Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Where Your Contribution Counts!
    eNewsletter
    Support Us!

Random Questions I'm Wondering About


nosy parker

Recommended Posts

nosy parker Apprentice

1- Why does it sound like being gluten-free is scary "healthwise"? I keep reading that it's very hard to get your required nutrients when on this diet.  I would have thought the opposite to be true.  I mean wouldn't eating healthy proteins (meat) and a lot of veggies, fruit etc.. be good for you?  You could still have dairy.  Maybe fiber would be a bit tougher but doable also.  So what's up with that?

 

2- If so many endo samples are necessary because the damage can be patchy, wouldn't that mean that a great majority of the intestine is healthy?  This wouldn't cause nutritional deficiency, would it?  I understand that eventually the damage would spread and earlier diagnosis is better, but why do so many experience nutritional deficiencies if the damage isn't bad enough to be obvious in endo?

 

3- Does the damge always start from the top down?  I don't think the endo goes past the duodenum, right?  Is it possible for the damge to be much further down first and spread upwards?  If not, why does it start at the top?

 

4-Does celiac affect your alcohol tolerance?  I've noticed a huge change in this for me.  A small glass of wine hits me really hard and makes my heart beat really fast.  I don't feel very well after and I certainly never had this issue.  I always assumed it's aging, but it's made me wonder if there is now something wrong with my liver. I soooo enjoy a glass of wine, but now every time I have one I regret it later and think I'm going to have to give it up altogether. :(

 

Just stuff that's been floating around in my head and I've been wondering about!  Thanks.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Deaminated Marcus Apprentice

Nosy Parker... I'll answer questions 1 and 4...

 

1. That annoys me so much when I hear nutrition experts say that the gluten free diet is un-nutritional.

     I've been doing the gluten challenge and when I cranked up on the bread, it meant I wasn't eating as much vegetables like the purple cabbage and carrots etc etc that I was eating in my salad.
       I can feel that I'm not getting the nutrition when I'm doing the gluten challenge. 

       What are the nutritionists thinking when they look down on the gluten free diet?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
notme Experienced

1.  yeah, doesn't make much sense but i think alot of processed foods are 'enriched' with extra vitamins that you don't really think about unless you have to - like we do - and you could end up deficient on certain ones.  i get my blood tested - am low on D so i take a supplement.  also i supplement extra B-12.  if you are taking a gluten-free multi-vitamin it's probably a good idea.

 

2.  they have a long way to go as far as celiac testing!  really, even (and i hate to use this over-used word!) awareness has a long way to go.  

 

3.  i don't know where it starts.  i know when i started healing it felt like it started at the top.  i also know that when i had my endoscopy, the doc could actually see the damage.  she told me if i wanted to there was a camera/capsule i could swallow and it would go all the way thru (???)  i was like, ahhh!  no!  if she had already had a diagnosis it was good enough for me.  maybe your doc would do that? 

 

4.  haha - alot of people turn into cheap dates once they go gluten-free.  i always attributed it to my intestines being able to absorb things now.  including alcohol  :)  i watch myself when i never really had to before.  wine will make me zero to floor very quickly!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nvsmom Community Regular

1- Why does it sound like being gluten-free is scary "healthwise"? I keep reading that it's very hard to get your required nutrients when on this diet.  I would have thought the opposite to be true.  I mean wouldn't eating healthy proteins (meat) and a lot of veggies, fruit etc.. be good for you?  You could still have dairy.  Maybe fiber would be a bit tougher but doable also.  So what's up with that?

 

2- If so many endo samples are necessary because the damage can be patchy, wouldn't that mean that a great majority of the intestine is healthy?  This wouldn't cause nutritional deficiency, would it?  I understand that eventually the damage would spread and earlier diagnosis is better, but why do so many experience nutritional deficiencies if the damage isn't bad enough to be obvious in endo?

 

3- Does the damge always start from the top down?  I don't think the endo goes past the duodenum, right?  Is it possible for the damge to be much further down first and spread upwards?  If not, why does it start at the top?

 

4-Does celiac affect your alcohol tolerance?  I've noticed a huge change in this for me.  A small glass of wine hits me really hard and makes my heart beat really fast.  I don't feel very well after and I certainly never had this issue.  I always assumed it's aging, but it's made me wonder if there is now something wrong with my liver. I soooo enjoy a glass of wine, but now every time I have one I regret it later and think I'm going to have to give it up altogether. :(

 

Just stuff that's been floating around in my head and I've been wondering about!  Thanks.

1. I think eating gluten-free can be less healthy if you replace every "glutenous" fortified food with unfortified gluten-free food, bread slice for bread slice, without switching to whole foods. If you up you veggies and proteins, I don't see how it could be less healthy.... But not all celiacs do that.

2. I have read in a few places that the nutritional deficiencies could be caused largely by inflammation and not just the villi blunting. This makes sense to me because it would help explain why non-celiac gluten intolerant (NCGI) individuals have deficiencies, as well as those with other autoimmune diseases.

i did not have a endoscopy done but from my very positive ttg IgA and EMA tests, And over thirty years of symptoms, i assume that I had a fair deal of villi blunting but I had absolutely zero nutritional deficiencies- in fact my B12 was above range. There are no hard and fast rules for this... Perhaps my organic diet helped, or maybe it was the ton of supplements I take, or maybe I was lucky. Who knows. :)

I can't help with your last questions. I don't know how the damage usually occurs. As for alcohol, I am a lightweight too but I thought that was from lack of practice. Lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

1. I think the only info about eating gluten free being less healthy is directed at people who are doing it because they think it is healthier.  As already mentioned, wheat flour is fortified in most developed parts of the world, whereas alot of the other flours aren't. Of course a diet rich in produce and meat is going to be more nutrient packed. White flours I think are digested really easily too, so you're not going to be crapping out nutrients like you will be if you aren't digesting things well.

 

2. A few things about this. Firstly, many people who are celiac and gluten sensitive have other intestinal problems, like diarrhea. Specifically, this means food is going to be passed through you quickly, in all likliehood, too quickly to get absorbed properly. Other things like bloating could indicate SIBO where bacteria will interfere with nutrient breakdown. Secondly, lots of non-celiacs have nutrient deficiencies, like probably everyone in Canada in winter who doesn't take vitamin D. Thirdly, not everyone has 'patchy' villi, and it could very well be that the people who have fairly good villi tend to not be nutrient deficient. Lastly, a lesson I took a long time to learn, is that not all these vitamin deficiency symptoms are actually vitamin deficiency. For instance, I have been trying to figure out my peripheral neuropathy for ages. I supplemented, I triple checked for diabetes, and when I found out that I was a celiac, I thought 'oh good, I AM deficient in vitamins, I probably just need to up my b12 intake'. I know better now, and only because when I was glutened and my teeth ached in a weird pattern and way that reminded me of how my feet and hands can hurt, did I fully delve into the literature and found that celiac disease causes peripheral neuropathy by actually having my own immune system attacking my own nerves. Intestinal damage is just the well-known surface of this auto-immune disease.

 

3. Possibly it does damage everything in a patchy way. They only look at the duodenum because it's easiest to access, and even though it might be possible to look at and biopsy many more parts of the intestine NOW, historically it wasn't done. You could check it out in googlescholar, there might be papers published about doctors researching where celiac damage can be found.

 

4. Join the club! I hate having to give up alcohol, but I know I should. I hope it's not a liver problem, if so, it's only arisen in me since being gluten-free! (My liver was tested often before the celiac diagnosis, 'There's nothing wrong with you!'.) Actually, a lot of people say the same thing. It really sucks but the more clean I eat, the more alcohol hits me hard, fast, and leaves me with a headache. One drink.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,506
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    NanaA
    Newest Member
    NanaA
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Do you have online access to your celiac panel test results such that you could post them? tTG-IGG is kind of a secondary test. A weak positive in that one could indicate celiac disease but since it isn't as specific a marker as the tTG-IGA it is not real convincing. You could also have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) for which there is no test. Celiac disease must first be ruled out. It is 10x more common than celiac disease and shares many of the same symptoms. Some experts believe it can be a precursor to celiac disease. The antidote for both is the same: total avoidance of gluten.
    • powerofpositivethinking
      I haven't been on this forum for a long time, but it was absolutely wonderful during the diagnostic process!  My path for celiac disease diagnosis was the following: -Had normal IgA level, and my only serology positive test was the DGP IgG -Deficiencies in both Vitamins D and K that did not increase at first despite massive supplementation -Diagnosis of fat malabsorption both total and neutral -Diagnosis of severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) -Testing was completed to rule out causes of EPI, and the only one not ruled out was celiac. -Both traditional endoscopy and pill capsule endoscopy yielded negative results for biopsy confirmation, but my GI doctor said that both procedures simply could have missed the damaged spots. -EPI and fat malabsorption resolved after taking Creon for 6 months since my EPI was caused by celiac -23 and Me said I don't have either of the two prominent genes for celiac disease   Remember that you might not have 'textbook' symptoms, but you still may have celiac disease.   Also, I am SO incredibly grateful for this site for all the learning it has allowed me to do. I have a senior dog, and these last few weeks with her were very scary! After two hospital stays, she finally received an IBD diagnosis after having gastroenteritis and pancreatitis. I know that celiac disease is not IBD, however, through reading this site, I learned more about it. I was relieved when I found out she had IBD and not cancer this past Wednesday. I know IBD can be managed thanks to what I've learned here!  So celiac.com, not only did you help me, but you helped my pup too! Thank you ❤️  
    • SuzanneL
      It was tTG IGG that was flagged high. I'm not sure about the other stuff. I'm still eating my normal stuff. 
    • cristiana
      Thank you for your post, @Nedast, and welcome to the forum. It is interesting to read of your experiences. Although I've not had TMJ, from time to time I have had a bit of mild pain in my jaw, sharp stabbing pains and tingling in my face which appears to have been caused by issues with my trigeminal nerve.  I read that sometimes a damaged trigeminal nerve in coeliacs can heal after adopting a gluten free diet.  I try to keep out of cold winds or wear a scarf over my face when it is cold and windy, those conditions tend to be my 'trigger' but I do think that staying clear of gluten has helped.  Also, sleeping with a rolled up towel under my neck is a tip I picked up online, again, that seems to bring benefits. Thank you again for your input - living with this sort of pain can be very hard, so it is good to be able to share advice.
    • Julie Riordan
      I am going to France in two weeks and then to Portugal in May   Thanks for your reply 
×
×
  • Create New...