Being Poor and Dirty May Help Protect Against Celiac Disease

If being 'poor and dirty' protected against celiac I certainly would have never developed it. Perhaps the poor in Russia have had to live without the bread and the other artificially glutened food ingredients that are rampant here in the US. But being poor in the US means you live off bread and cheap foods many of which should be gluten free but have had the substance added to it.

This research study leaves a lot of unanswered questions. The idea that here in the US you are less likely to have celiac if you are 'poor and dirty' is so ridiculous it isn't even funny.

This is not surprising. In nature, defective genetics are quickly removed from a population. Affluence allows defective genes like celiac to be compensated for, allowing the carriers to pass their defective genes on in the affluent population.

There was a study that showed that the exposure to sunlight of the child early on was the Problem. Lack of Sunlight may be bad. If the poorer children got out more

then investigate the Sun's rays too. Oregon and Washington states large populations are having very low sun because of cloud cover. And I believe they

are high on the Celiac occurrences too. Also, the Coastal cities of Ireland probably have cloud cover. I also heard that the Jews that went into hiding had little sunlight and were under stress... check it out. Thanks.

Krista is right. This is very interesting research but the 'poor and dirty' idea is a guess. The researchers need to look hard at the typical diets of the two groups before they leap into their sanitation - so to speak. When my ancestors were poor and dirty - farm laborers in the north of England in the early 19th C and before - they would have eaten mainly oat cakes, vegetables and a bit of meat. The celiac gene would barely have been tickled awake.

Obviously, being poor cannot directly affect the chance of getting celiac, but it is almost equally obvious that being dirty could directly affect the chance of getting celiac. It all has to do with developing immunities. Of course, it could also be that some dirty poor people die from immune problems and the ones who are left (natural selection) to be surveyed are the ones who were born with certain immunities.

I am really curious to know what foods comprise the main parts of the diet for each group. I agree with Krista; typically some of the cheapest foods contain wheat, like bread and pasta. In many places rice or potatoes would come first, but I would be curious to know the result of that same test in the US. Here our cheapest foods are basically all wheat-based, or at least, that's what people think to buy first; a loaf of bread, a box of macaroni and cheese, a dollar-menu big Mac, the list continues. My hypothesis for that same study done here in the US would be for it come out opposite from the Russian study.

The assumption that poverty and dirt is the 'causal' factor seems a little premature. Perhaps the poor people in Russia spend more time outdoors? Given the slew of recent medical research connecting cholecalciferol (vitamin D) deficiency and higher rates of autoimmune diseases (among other things), MAYBE time in the sunshine is the real difference behind the rates of celiac in these two populations. In any case, 'poverty' implies a lot of lifestyle differences besides 'dirt.'

If Celiac comes from being too clean then what's genetic predisposition got to do with it? My whole family (Mother, her siblings) are equally clean, and they don't seem have Celiac, but I do. How could one of us be too clean?

I agree with the others that more investigation into the diet and lifestyle differences between the countries is warranted. But I find it a fascinating study and hypothesis. There is a similar 'hygiene hypothesis' in the development of allergies that has been studied a lot more and is really gaining steam.

I have a hard time buying the thought of being in poverty will help protect you from developing celiac disease. Kristia is right, here in the U.S. the food that gets donated to food banks and issued by the government is high in gluten. Since this is a gene-related disease, has any one ever thought about inter family marriages as a possible factor, for the richer people to have a higher level of celiac? Back over hundreds of years, there were a lot of rich families marring each other. Just a thought.

I agree with Krista, too. I'm 1/2 Finnish and can tell you that I grew up with a fine Finnish baker for a grandmother - and she was 'allergic' to wheat (and had alopecia and arthritis). I also grew up poor and dirty. Wish I could say I grew up in an Asian community ...

The results could also be interpreted that those having celiac disease are less likely to thrive & reproduce when born into squalor, compared to celiacs born into better conditions who have more resources and become able to reproduce.