experience a warm sensation in your stomach, and then backing off by one capsule. I take three 10-grain capsules with breakfast and lunch, and six with dinner. I buy quantities of 250 capsule bottles of Solaray High Potency HCl from a discount health food company over the internet at a very reasonable price. Enzymedica products can also be purchased at discount over the internet. Treating hypochlorhydria greatly reduced or eliminated my allergic responses to numerous foods. A quick and simple test for low stomach acid makes use of fresh baking soda. You should not be taking antacids or acid suppressors to perform this test. Stomach acid and baking soda react to form carbon dioxide gas. First thing in the morning, before eating or drinking, add one quarter teaspoon of baking soda to an eight ounce glass of water. Mix, drink, and start timing for up to five minutes. You should normally belch within two to three minutes if your stomach acid level is adequate. Rapid and repeated belching may mean excessive stomach acid is present. Late or no belching indicates low stomach acid. Acid levels can be confirmed by measuring stomach pH using a small radio capsule (Heidelberg capsule) that is swallowed, a test which some gastroenterologists or naturopathic doctors can perform. Probiotics Probiotics provide beneficial microbes to help replace and restore order to the bacteria and micro flora which reside in the gastrointestinal tract. Celiac disease, hypochlorhydria, immune system disorders, and accompanying gastrointestinal distress can wreck havoc on the balance and mixture of the beneficial and necessary micro flora of the gut. Low stomach acid permits entry of undesirable and pathogenic bacteria. Malabsorption results in an excess of undigested nutrients in the gut, feeding and promoting an overabundance of undesirable bacteria species. Taking a probiotic supplement helps to re-colonize the gastrointestinal tract with beneficial bacteria which, in turn, displace the undesired bacteria. Probiotics come in the form of foods, such as yogurt and kefir containing live cultures of beneficial bacteria, or in capsule, tablet, liquid or powdered form. Choosing a probiotic may not be easy. Research on probiotics is a very young field, and which species of bacteria provide the greatest benefit remains uncertain. You may need to try a number of different probiotic products to find one that best suits your needs. A probiotic containing a mixture of a number of different bacteria species might be more likely to provide the bacteria combination that works for you. Ideally, a dose of probiotic should provide billions, 10, 20, or even 30 billion or more bacteria, to effectively colonize the bowel. Probiotic capsules which provide such a high dosage are expensive. A good yogurt or kefir is a much more cost effective probiotic providing many billions of bacteria per serving. Yogurt and kefir are both fermented milk products, but kefir contains yeast in addition to bacteria. Sensitivity to yeast is a common problem among celiacs, and, hence, kefir may not be suitable for everyone. Soy yogurt and kefir are also available if you are sensitive to dairy products. Some health food stores can provide yogurt and kefir made with goats milk if cow’s milk is a particular problem. Labels on some probiotic products warn that flu-like symptoms may result during the first few weeks of use and recommend a lower dose until the symptoms disappear. Personally, I consume a plain yogurt, without gelatin or corn syrup, preferring Nancy’s Yogurt. I had a six month bout of diarrhea after a prolonged summer cold. I had been taking a probiotic capsule, and decided to switch to yogurt to provide a larger and cheaper dose of bacteria. The website for Nancy’s Yogurt, which contains six live bacteria cultures, was the only one which provided a bacteria count from an independent laboratory. Nancy’s Yogurt seemed to be instrumental in finally clearing up the diarrhea problem for me. I consume a heaping tablespoon of yogurt on each of two rice cakes every morning and two heaping tablespoons on my salad at dinner. Depending on the age of the yogurt, this provides up to over 30 billion bacteria per two tablespoon serving. I have also tried Stonyfield Farms Yogurt, which also contains six bacteria cultures, but the product is “runny” compared to Nancy’s firm texture. I have not yet tried Mountain High Yogurt, containing five bacteria cultures, which may be another good alternative. I suggest you contact yogurt makers about their bacteria content if you try other brands. However, such information is not always reliable. Nails Your nails are a barometer to your health and provide a good visual aide in recognizing vitamin and mineral deficiencies and other problems. White spots and poor nail growth can indicate a zinc deficiency. Thin, brittle, spoon or concave shaped nails, and ridges running lengthwise indicate possible iron deficiency. A deficiency in vitamin A can cause slow growing brittle nails lacking pink a glow underneath. Vitamin C, folic acid, or protein deficiency can cause hangnails. A deficiency of B vitamins causes fragility, with horizontal or vertical ridges. A deficiency of vitamin B12 leads to excessive dryness, very rounded and curved nail ends, and darkened nails. Splitting, thin, chipping, or peeling nails may mean low stomach acid or low sulphur amino acid. White bands across the nails can indicate a protein deficiency. Probiotics can help fend off nail fungal infections by displacing yeasts and fungi in the gut. A host of medical problems such as thyroid, kidney, and diabetes conditions can be indicated by various malformations and discolorations of the nails. For more on these medical conditions try reading Nail Abnormalities: Clues to Systemic Disease by Robert S. Fawcett, M.D., M.S., Sean Linford, M.D., Daniel L. Stulberg, M.D. I developed a problem with nails deteriorating on the edges of the large toe nails and on one edge of the thumb and index finger of the right hand. In addition, for years I had a chronic periodic swelling and inflammation of the toes around the toe nails. When I began taking betaine HCl for hypochlorhydria, the nail deterioration seemed to stop, but there was little or no nail growth to repair the damage. Searching the internet for solutions, I came across websites which suggested that supplementing with MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) frequently resulted in increased nail growth as well as improved hair condition. MSM is a sulfur compound, and numerous health benefits have been claimed for it for which I cannot vouch. Sulfur is a component of keratin, and keratin is a protein important for the maintenance and growth of nails, hair and skin. MSM has a bitter taste, but it does not leave an aftertaste. The powder can be mixed with fruit juice, if desired. I began taking one half teaspoon of powdered MSM in a glass of water once daily, and soon noticed an apparent increase in nail growth after a few weeks. Encouraged, I began to take one half teaspoon MSM twice daily, in the morning and evening. I also began taking 500 mg L-methionine, an essential sulfur amino acid, twice daily. This increased nail growth even more, and, quite unexpectedly, within two weeks the chronic periodic swelling and inflammation of the toes completely ceased and has never returned to this day (I also noticed my hair seemed softer and had more luster, but, hey, us males aren’t supposed to care about such things). I started taking MSM in January 2003. I’ve had a few relapses resulting in some temporary nail deterioration, especially during the six month bout of diarrhea. Consuming yogurt seemed to help clear up the nail problem as well as the diarrhea. I also now have further increased my take of MSM powder to a heaping teaspoon in water twice daily with no side effects noticed. After nearly two years my nails are almost completely normal and healthy. Only the slow growing large toe nails still show any obvious signs of the prior condition, and they are nearly fully grown back and healthy. I buy MSM powder in 35 oz (1000 g) containers at discount over the internet. Vitamins, Minerals and Amino Acids Our intestines have been damaged. We may have low stomach acid. We may be vegetarian. Our metabolisms differ. Our lifestyles differ. All of these factors affect how nutrients are absorbed and how much of each nutrient we require. Does that multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement supplying the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamins and minerals really meet your needs? Remember, these are the amounts needed to maintain a healthy normal individual. You need to look at your own condition to determine the amount of vitamins and minerals you need. This is no easy task. I am still trying to deal with it myself. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some little meter we could poke ourselves with, much like the glucose meter used by diabetics, that could tell us which vitamins and minerals and amino acids were low and what and how much we needed to take? After first being diagnosed with celiac disease, you are probably deficient in numerous nutrients. Once on a gluten-free diet, many of these deficiencies will return to normal levels. Some may not. In addition, some nutrients, such as vitamin B12, may not be sufficiently absorbed via the intestine, and must be take sublingually or by injection. Paradoxically, some of the very nutrients needed to repair the intestine so that it can absorb them are not being absorbed because of the damage to the intestine. Deficiencies may require higher than RDA amounts, at first, which must be reduced, later, to avoid overdosing. Without some form of testing and monitoring to determine our need for and levels of nutrients, there is no good way to manage our nutrient needs. I have already suggested that your nails can provide a clue to some deficiencies. Are there tests which can help us decide what we need? Yes, there are tests which can provide you with serum levels of many nutrients. But these tests can add up and become very costly if tests are done for many nutrients and if follow up tests are performed. Some clinical labs offer package deals which might not be a bad idea for an initial assessment of your health condition. For example, many Web sites offer various nutrient blood tests. I do not think your insurance company is going to be willing to pay for a multitude of tests and follow up tests. A few well-chosen tests may fit within your budget. If you have the means, having the test information is better than not having it. Also, if you can find and afford a good doctor or clinical nutritionist or naturopath to work with you, so much the better. If doctors and tests are not within your means, self-education and trial and error is an alternative approach. Besides books and libraries, the internet has a wealth of helpful websites on nutrition and nutrients. One of the best websites is the Linus Pauling Institute’s Micronutrient Information Center which provides an excellent source of information on vitamins, minerals and some other nutrients. This website also offer good information on vitamins and minerals: https://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/ Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, are also important. 22 amino acids are used in human metabolism. Some amino acids can be synthesized by the body, but there are 8 essential amino acids which can only be obtained from diet. The following website provides a good overview of the amino acids: https://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/cat_proteins.html Additionally, you need to know how much of these nutrients your diet may be providing. The USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference provides a comprehensive list of nutrients from a huge database of foods and food products. Just remember that the amount of a nutrient given for a food does not represent how much of that nutrient your body will actually absorb. In some cases, the food may have a very high nutrient content, but only a very small percentage will actually be absorbed because the nutrient is not in a readily absorbable form. By noting your symptoms and health condition and comparing them to symptoms caused by nutrient deficiencies, you may be able to determine or guess which nutrients you may be lacking. As similar symptoms can be caused by deficiencies of any number of other nutrients, the task is not easy. You may be able to correct the deficiency by including in your diet foods rich in the particular nutrient. You may need to take the nutrient as a supplement to insure sufficient absorption. You also must determine the dose of supplementation you require. In order to be able to assess whether the supplementation is improving your symptoms and health, you must add only one supplement at a time and make no major changes to your diet, and it may take days or weeks or months to note if the symptoms improve. This process can easily become tedious, time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating. If you have narrowed down possible nutrient deficiencies, you may opt to get tested for those particular nutrients. Vegetarians also have special needs, as there are some nutrients better provided by animal products in the diet. The American Dietetic Association has a comprehensive paper on Vegetarian Diets which discusses these nutritional needs. Vegetarians must make sure their diets are sufficient in protein (essential amino acids), iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B12, vitamin A, n-3 fatty acids, and iodine. Higher RDA levels and supplementation of some of these nutrients may be necessary to maintain proper levels. Malabsorption caused by celiac disease compounds the likelihood of deficiencies. Here is an example of tracking down a deficiency problem. A symptom I have been dealing with is fatigue. I take a multivitamin/mineral supplement, sublingual vitamin B12, plenty of vitamin C, plus additional supplements. At first, I suspected adrenal fatigue and achieved some limited relief from fatigue by drinking salted water several times daily to replace lost sodium caused by an insufficient level of the hormone, aldosterone, produced by the adrenals which regulate sodium retention in the kidneys. But lately, salted water is not having much affect, possibly because my aldosterone level is improving. In addition to fatigue and lack of energy, I was experiencing episodes of daytime drowsiness while driving to work. In a self-experiment supplementing with tin in the form of stannous chloride, I actually seemed to have completely cured myself of daytime drowsiness. However, fatigue still remains a problem. Evaluating my supplements and considering which nutrient deficiencies are likely to cause fatigue, I noted that my multivitamin/mineral supplement provides only 10 mg iron. The RDA of iron for adult males is 8 mg and for pre-menopausal adult females is 18 mg. However, vegetarians face a lower bioavailability of iron from their diets. In meat, iron is available in a “heme” form that is more readily absorbed than the inorganic form of iron found in plants. Red meat and spinach both have a high iron content. 20% of the heme iron available in a lean steak is absorbed, but only 2% of the iron in cooked spinach is actually absorbed. The iron RDA for vegetarians is 14 mg for men and 33 mg for pre-menopausal women. Physical activity can also deplete iron stores. Sports activities, exercise, and heavy labor can raise the daily requirement for iron. Any bleeding causes iron depletion. A loss of one ml of blood results in a loss of 0.5 mg iron. Low stomach acid results in poor iron absorption, and intestinal damage from celiac disease often causes iron deficiency. Other dietary factors also affect how much iron is absorbed. Vitamin C consumed in the same meal as non-heme iron improves the absorption of the non-heme iron by up to 50%. Heme iron also increases the absorption of non-heme iron. Tea, coffee and certain types of fiber (eg. phytate) can inhibit the absorption of iron. Taking a look at myself, I am mostly vegetarian. I have low stomach acid. My intestines may still be impaired from celiac disease, and reactions to food intolerances or allergies could also impair absorption. I sometimes experience loss of blood from rectal bleeding through an anal fissure as a result of bowel distress. I do a long series of stretching exercises every morning, and my work involves moderate physical activity. Suddenly, a supplement providing only 10 mg of iron daily seems totally inadequate for my needs. Iron deficiency could definitely explain my fatigue. Recently, I have begun daily supplementation of iron in the form of 28 mg iron from ferrous gluconate in addition to the 10 mg of iron I already take. It is too soon to tell if iron supplementation is improving my fatigue, but I do seem to be a little less fatigued. Hopefully, I will see continued improvement. Food Allergies and Intolerances Multiple food allergies often accompany celiac disease. In addition, temporary intolerances to dairy products and sugars may result from celiac disease. Enzymes which digest lactose and various other forms of sugar are produced in the lining of the small intestine. Production of these enzymes is impaired by damage to the intestine from celiac disease. Sugars and lactose are thus not properly absorbed. Low stomach acid, if present, also results in incomplete digestion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Damage to the intestine results in the intestine being less capable of absorbing nutrients. An accumulation of undigested sugars, and other nutrients promotes an overabundance of intestinal bacteria and other micro flora which feed on the ready supply of unabsorbed nutrients. The secretions and toxins generated by these micro flora can cause gas, discomfort, and other symptoms of intolerance and bowel distress. Intestinal damage also increases intestinal permeability or “leaky gut”. Undigested and normally harmless food proteins can “leak” into the blood stream and into other body systems where they may be identified as intruders, initiating allergic and immune responses. I have come to believe that the thymus gland may also be involved in the acquisition of food allergies. The thymus is located behind the breastbone and is responsible for the generation of T cells, critical to the function of the immune system. Until quite recently, it was thought the thymus stopped producing T cells after puberty when the thymus begins to shrink. However, it is now known the thymus continues to produce T cells in adults and throughout life. Certain regulatory T cells help the immune system decide whether foreign proteins should be tolerated or attacked. If these regulatory T cells are not in sufficient supply, allergic reactions to harmless proteins may result. The thymus is particularly sensitive to malnutrition. Hence, malabsorption from celiac disease or low stomach acid may adversely affect the thymus and its ability to produce regulatory T cells, thus leading to or contributing to multiple food allergies. Maintaining a gluten-free diet allows the gut to heal. In most cases, the intestine will again produce the enzymes to digest lactose and other sugars, and these intolerances may go away. Intestinal permeability will decrease, and food allergies and sensitivities may lessen. The thymus may also recover from malnutrition, if not too severely damaged. If you have low stomach acid, food allergies will continue to be a problem unless you take acid supplementation (eg. betaine HCl) and digestive enzymes with every meal. Some food allergies or sensitivities may not completely go away. To help speed healing, it is probably best to avoid foods which are causing problems. If you have a reaction shortly after consuming the food, typically less than 30 minutes, it may be easy to determine the offending food. Some foods may cause a delayed reaction. It may be hours or even days or weeks before antibody production reaches a level high enough to cause a noticeable reaction. This makes identification of the offending food difficult. Elimination diets can be used to identify which foods are safe and which are not. Stick with eating a few basic foods that you know you can tolerate well, and then add suspected foods to your diet one at a time, allowing sufficient time—days or longer if necessary—to observe a possible reaction. Elimination diets are tedious. Some tests are available which can help to identify possible food sensitivities. These tests include the skin prick test, the RAST (Radioallergosorbent test), the ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) test, and the newest test, the ImmunoCAP® Specific IgE test (a fluoroenzymeimmunoassay (FEIA) ). The skin prick test is performed in a doctor’s office, a prick for each allergen being tested, and can be expensive. RAST testing uses a blood sample to test for the amount of specific IgE antibodies present. ELISA testing also uses a blood sample, but tests for specific IgG antibodies instead of IgE antibodies (associated with true allergies.) IgG reactions can typically occur hours or days after encountering a food or antigen. The ELISA test can be useful in identifying foods which cause delayed reactions. ELISA tests which can test for 190 or so food sensitivities in one blood draw are available for a relatively modest cost. However, the reliability of ELISA tests depends on the laboratory performing the test, and results between different laboratories vary greatly. RAST test results also vary from lab to lab. RAST tests are being replaced by ImmunoCAP® tests. The ImmunoCAP® Specific IgE test is much more accurate and reliable than the RAST test, and test results are consistent from lab to lab. Costs for ImmunoCAP® or RAST tests can add up as the cost increases for each different allergen being tested for. When I first put myself on a gluten-free diet after years of chronic diarrhea and learning about celiac disease, within a few days I had the first solid bowel movement I could remember in years. But the elation was short-lived. For months afterward, my bowel movement kept changing form from solid to liquid, and the chronic diarrhea kept reappearing. Then, finally, my first breakthrough came. The growing season for melons ended. When melons were no longer a part of my diet, the chronic diarrhea finally disappeared. I had made my first discovery that other foods besides gluten were causing me problems. I began to pay close attention to any reaction or bowel distress that occurred after eating any foods. Soon I was finding foods I had been freely consuming daily and all my life were creating reactions. Fruits were especially troublesome. In response to apples, pears, bananas, oranges, tangerines, hot chocolate, popcorn and more, I was sniffling, experiencing throat irritation, a general malaise, fatigue, and bowel distress within 20 minutes after ingestion. I started to eliminate these foods from my diet. Since, childhood, I have had a chronic throat-clearing problem, and, now, decades later, I finally learned the throat-clearing was due to a sensitivity to corn. I eliminated all corn and products containing corn from my diet, and the throat-clearing finally stopped. Every time I eliminated one food, however, I soon found myself sensitive to a new food. Finally it got to the point where I was reacting to almost everything I ate, even to potatoes and rice cakes. You can imagine the desperation I felt standing in the supermarket produce aisle, one day, hopelessly searching for something I could safely eat. Meanwhile, on the internet I noted that some people were reporting that taking digestive enzymes had allowed them to consume foods they had not been able to eat for years without getting ill. Enzymes were theorized to breakdown proteins into pieces too small to cause reactions. That sounded reasonable to me. So I went to a health food store and bought some digestive enzymes, Enzymedica Digest, to be specific. Taking one capsule with each meal, the effect was immediate. I quickly found myself able to consume at least some foods again without reaction. All seemed to be going well for about a month, until I again started reacting to an increasing number of foods. Now what was I supposed to do? Back to the internet! This time I learned about hypochlorhydria, low stomach acid. Back at the health food store, I bought betaine HCl. Taking betaine HCl and digestive enzymes with every meal once again caused the food sensitivities to go away—and this time stay away. I still keep melons, citrus fruit, and corn, as well as gluten, out of my diet. I rotate other fruits so I do not consume them on consecutive days. I find that new foods I have never eaten before can cause me problems. Montina (Indian rice grass flour) and sorghum flour cause me to have a sore throat reaction. I tried to add avocados to my diet, which I have never eaten before. After eating a couple of avocados a week for a few weeks, I broke out in hives for the first time in my life, an experience I do not want to repeat. I guess the tolerance mechanism of my immune system is now so screwed up, my immune system will no longer tolerate the introduction of any new foods into my diet. As long as I stick with old dependable foods, betaine HCl, and digestive enzymes, I seem to be on the road to recovery. Health Basics While all or some of the above mentioned suggestions may help you fully recover from celiac disease, it is still important to remember the basics of keeping healthy—and that is to eat a healthy diet, keep the weight off, keep active, and exercise regularly. Celiac disease has been associated with diabetes, so it is even all the more important to keep those sugary junk foods and simple carbohydrates under control and out of your diet. In addition to improving mobility and muscle tone, exercise can just plain make you feel better and help keep your bowel movement regular. For years I have been doing daily morning yoga-like stretching exercises, becoming evermore flexible and able to obtain extreme positions as well as great balance control. I began the stretching exercises when I developed pains and cramping in my legs and it became uncomfortable just to bend my legs at the knee. My ankles would also easily buckle while walking up stairs. That was many years ago, and the leg pains and other aches are long gone. I am much more flexible now than I was as a teenager in high school. I find that the exercise almost always helps to induce a bowel movement. Conclusion It took me years to diagnose myself as being gluten intolerant and five more years to discover the steps toward recovery I have presented here. I am still not completely well, but, little by little I am improving. If I had not taken these steps, I would hate to think of the condition I would be in now. If I had had this knowledge years ago and acted on it—think of all the suffering and discomfort I could have avoided. It is my hope that you will use and find this information helpful to speed your recovery so your suffering will not be prolonged needlessly. Feeling ill is no way to live a life.
  13. Celiac.com 08/07/2015 - Actor Michael Douglass is making gluten-free celebrity news with his recent disclosure to ITV's Lorraine Kelly that he is eating gluten-free, and that he views the diet is an important part of his post-cancer health regimen. The 70-year old Oscar-winning actor says he feels "great," and credits the gluten-free diet with boosting his memory and transforming his health five years after cancer battle. Douglass recommends the diet and says it has helped him recover and maintain his weight after dropping over 40 pounds in his battle with throat cancer. The American actor, who stars in the superhero film Ant-Man, set for release this week, also spoke with Kelly about his past battles with alcohol and his marriage to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. Douglass revealed that he views a gluten-free diet as a key factor in his improved health and well-being. The gluten-free diet has proven popular among celebrities and athletes, including Gwyneth Paltrow, 42, and this year's Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, 28. Read more at DailyMail.com
  14. Celiac.com 10/28/2020 - Eating that Thanksgiving turkey and taking probiotics may promote gut healing and improve gluten-free diet response in people with celiac disease. A research team at Canada's McMaster University has found that tryptophan, an amino acid found in high concentrations in turkey meat, along with some probiotics, may help celiacs heal faster, and respond better to a gluten-free diet. The researchers included Bruno Lamas, Leticia Hernandez-Galan, Heather J. Galipeau, Marco Constante, Alexandra Clarizio, Jennifer Jury, Natalia M. Breyner, Alberto Caminero, Gaston Rueda, Christina L. Hayes, Justin L. McCarville, Miriam Bermudez Brito, Julien Planchais, Nathalie Rolhion, Joseph A. Murray, Philippe Langella, Linda M. P. Loonen, Jerry M. Wells, Premysl Bercik, Harry Sokol, and Elena F. Verdu. For their study, the team set out to see if the breakdown of tryptophan by gut bacteria was different in celiac disease, and whether this difference could be targeted as a potential therapy. The team studied three groups: patients with active celiac disease, patients two years after a gluten-free diet, and healthy people. Their findings suggest targeting tryptophan metabolism in the guts of people with celiac disease might help to control symptoms and accelerate intestinal healing. "The only treatment for celiac disease is a strict adherence to a gluten-free diet, which is difficult to follow, and doesn't always lead to complete recovery of the gut or symptom resolution," says Elena Verdu, lead researcher of the study and a professor of medicine at McMaster's Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute. She also holds the Canada Research Chair in Nutrition, Inflammation and Microbiota. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is necessary for numerous functions within the body, but which cannot be produced by the body, and instead must be consumed via foods like poultry, chocolate, bananas, and cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Once consumed, tryptophan is broken down by gut bacteria to produce bioactive molecules (called "metabolites") that interact with receptors in the gut lining that control inflammation. One of these receptors is the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, or AhR, and suboptimal activation of this receptor has been implicated in chronic intestinal inflammation, including inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Celiacs showed evidence of reduced bacterial metabolism of tryptophan, and their gut microbiota did not appropriately stimulate the AhR pathway, which controls inflammation and protects the gut barrier. These changes improved a bit in patients after two years of a gluten-free diet. Using mice that express the genes for celiac disease, the authors showed that two strains of lactobacilli, bacteria known to breakdown tryptophan, activated AhR and reduced gluten-triggered inflammation. The study findings highlight the potential therapeutic value of targeting tryptophan metabolism in the gut in celiac disease to better control symptoms. Hopefully, we will get studies that look into therapeutic strategies, such as tryptophan supplementation in combination with specific probiotics, that produce AhR ligands from the diet, in celiac patients who do not respond to the gluten-free diet. Read more in Science Translational Medicine The researchers are variously affiliated with the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; the Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Micalis Institute, Jouy-en-Josas, France; the Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine, CRSA, AP-HP, Hospital Saint Antoine, Service de Gastroenterologie, Paris, France; the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA; and the Host-Microbe Interactomics, Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands.
  15. Celiac.com 10/07/2020 - It has been two years now since I developed symptoms of celiac disease, and it's been a very difficult thing to go through. My symptoms first developed in August of 2018, and at first I didn't know what was wrong with me. I was losing so much weight – I got down to 87 pounds as opposed to my regular 105. I had no appetite and would have to force every meal down, even though my body kept trying to reject it. I got five cavities in my teeth in the span of six months, when prior to celiac, I had only ever had two. I had to sleep at least 14 hours every night to at least make it out of bed, but the rest of my waking hours were lethargic. I thought getting more exercise would help so I signed up for yoga classes but would have to sit out most of them because of how dizzy I felt. I would easily collapse if the position was slightly strenuous. When I discovered that my symptoms could be related to celiac disease, I was relieved at first. It wasn't cancer at least. And I didn't understand how severe the disease really was. I did not get a formal diagnosis, and just stopped eating gluten, and I thought that would be the answer. Sadly, it was not. The elimination of gluten got rid of the aches and pains and helped me gain my appetite back, but my energy and cognitive functioning had not changed. Once you eliminate gluten after years of being sensitive to it, and especially in those with celiac disease, it can take time for your gut to heal the damage caused by the body's autoimmune reaction to gluten. I had read that it takes most people two years to heal that initial damage, but then of course I read of horror stories from people whose fatigue never went away. I was not going to let that be me. I knew there would be a solution. Just by chance, I watched the documentary "Fantastic Fungi." The film talked about mushrooms having medicinal properties that have not fully been explored in the medical field, and where there are different mushrooms that have cured different illnesses, and some that people use to help treat cancer. After watching, I wanted to research if there were any mushrooms helpful in aiding auto-immune diseases. That is when I happened upon an essay about reishi mushrooms and how they are currently being studied as a potential cure for all auto-immune related disorders. I immediately bought a bag of red reishi powder to try it. When the mushrooms arrived, I took half a teaspoon of it in my tea. I felt instant results. Suddenly my mind was sharper, in a way it hadn't been in a long time. I feared it may have been the placebo effect, but I kept it up. Half a teaspoon of powder every day in tea or smoothies. After a week, I saw myself sleeping less hours. I was able to focus, and my mood shifted for the better. After a month – I was my old self. I now have my energy mostly back. I've been able to work and concentrate. I can function off of a normal eight hours of sleep. And I am slowly but surely gaining weight. I have still had some gluten accidents since then. These mushrooms have in no way prevented my gut from further harm from gluten. But when I previously got glutened, it would be a week or two stuck in bed in pain. Now, it may only be a few days in bed, followed by a week or so of fatigue. So I am still extremely careful, and don't go to restaurants unless they are very strict about cross-contamination and and a fully gluten-free kitchen. Unfortunately the mushrooms aren't a cure and haven't allowed me to deviate from my gluten-free diet, but they have changed how I feel on an average day – which has been a life changer. There is no research yet on why reishi mushrooms help some people with auto-immune related fatigue, and I cannot guarantee they will work for everyone, but they have worked so well for me and have given me my life back. So I thought it was only responsible to spread the word about this magical fungus! If you have celiac disease and have had trouble getting your energy going again, I recommend that you try out reishi mushrooms. *Article edited on 10/19/2020 to clarify that the author is a self diagnosed celiac.
  16. I just read an article saying it usually takes 2 years to recover from celiac disease after going gluten free. Is this accurate? I'm pretty sure my doctor told me 3 weeks or something at the time, but I highly doubt that is accurate as I still have problems and I'm well over a year gluten free. The antibody test they do for celiac disease still was positive, but much better, after 9 months; so it makes sense to me that this normally takes at least a year to heal. I've done 2 elimination diets and currently am on about my 3rd or 4th different diet. I have been starting to feel better after 3 weeks of sugar free on an anti candida diet, and I don't think it's possible to eat better that I do. It sure has been a slow recovery.
  17. Celiac.com 05/08/2020 - Can someone with celiac disease really heal? This is sort of how I see the villi of someone with Celiac disease - flattened with big gaps between. I missed this one, but in November 2019, there were some results from the Nexvax study involving endoscopic biopsies. It confirms what we already knew - blood tests and biopsy results are unrelated and celiac patients are sicker that they should be. The study lists that 93 patients underwent endoscopic biopsies as part of their participation in the Nexvax2 clinical trial. Only SIX patients had Marsh 0 or 1 damage. Marsh 0 or 1 damage is considered normal. Thirty had Marsh 2 damage and fifty-six were Marsh 3a or 3b. The good news is that some people had complete healing. But out of 93 patients, 86 people had enough damage to warrant a celiac diagnosis. More specifically, seventy-eight patients were on a gluten free diet for greater than two years and seronegative (had negative blood tests). 72 out of 78 patients have Marsh 2 or higher damage. Fourty -five or 58% of those tested still had Marsh 3 or higher damage. Typically, Marsh 3 or higher damage is required for celiac diagnosis. So, even after two years of a gluten free diet and clean blood tests, these patients are just as damaged as someone who is just diagnosed with celiac disease. That is disheartening. Now, we always knew there was a chance that people with celiac may never heal. We also know that blood tests and damage are not correlated and this proves that again. How do we know the damage is ongoing without endoscopic biopsies? We don't at this point. Look, I can go off on this and talk about how frustrating it is. How we really need some way to know what is going on in our bodies. How we need something to help us because this diet alone isn't working and these results prove it. But we just have to be patient. I know scientists are working on it. I know volunteers are volunteering to participate in trials. I'm just ready! Here is the study.
  18. Greetings all, I’ve recently learned that I may have some level of gluten sensitivity. I got my blood tested a few weeks ago to and it ruled out Celiac disease. However, I still have a ton side effects (both mental and gastrointestinal) that I’m told can be helped by going on a gluten free diet. With this info, I wonder about how long I should expect until I have relief from the mental symptoms (for me mainly depression, fatigue, brain fog and anhedonia). I’ve been trying to treat my depression, which mainly surfaces as anhedonia (inability to feel interest or any positive emotion) for 5+ years, with nothing really helping. Some of the testimonials I’ve seen online about people having their long depressions be fixed by going gluten-free makes me believe that a gluten intolerance may be the cause of my suffering. I guess what I’m asking is how long was it until you saw relief from you gluten caused symptoms. Primarily I’d like to hear from other who are Gluten sensitive and have had mental health (but will listen to everyone) issues in the past that were fixed from removing gluten from your diet. Thank you. -note 25yr male
  19. Celiac.com 01/09/2020 - Research indicates that having additional medical conditions is associated with a lower quality of life. One study looked at the combined influence of having a chronic disease and their perceived quality of life and wanted to see if it had an impact on suicide-related ideations or suicide attempts. Depression was clearly linked to both. The people who had a lower quality of life had more suicide-related ideation and suicidal attempts than those with a higher quality of life. With the strong association between people with celiac disease and depression, we need to have plenty of tools at hand to support this at-risk population. Intervention techniques, prevention methods, and treatment strategies should be considered for anyone with celiac, even if you do not currently have a diagnosis of depression. There Are Several Factors That May Feed Into Suicide Statistics Hypoperfusion - There is a strong gut-brain connection. People diagnosed with celiac already have villous atrophy in their gut. 73% of people with a sensitivity to wheat have hypoperfusion, a lack of blood flow to the brain. This can be caused by any food sensitivity. Low Levels of Neurotransmitters - Neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin are produced in the gut. A lack of both of these feel good chemicals is associated with depression and anxiety. In fact, 90% of your serotonin levels reside in the gut where it also serves the critical role of helping to stimulate contractions that push food through your intestines. Dysbiosis - Dysbiosis has been linked to major mood disorders. A gluten-free diet starves your body of some much needed nutrients. Nearly 80% of the prebiotics in our diets comes from wheat! These prebiotics are fuel for the probiotics that reside in your gut microbiome. When you take away the primary food supply (wheat) from your beneficial bacteria, you starve the probiotics. They die off unless you replace the prebiotics you’ve been getting from wheat, with other prebiotic foods. As good bacteria dies off, the bad bacteria continues to flourish and reproduce. This creates dysbiosis (an altered microbiome), an environment out of balance. Financial Concerns - Even your finances can have an impact on your mental well being. Several studies have shown finances impact the ability to adhere to a gluten-free diet. A study in Nova Scotia looked at 56 different gluten-free foods and compared them against their counterparts. Across the board, the gluten-free food was more expensive. Financial worries become an additional burden on a person already taxed with other serious concerns. A higher mortality rate is associated with the lack of adherence to a gluten-free diet. Studies show that people who are wealthier are able to comply with the dietary protocol more easily. The lack of adherence may stem from the depression, or it may be a contributing factor toward becoming depressed. Social Engagement Participation - Studies support a reciprocal relationship exists between an engaged lifestyle and cognitive function. People who are actively engaged in social activities, do better cognitively. Also, if you are functioning better cognitively, you are more likely to participate in mental, social, and physical activities. It revealed that they mutually influence each other. Isolation, depression, and high rates of suicide make it imperative that you don’t let a restrictive diet stand in the way of meeting the human need for socialization. Restrictive Diets Restrict Social Life (if you let them) You are faced with a lifetime of family celebrations, weddings, birthday parties, fraternity or sorority parties, festivals, and workplace events while living gluten-free. There is no, “I can’t wait until this is over” moment. Life on a gluten-free diet is from here on out. Food is such a focal point of celebrations for the majority of people, but it can be a source of disappointment and frustration for people with gluten-related disorders. Events can become less and less enjoyable when met with the same predictable frustration. You can’t have what everyone else is having - gluten-laden snacks, drinks, and entrees. You don’t know if that innocent looking side dish is gluten-free, and odds are the person that made it doesn’t either. Asking questions can wear you (and others) down, until you finally throw in the towel. Either you give up asking and eat it against your better judgement despite the impact it will have on your health, or you give up going out altogether in order to control your environment. Over time you may find others pulling away from inviting you to things, or you may pull away from social engagements. It can lead to isolation with Gloom and Doom as your new lifelong companions. Treatment and Intervention Unfortunately, people with celiac find the requirement of living gluten-free restricts their social life. This can lead to either abandonment of your gluten-free protocol (which is an absolute necessity for anyone living with celiac disease), or it can lead you to becoming isolated and lonely. Neither are good. You must adhere to a strict gluten-free diet. Like it or not, it is what your body needs. If you choose to dismiss your body’s need for that, you will see other chronic conditions pop up. They may be more serious and life threatening, or it may simply be more of a nuisance that you have to deal with. But your body will be sending out autoantibodies that attack your own cells, every time you eat even the littlest amount of gluten. Eventually, an autoimmune condition will be diagnosed that reveals what your body was up to. Let’s not do any further damage. Stick to the diet. Find a good therapist. This is especially important if you do not have a built in network of support. It is critical if you have depression. Venting to someone can really help take the weight off of the burdens you carry. Actively work to heal your gut, so it can better support you. You want to make sure that your microbiome is brimming with diversity. It should contain approximately 80% of what we would call good bacteria and 20% of what we might consider bad. Since that gut is sending messages to your brain directing it to how it feels and what it wants, be sure your brain is being steered by the good guys. Reach out for help. If you or a loved one are in crisis and feeling like you want to harm yourself, reach out for a lifeline and call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You are not alone, and they are there to listen. Talk to them and find out how they can best support you during your darkest hours. Thanks to your ancestral design as a species, you function better with a support network to help you survive, and that is still true today. We all need others in our lives. Connect with others. Finding ways to reconnect with lost friends and family or connect with total strangers can be helpful in preventing feelings of loneliness and isolation, which can make depressive thoughts more present. Many celiacs suffer from isolation and exclusion. As their world becomes smaller, it makes suicide prevention even more challenging. So we need to find ways to keep people socially engaged and improve their quality of life. Practical Solutions for Maintaining Social Contact Plan to be spontaneous. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but when you want to continue living spontaneously, you need to be prepared for whatever life may throw at you. Carry a digestive enzyme with you at all times. Choose digestive enzymes that help to break down minor exposures to gluten within approximately an hour. This timing is critical because you want to make sure it is broken down before gluten proteins exit the stomach. That is when the autoimmune response gets triggered. This is not permission to eat foods with gluten, just protection against trace amounts of gluten that you may encounter in a restaurant setting or at a friends house - wherever life may take you. Adhere to that gluten-free diet. Higher mortality rates are associated with the lack of a gluten-free diet. Make sure that you address your gut health wholly, not just the absence of gluten, but the replacement of nutrients lost in the process - like prebiotics and probiotics. Improving your gut health will improve your overall health, including addressing issues surrounding depression and anxiety. Install a gluten-free restaurant locator app on your phone. Wherever you are, when you and your friends or family are ready to eat, find out which restaurants offer food friendly options. To be safe, take a digestive enzyme. One study provided a NIMA Sensor to 804 people. Out of the 5,600+ samples labeled gluten-free in restaurants, almost one-third came back as containing gluten. 27.2% of “gluten-free” breakfast items tested in the study came back as containing gluten. Dinner came in at 34%, with pizza and pasta coming in at skyrocketing numbers. Gluten-free pasta dishes in restaurants contained gluten 50.8% of the time, and gluten-free pizza served in restaurants contained detectable gluten 53.2% of the time. Carry a NIMA Sensor with you. A NIMA Sensor can detect trace amounts of gluten. If you order gluten-free food in a restaurant and it comes back “glutened,” know before you take that bite. Always carry some goodies with you, so you have something to eat. If you end up at a friend’s house, and it looks like almost everything they have is infected with gluten, rather than go home, eat a little something to carry you over or supplement it with the little bit that they do have that is gluten-free, like a piece of fruit. Find alternative opportunities to socialize in places that do not involve food. For instance, enroll in yoga, art classes, or a dance class. Don’t restrict yourself more than necessary. If chronic pain or sickness has you bedridden, talk to your friends and family on the phone. Facetime them or skype. Ask a friend over to watch a movie. Vary the friends a little, so you don’t restrict your world to one friend. Don’t be too embarrassed to ask friends to take you to appointments. You would do it for them if you could. Let them help you. Become the "hostess with the mostest." If you are one of those who loves a good party, show them how it is done with a 100% gluten-free buffet. Have those recipes ready to share with friends and neighbors, so that they can retrieve it for their future events when they are looking for a great recipe or a gluten-free recipe. Let people know that all of the recipes will be gluten-free beforehand, so that anyone with any concerns leaves them at home. Create and provide a list of gluten-free approved snacks for a weekly gathering like book club or game night. If others have food sensitivities, work this into the gluten-free list. It doesn’t matter if you end up with a list of only 5 things. This is just snacks and drinks that everyone can enjoy. This eliminates worries for everyone about what people can or can’t eat, and reduces the competitive urge to keep up with or outdo the person that brought food before them. Find ways to improve your quality of life. A lower quality of life is associated with a higher risk of suicide and a lower adherence to a gluten-free diet. Life may be very different from what you used to dream about, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop dreaming. Create a dream list and modify anything that is food-related to include or address those needs. You may find that most things that would improve your quality of life, have nothing to do with food. Dare to dream. Remember your now is not your future. Don’t cling to where you are now. Figure out where you want to be and how you can get there. Then live out loud.
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