Seeking2012

Celiac Disease (as I currently understand it) means that there is villous atrophy that is being caused by the body’s immune reaction against gliadin proteins. According to literature I’ve read by Dr. Alessio Fasano, an individual can develop Celiac Disease at any time during their lifetime.

Here are the tests that are currently used in the medical community to diagnose Celiac Disease:

• Tissue Transglutaminase Antibodies (tTG-IgA, tTG-IgG)
• Anti-Gliadin Antibodies (AGA-IgA, AGA-IgG)
• Anti-Endomysial Antibodies (EMA-IgA, EMA-IgG)
• Deamidated Gliadin Peptide Antibodies (DGP-IgA, DGP-IgA)
• Total IgA count

Here are the reference ranges for the above-mentioned tests:

Deamidated Gliadin Peptide Antibody IgA:
0-19 is defined as normal

Deamidated Gliadin Peptide Antibody IgG:
0-19 is defined as normal

Tissue Transglutaminase Antibody IgA:
0-3 is defined as normal

Tissue Transglutaminase Antibody IgG:
0-5 is defined as normal

Total IgA Antibody count:
70-400 is defined as normal

Let’s try and define “normal.” What does “normal” mean? Does this mean that people who are perfectly healthy, who are having no reaction to gluten at all, have those numbers? Or does it just mean that people who may be having a reaction to gluten, but not enough to cause villous atrophy, may have those numbers?

I especially find “weak positive” vs “positive” to be hilarious. What does “weak positive” mean? I mean, come on! Does “weak positive” mean they THINK it might cause villous atrophy?

I suppose that scientists and/or doctors have arrived at these numbers as their definition of what (they think) is (maybe) going to cause villous atrophy. However, there are many questions and doubts I have about this, as follows:

1. How do they know that these numbers will or will not cause villous atrophy? What if a DGP IgA value of 15 causes villous atrophy in some people whereas a number of 21 does not cause villous atrophy in others?

2. What if the guy with the 21 number does not have villous atrophy yet because his body only started reacting to gliadin proteins a few months ago and not enough time has passed to develop villous atrophy?

3. Is villous atrophy all we care about? What other forms of damage can a DGP-IgA value of 20+ be doing? What about a value of 15? 10? 5? 1 even?

4. If you have a number greater than 0 of any of these SELF antibodies, doesn’t that mean you have a form of autoimmune disorder? If not, then does the body just make these antibodies just because it feels like it? Is the human body programmed by evolution to make at least a certain amount of these self antibodies (I seriously doubt it), or does it make them in response to stimuli?

5. If the latter, can the stimuli be anything besides gliadin and glutenin proteins? If so, what?

My theory: if your body is making ANY antibodies against SELF tissues, you have an autoimmune disorder, but I don't know what is causing it, nor can I tell you what type of damage it is doing to your body. I know, that's very helpful, isn't it?

What do you guys think?

I did follow most of the instructions from the book but I did change a few things. Instead of coconut oil, I used canola oil. Instead of honey, I used granulated sugar. Instead of baking soda, I used baking powder.

Cake Ingredients:

• 10 eggs
• 1 cup organic raw honey
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda

Once I had everything mixed together, it looked more like caramel so I added more cocoa powder to get it to look more like chocolate or dark chocolate.

The cake came out having a spongy texture (resembling the texture of scrambled eggs). The texture was not that of a soft, familiar and delicate wheat-flour based cake. The flavor also was weird. It tasted less chocolately than I expected. The flavor was not bad but it wasn't good either.

Also, the coconut flour cake seemed like sandpaper as it went down my throat. I remember trying raw coconut flour when it first came in the mail and it went down my throat course and dry. It is similar to cornmeal in this regard.

Is it supposed to be like that?

Ok so I've been thinking about this. If your body is making AGA-IgG or AGA-IgA, doesn't that mean that your body is having an immune reaction to gluten?

AGA-IgG and AGA-IgA are antibodies. Antibodies are products that the body makes in response to what the body thinks is a foreign invader that needs to be killed off. It's an immune response.

If your body is creating ANY sort of immune response to gluten, doesn't that mean you need to stop eating gluten? Long-term low-level immune activity over the long-term could lead to autoimmune diseases or put the body in a state of oxidative stress, right?

What percentage of the population makes AGA-IgG/AGA-IgA antibodies?

I'm wondering what the most delicious flour alternative is to wheat flour. I've heard of almond flour and coconut flour. Are there others? Which one tastes the best? Which one is the lowest in carbs and sugars?

Thanks

NCGS = non-celiac gluten sensitivity

Ok, so I have been experimenting with what I eat and how I feel afterwards. The other day I ate 2 cups of Post Bran Flakes and I felt absolutely horrible. I became irritable, cranky, fatigued, had a lot of trouble making decisions and concentrating, and just felt "woozy." This effect lasted for 6 hours, with the worst of it occuring about 1-3 hours after eating it. My fiance said my eyes looked puffy as though I had cried but I certainly had not cried. I had not been rubbing my eyes either.

Then I skipped a few days of the bran flakes, but still had some foods containing gluten. I felt better.

And then I had 1 cup of the same cereal this morning and I feel irritable, cranky, fatigued, and have trouble concentrating. I'm also experiencing dry eyes and blurry vision.

It's difficult to know if this effect is being caused by the gluten or the carbohydrates. I have posted a list of my other sympotoms on a diabetes forum (can I reveal which forum this is?) which sound a lot like diabetes but I don't have high blood sugar.

A1C = 5.2% and serum blood glucose 4 hours after a bowl of cereal was 107.

What do you guys think? By the way I have not done any celiac disease or NCGS testing at this point.