Celiac Disease Alternative Medicine

Excellent advice for beginners.

I just discovered today that I have celiac disease, and this article was very helpful to me.

Some notes on the herbs and supplements from someone who has studied and used 'alternatives' for the last 15y:

The part of the above 'Roberts Formula' that helps recovery is the Slippery Elm and Marshmallow, which are used to sooth inflamed tissues; commonly in sore throat preparations. Licorice is another good one, but not if you have high blood pressure, and only take it for a short time. Another good gut soother is enteric coated peppermint.

However Echinacea is a T-cell 'booster' and contraindicated for anyone with an auto-immune disorder. Celiacs, therefore should steer clear of it. Goldenseal is an all around anti viral/bacterial/parasitic and is hard on your liver, which is why you should not take it for very long, however still a very useful cold remedy. Like any other anti-bacterial, you should follow your treatment with a beneficial bacterial preparation. You can do this with either a pill, or a good quality yogurt or kefir. Read the labels; the more species listed the better, and of course avoid the Modified Food Starch. For Americans, LifeWay kefir or Horizon yogurt are good choices. These good bacteria are also helpful to form that healing 'slime' spoken of. If you have been experiencing any kind of bowel troubles, whether it is '24 hour stomach flu' or celiac-sprue, those bacteria have been depleted from that condidion. Also maintaining a healthy colony of beneficial bacteria in your gut acts as a barrier for any harmful organisms to take hold, including candida (Yeast infection). A daily dose of your favorite fruit flavored Kefir will do the body; especially the celiac one; a lot of good. If you are lactose intolerant, you should still be able to take this; the bacteria will happily oblige you in digesting all the lactose.

The purpose of the medicinal clay is to absorb toxins, but it doesn't discriminate against vitamins, so if you use the clay, use it for a week or so at a time, and do not supplement, otherwise you are wasting your money.

Also if you intend on taking the 5000 mg of Vit C, work up to it slowly, 500mg/day increase each day from either a starting amount of 500mg, or whatever you currently take. Large doses can be a shock and may give you diarrhea. Everone has a different tolerance for this, but if you don't know yours, it won't hurt to take it slow.

Vit A is indeed the most toxic of the vitamins, but the average person can safely take 5000 IU of activated A (retinyl palmitate) per day. A therapeutic dose is more like 10,000 to 20,000 IU /day UNLESS YOU ARE PREGNANT OR AT RISK OF PREGNANCY then stick to the 5,000 max. Beta Carotene is the un-activated version of Vit. A. There is no upper dose of that, and can be found in great abundance in any colored vegetable/fruit, so don't waste your money on a pill; just go to the produce dept. You store Beta Carotene in your skin, and the liver retreives it and turns it into active Vit A 'as needed'. Part of the reason why Vit A is toxic, is that it is fat soluable so your body stores it instead of passing it like it will water-soluable B vitamins. That means to be safe, you should not engage in a therapeutic dose past the time you need the therapy.

Vit E is used in building the cell walls of every cell in the body, and is our most basic defense against 'free radicals'. 400 IU/day is the dose recommended for a healthy adult. For healing and tissue repair, you can easily double that. Although fat soluable, there is no known upper limit for toxicity; just tolerance, so if your waste becomes oily, back off a little, or break it up into smaller more frequent doses.

Celiacs are notoriously Magnesium deficient, so I would say more than the 400mg is recommended. Yes, too much AT ONCE can cause diarrhea, so avoid liquid preparations (which taste hideous anyway). Go with a chelated preparation. Almost all Calcium pills will have Magnesium as well in a roughly 2:1 ratio, as well as 200 IU Vit D. The problem with this for celiacs is that calcium and magnesium compete for the same ion channels in the cell. So, take additional magnesium (chelation increases the number of absorption pathways available to a nutrient). 200-400 mg 1/day. You can even split this up so that you take the Calcium supplement in the am, and the magnesium in the pm; it might just help you sleep too.

You don't really need much more D if at all from the above; the liver makes it in storage form and you store it in the skin. Sunlight activates it, so 20 min/day of just arms & face exposure is adequate. So if you are very sick, calcium deficient and it is winter in a cold climate, Vit D supplementation above that 200 may be needed, but not much. Darker skinned folks are at a bigger risk of needing D than caucasions.

Any source of EFAs is good. Flax oil is probably the best generic one, and easily available. You can also by flax meal, and add to your home gluten-free baked goods.

All your vitamin pills should be in a capsule form. This is the powder encased in a clear capsule. Liqui-gels are even better if you can find them. Avoid tablets; they are hardest to digest, and if you are a celiac, you might as well eat your money! Also avoid liquids (drinkable preps); they are highly absorbable, but if you gut is 'handicapped' it won't be able to react fast enough to utilize them. Also all vitamins should be taken with food; even if it is just a swig of milk, for best utilization. The papain however should be taken on an empty stomach unless you want it to help you digest your food.

Also don't waste your money on any 'dry' or 'water soluble' A, D or E vitamins. The logic of chemistry is that if they are made this way, they are no longer the vitamin you need. The plain old oil caps are the best and cheapest.

Thank you, thank you for taking the time to give a program that may help!

I am just learning how to eat gluten free . Need all the help I can get

I've been diagnosed celiac for a year now. It's been a rough road. Figuring out what else my body needs balancing the damage that had occurred. But I am wondering if you have celiac, if it can develop, or if your born with it, and how will it affect my future children? Should I just have them avoid it too?

This was very helpful and GREATLY appreciated. Bless you.

Why it's good in fairness. Wish there was a cure for coeliac disease though. I t can get depressing as well as annoying when you're out or in school and you cant eat anything because it contains gluten or might contain gluten. I'm 17 and I have to deal with this. Unfair.

This is extremely useful information to one who is confused and lost about what to do when suffering with this condition.

Some notes on the herbs and supplements from someone who has studied and used 'alternatives' for the last 15y:

 

The part of the above 'Roberts Formula' that helps recovery is the Slippery Elm and Marshmallow, which are used to sooth inflamed tissues; commonly in sore throat preparations. Licorice is another good one, but not if you have high blood pressure, and only take it for a short time. Another good gut soother is enteric coated peppermint.

 

However Echinacea is a T-cell 'booster' and contraindicated for anyone with an auto-immune disorder. Celiacs, therefore should steer clear of it. Goldenseal is an all around anti viral/bacterial/parasitic and is hard on your liver, which is why you should not take it for very long, however still a very useful cold remedy. Like any other anti-bacterial, you should follow your treatment with a beneficial bacterial preparation. You can do this with either a pill, or a good quality yogurt or kefir. Read the labels; the more species listed the better, and of course avoid the Modified Food Starch. For Americans, LifeWay kefir or Horizon yogurt are good choices. These good bacteria are also helpful to form that healing 'slime' spoken of. If you have been experiencing any kind of bowel troubles, whether it is '24 hour stomach flu' or celiac-sprue, those bacteria have been depleted from that condidion. Also maintaining a healthy colony of beneficial bacteria in your gut acts as a barrier for any harmful organisms to take hold, including candida (Yeast infection). A daily dose of your favorite fruit flavored Kefir will do the body; especially the celiac one; a lot of good. If you are lactose intolerant, you should still be able to take this; the bacteria will happily oblige you in digesting all the lactose.

 

The purpose of the medicinal clay is to absorb toxins, but it doesn't discriminate against vitamins, so if you use the clay, use it for a week or so at a time, and do not supplement, otherwise you are wasting your money.

 

Also if you intend on taking the 5000 mg of Vit C, work up to it slowly, 500mg/day increase each day from either a starting amount of 500mg, or whatever you currently take. Large doses can be a shock and may give you diarrhea. Everone has a different tolerance for this, but if you don't know yours, it won't hurt to take it slow.

 

Vit A is indeed the most toxic of the vitamins, but the average person can safely take 5000 IU of activated A (retinyl palmitate) per day. A therapeutic dose is more like 10,000 to 20,000 IU /day UNLESS YOU ARE PREGNANT OR AT RISK OF PREGNANCY then stick to the 5,000 max. Beta Carotene is the un-activated version of Vit. A. There is no upper dose of that, and can be found in great abundance in any colored vegetable/fruit, so don't waste your money on a pill; just go to the produce dept. You store Beta Carotene in your skin, and the liver retreives it and turns it into active Vit A 'as needed'. Part of the reason why Vit A is toxic, is that it is fat soluable so your body stores it instead of passing it like it will water-soluable B vitamins. That means to be safe, you should not engage in a therapeutic dose past the time you need the therapy.

 

Vit E is used in building the cell walls of every cell in the body, and is our most basic defense against 'free radicals'. 400 IU/day is the dose recommended for a healthy adult. For healing and tissue repair, you can easily double that. Although fat soluable, there is no known upper limit for toxicity; just tolerance, so if your waste becomes oily, back off a little, or break it up into smaller more frequent doses.

 

Celiacs are notoriously Magnesium deficient, so I would say more than the 400mg is recommended. Yes, too much AT ONCE can cause diarrhea, so avoid liquid preparations (which taste hideous anyway). Go with a chelated preparation. Almost all Calcium pills will have Magnesium as well in a roughly 2:1 ratio, as well as 200 IU Vit D. The problem with this for celiacs is that calcium and magnesium compete for the same ion channels in the cell. So, take additional magnesium (chelation increases the number of absorption pathways available to a nutrient). 200-400 mg 1/day. You can even split this up so that you take the Calcium supplement in the am, and the magnesium in the pm; it might just help you sleep too.

 

You don't really need much more D if at all from the above; the liver makes it in storage form and you store it in the skin. Sunlight activates it, so 20 min/day of just arms & face exposure is adequate. So if you are very sick, calcium deficient and it is winter in a cold climate, Vit D supplementation above that 200 may be needed, but not much. Darker skinned folks are at a bigger risk of needing D than caucasions.

Any source of EFAs is good. Flax oil is probably the best generic one, and easily available. You can also by flax meal, and add to your home gluten-free baked goods.

 

All your vitamin pills should be in a capsule form. This is the powder encased in a clear capsule. Liqui-gels are even better if you can find them. Avoid tablets; they are hardest to digest, and if you are a celiac, you might as well eat your money! Also avoid liquids (drinkable preps); they are highly absorbable, but if you gut is 'handicapped' it won't be able to react fast enough to utilize them. Also all vitamins should be taken with food; even if it is just a swig of milk, for best utilization. The papain however should be taken on an empty stomach unless you want it to help you digest your food.

 

Also don't waste your money on any 'dry' or 'water soluble' A, D or E vitamins. The logic of chemistry is that if they are made this way, they are no longer the vitamin you need. The plain old oil caps are the best and cheapest.

Great Info Thank you.

Some notes on the herbs and supplements from someone who has studied and used 'alternatives' for the last 15y:

 

The part of the above 'Roberts Formula' that helps recovery is the Slippery Elm and Marshmallow, which are used to sooth inflamed tissues; commonly in sore throat preparations. Licorice is another good one, but not if you have high blood pressure, and only take it for a short time. Another good gut soother is enteric coated peppermint.

 

However Echinacea is a T-cell 'booster' and contraindicated for anyone with an auto-immune disorder. Celiacs, therefore should steer clear of it. Goldenseal is an all around anti viral/bacterial/parasitic and is hard on your liver, which is why you should not take it for very long, however still a very useful cold remedy. Like any other anti-bacterial, you should follow your treatment with a beneficial bacterial preparation. You can do this with either a pill, or a good quality yogurt or kefir. Read the labels; the more species listed the better, and of course avoid the Modified Food Starch. For Americans, LifeWay kefir or Horizon yogurt are good choices. These good bacteria are also helpful to form that healing 'slime' spoken of. If you have been experiencing any kind of bowel troubles, whether it is '24 hour stomach flu' or celiac-sprue, those bacteria have been depleted from that condidion. Also maintaining a healthy colony of beneficial bacteria in your gut acts as a barrier for any harmful organisms to take hold, including candida (Yeast infection). A daily dose of your favorite fruit flavored Kefir will do the body; especially the celiac one; a lot of good. If you are lactose intolerant, you should still be able to take this; the bacteria will happily oblige you in digesting all the lactose.

 

The purpose of the medicinal clay is to absorb toxins, but it doesn't discriminate against vitamins, so if you use the clay, use it for a week or so at a time, and do not supplement, otherwise you are wasting your money.

 

Also if you intend on taking the 5000 mg of Vit C, work up to it slowly, 500mg/day increase each day from either a starting amount of 500mg, or whatever you currently take. Large doses can be a shock and may give you diarrhea. Everone has a different tolerance for this, but if you don't know yours, it won't hurt to take it slow.

 

Vit A is indeed the most toxic of the vitamins, but the average person can safely take 5000 IU of activated A (retinyl palmitate) per day. A therapeutic dose is more like 10,000 to 20,000 IU /day UNLESS YOU ARE PREGNANT OR AT RISK OF PREGNANCY then stick to the 5,000 max. Beta Carotene is the un-activated version of Vit. A. There is no upper dose of that, and can be found in great abundance in any colored vegetable/fruit, so don't waste your money on a pill; just go to the produce dept. You store Beta Carotene in your skin, and the liver retreives it and turns it into active Vit A 'as needed'. Part of the reason why Vit A is toxic, is that it is fat soluable so your body stores it instead of passing it like it will water-soluable B vitamins. That means to be safe, you should not engage in a therapeutic dose past the time you need the therapy.

 

Vit E is used in building the cell walls of every cell in the body, and is our most basic defense against 'free radicals'. 400 IU/day is the dose recommended for a healthy adult. For healing and tissue repair, you can easily double that. Although fat soluable, there is no known upper limit for toxicity; just tolerance, so if your waste becomes oily, back off a little, or break it up into smaller more frequent doses.

 

Celiacs are notoriously Magnesium deficient, so I would say more than the 400mg is recommended. Yes, too much AT ONCE can cause diarrhea, so avoid liquid preparations (which taste hideous anyway). Go with a chelated preparation. Almost all Calcium pills will have Magnesium as well in a roughly 2:1 ratio, as well as 200 IU Vit D. The problem with this for celiacs is that calcium and magnesium compete for the same ion channels in the cell. So, take additional magnesium (chelation increases the number of absorption pathways available to a nutrient). 200-400 mg 1/day. You can even split this up so that you take the Calcium supplement in the am, and the magnesium in the pm; it might just help you sleep too.

 

You don't really need much more D if at all from the above; the liver makes it in storage form and you store it in the skin. Sunlight activates it, so 20 min/day of just arms & face exposure is adequate. So if you are very sick, calcium deficient and it is winter in a cold climate, Vit D supplementation above that 200 may be needed, but not much. Darker skinned folks are at a bigger risk of needing D than caucasions.

Any source of EFAs is good. Flax oil is probably the best generic one, and easily available. You can also by flax meal, and add to your home gluten-free baked goods.

 

All your vitamin pills should be in a capsule form. This is the powder encased in a clear capsule. Liqui-gels are even better if you can find them. Avoid tablets; they are hardest to digest, and if you are a celiac, you might as well eat your money! Also avoid liquids (drinkable preps); they are highly absorbable, but if you gut is 'handicapped' it won't be able to react fast enough to utilize them. Also all vitamins should be taken with food; even if it is just a swig of milk, for best utilization. The papain however should be taken on an empty stomach unless you want it to help you digest your food.

 

Also don't waste your money on any 'dry' or 'water soluble' A, D or E vitamins. The logic of chemistry is that if they are made this way, they are no longer the vitamin you need. The plain old oil caps are the best and cheapest.

Leigh, some comments regarding your advice on the supplements recommended for celiacs.

Echinacea has dramatically reduced the incidences of flu and colds my celiac daughter experiences. She was sick every 2nd week and now never sick with flu or cold, echinacea is well tolerated by her, as a daily supplement during flu season.

Vitamin D is essential for anyone not living near the equator per Dr. Vieth of the University of Toronto, he has studied vitamin D for 30 years.

I was diagnosed with celiac in 1995, and so far this article has been the only helpful one that I have read.

Good information I am having tests at the moment to check if I have celiac. Thank you.