What Goes On, Goes In (Gluten in Skin Care Products)

Just One Milligram of Gluten: Is it Worth the Risk?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Just one milligram. That is truly all it takes. As mentioned by Dr. Thomas O’Bryan in Unlocking the Mystery of Wheat and Gluten Intolerance, that is just one sixteenth of the size of a fingernail.

During the lecture caught on camera, Dr. O’Bryan talks about a woman whose intestines were badly damaged by her continued ingestion of gluten and refused to heal, because she was ingesting just one milligram of gluten per day.

And considering the range of symptoms that celiac disease is capable of, ranging from neurological to intestinal, it seems entirely possible that gluten absorbed through the skin may even manifest in ways that are unfamiliar.Ways that to you and I may be harder to pinpoint, harder to associate with gluten. So why then do we risk it?

Consider the number of personal care products you use in a day. If you sit down to list each one from toothpaste to mascara, you will likely find as many as 20, as few as 10. And if most of those products contain gluten, isn’t is entirely likely that the skin, our largest organ, which is capable of absorbing up to 60% of what is applied to it topically (according to Good Housekeeping Institute) can absorb one milligram?

All of us with gluten sensitivities are held accountable for something of utter importance: our health. And it is the realization of the vast improvement of our health and well being when adhering to a gluten free lifestyle that motivates us. We prepare our own foods, we call restaurants ahead of time, we eat before a party, we share with others our wealth of gluten free knowledge. And manufacturers are responding. That is one of the most exciting things—to see our efforts being realized!

They are even formulating cosmetic products with us in mind, replacing wheat germ derived Vitamin E with that from corn. Leaving out hydrolyzed wheat proteins—a major ingredient in shampoos and hair products. In a sense, slowly but surely, they too are going gluten free. And perhaps this will help more than just those who are already diagnosed. Perhaps some of the 97% undiagnosed gluten sensitive will notice the influx of gluten free labeling and question their own health and diet. Maybe just by looking out for our own health and families, we truly can help spread the word!

I'd Rather be Gluten Free

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

After explaining to a friend the prescribed action for celiac disease or severe gluten intolerance—a lifetime avoidance of gluten from wheat, barley and rye—I am often met with the sympathetic reply, “that must be really difficult.”

As someone living with severe gluten sensitivity, I know that most days it’s not so bad, and only occasionally do I rush starving into a convenience store voracious, in search of any allowable snack. Though ultimately, I, like most would still argue that living without gluten is much easier than living with it and all of its awful effects.

IBS, constipation, gas, bloating, brain-fog, acne, rosacea, dermatitis herpetiformis are all symptoms of celiac disease and gluten intolerance. So is it easier to treat, accept and mask any one, or even all of these afflictions or to shop specifically for gluten free foods, cook more meals at home, order off the menu and read food and cosmetic labels?

Of course, I do occasionally long for the days when a lazy Friday evening dinner required no more than dialing up a pizza company. But when I recall my life before going gluten free, the days during which I was 10 pounds heavier, fighting off unexplained acne breakouts, brain-fog and other digestive troubles, all of which required multiple medications and treatments, I can easily reply, “It’s really not so bad.”

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to a Haircut (Gluten and the Beauty Salon)

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

My last visit to the salon left my hair dresser quite concerned. While combing out my wet hair for cutting, she noticed that several small red bumps had just popped up on the back of my scalp. The rash-like bumps were not there before my shampoo, which to me made perfect sense: gluten in the shampoo. But to her, was a new concept: sensitivities to hair products.

I did a quick investigation by recapping the ingredients in the shampoo and conditioner, and my suspicions were confirmed: these products contained gluten. Since going gluten-free late last year, I did begin to find that gluten containing shampoos and hair products caused small breakouts or red bumps along my hairline. And as stated by Dr. Kenneth Fine of EnteroLab: “Gluten sensitivity is a systemic immune reaction to gluten anywhere in the body.” Which means that my scalp is just as likely to react to gluten as my tummy.

Fortunately, the bumps disappeared a few hours later, after I had re-washed my hair with gluten-free products. Though the whole incident has me wondering; will those with gluten sensitivities have to start approaching a salon or cosmetics counter just as we would a food menu. Fortunately, more restaurants than not these days seem aware of food allergies and sensitivities. But educating our hair stylists and make-up artists will be a whole other challenge.

I have actually been able to find some amazingly effective, pure and gluten-free topical products to help maintain a gluten-free lifestyle inside and out. I suppose that those with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities will spread the word on topical gluten one hair stylist and make-up artist at a time, just as the word was spread to one chef or waiter at a time. And yes, the next time I visit the salon, I just may bring my own shampoo.

Finding effective and 100% natural products

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Finding effective and 100% natural products that perform up to my standards was already a challenge, so naturally, finding those products that are also gluten-free was no easy task. In the midst of all my searching, I wondered if I was simply being silly. Since going gluten-free in my diet, my skin had vastly improved, my rosacea was hardly noticeable, and the annoying acne that had begun to plague my back and chest a few years prior was gone.

I did notice that gluten-containing shampoos and conditioners tended to cause breakouts around my hairline, but still I thought that for gluten to adversely affect me, it probably had to be eaten and pass through my digestive tract. In the many gluten-free books I read, I found mention of gluten in the diet causing acne, rosacea, rashes, eczema, dermatitis herpetiformis.

Chronic dermatitis characterized by eruption of itching papules, vesicles, and lesions resembling hives typically in clusters, which is caused by gluten sensitivity, dermatitis herpetiformis, psoriasis, but nothing spoke of the effect of topical products containing gluten.

So I consulted the renowned Dr. Fine, creator of EnteroLab.com, whose site has helped scores of patients in accurately diagnosing food sensitivities such as gluten, cow’s milk, eggs and dietary yeast intolerances. Here is what he had to say:

Gluten sensitivity is a systemic immune reaction to gluten anywhere in the body, not just that entering the body via the gut. Therefore, topically applied lotions, creams, shampoos, etc. containing gluten would indeed provide a source of gluten to the body, and we therefore recommend all such products be discontinued for optimal health.

Psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis herpetiformis are the most classically associated, but many non-specific skin symptoms appear as well.

Considering that up to 60% of a product applied to the skin can be absorbed into the bloodstream, applying a product that I know contains gluten is a risk I am simply not willing to take.