[spicenator3000]

Over the last few years I have noticed an increase in my immune systems strength as I've changed my diet over to gluten free. Students and friends get sick around me as usual but I show very little symptoms and in fact recovery very quickly. The only issue I have if this is true is, my system is working over time and when I'm partly feeling symptoms I'm not taking care of my health as if I were sick. Feels like I'm getting over taxed not to mention I could be getting those around me sick (I'm a virus carrying "friend") and they don't really appreciate that. Any insight into this little issue or proof if true or false?


GW

[Ahorsesoul]

I noticed this too. Having gone from always sick with something to hardly ever sick is really nice.

[luvthelake21]

The opposite is true for my family, when they get stressed them having a autoimune disease they get run down and catch every thing

[ravenwoodglass]

I haven't even had a cold since 2002. Even when I worked in the school system where colds and viruses are always present. When I was diagnosed my doctor told me my immune system was in 'hyperdrive' because of the celiac. It was so busy fighting the gluten that it couldn't fight even the smallest bug and thus I was catching everything that came around. Now that I am gluten free I think my body got used to being at such high alert that it tackles any bug swiftly preventing me from actually getting sick. I also am a fanatic about handwashing as soon as I walk through the door at home and am very careful about not touching my nose or eyes so that may have something to do with it also.

[amberlynn]

I don't know, but my son hardly ever gets sick, and when he does he's the first to recover. Makes sense. His body is so used to fighting his allergies that it is in hyperdrive all the time.
I would have sworn he was getting the dlue, but the enxt day he was fine.

[LoriLa]

ravenwoodglass, on Nov 12 2009, 04:45 AM, said:

I haven't even had a cold since 2002. Even when I worked in the school system where colds and viruses are always present. When I was diagnosed my doctor told me my immune system was in 'hyperdrive' because of the celiac. It was so busy fighting the gluten that it couldn't fight even the smallest bug and thus I was catching everything that came around. Now that I am gluten free I think my body got used to being at such high alert that it tackles any bug swiftly preventing me from actually getting sick. I also am a fanatic about handwashing as soon as I walk through the door at home and am very careful about not touching my nose or eyes so that may have something to do with it also.

I am newly diagnosed and have been gluten free since April. I was ALWAYS sick. I work as a school nurse so of course that did not help. This fall came along and I kept waiting to get sick. It has not happened! I have been sick every fall as long as I can remember since my childhood. It has to be my immune system or what was a lack of responding to the diet.

[angieInCA]

I was the person who had a cold every 6 to 8 weeks. I caught everything coming and going. I would get a sinus infection 2 to 3 times a year and it would develope into bronchitis. I had the flu at least once if not twice a year. I've been gluten-free for just over a year and I don't remember the last time I was sick. I haven't taken an antibiotic in over 10 months. I may feel like I'm catching something for a day or two but I always seem to rally without actually geting sick.

[Gemini]

spicenator3000, on Nov 11 2009, 06:59 PM, said:

Over the last few years I have noticed an increase in my immune systems strength as I've changed my diet over to gluten free. Students and friends get sick around me as usual but I show very little symptoms and in fact recovery very quickly. The only issue I have if this is true is, my system is working over time and when I'm partly feeling symptoms I'm not taking care of my health as if I were sick. Feels like I'm getting over taxed not to mention I could be getting those around me sick (I'm a virus carrying "friend") and they don't really appreciate that. Any insight into this little issue or proof if true or false?


GW

Here is my very unscientific but telling experience......all of my relatives who I suspect of having GS/celiac disease but have a denial problem about it have been deathly ill with the flu this past month. My mother actually was hospitalized because it progressed into pneumonia. They all were out for the count for a full 2 weeks.

My sister, who is at least gluten sensitive, maybe Celiac, follows the gluten-free diet most of the time but she does cheat from time to time. She has been around the rest of them and has not caught the flu from them....at least not yet. I have had nary a sniffle at all this flu season and feel fine. I am diligently gluten-free....a real gluten nazi! As I had to listen to some of them complaining about how sick they were and the fact they have been sick a lot this year and how it is affecting their quality of life, I nearly bit through my tongue. I wanted to scream at them and tell them it's because they have a gluten problem and maybe, just maybe, if they went gluten-free, their health might improve. However, I didn't say anything because I have been down that road and don't want any more verbal abuse for stating the obvious! I truly believe they get sick so much because they are run down from eating food they shouldn't be eating. Very unscientific but I also don't need a brick hit to the head to see the obvious connection......

[Jestgar]

Whether your body over-responds, or under-responds to any insult is a function of the underlying genetics.

http://www.jimmunol....ract/175/4/2570

The response (or lack thereof) could be heightened by your gluten response status, but it's unlikely that your health is directly attributable to your gluten-eating habits.

[Gemini]

Quote

The response (or lack thereof) could be heightened by your gluten response status, but it's unlikely that your health is directly attributable to your gluten-eating habits.

Unless I am misunderstanding your post, I think this statement is a load of horse pucky!

If someone has undiagnosed Celiac Disease and continues to eat gluten, their health most certainly will be directly affected. I think that has squat to do with genetics, other than it was the gene pool which gave a person the predisposition to trigger for the disease. All the inflammation which occurs as a result of ingesting gluten will run you down and make a person much more susceptible to other viruses and illnesses. I am now much healthier than most of my family combined and we all share a similar gene pool. The difference is I am strictly gluten-free and they choose not to be.

[Jestgar]

What I meant was, the degree of your response to illness is independent of your response to gluten. That doesn't mean that eating gluten doesn't affect your immune system, but it's an overlying condition, the degree of your response is dependent on a different set of genes.

[Gemini]

Jestgar, on Dec 3 2009, 12:13 PM, said:

What I meant was, the degree of your response to illness is independent of your response to gluten. That doesn't mean that eating gluten doesn't affect your immune system, but it's an overlying condition, the degree of your response is dependent on a different set of genes.

Thanks for clarifying what you meant!