Looking Young - Gluten Sensitivity?

[AudreyD]

Hi,

 

I'm a 34 year old woman who looks ridiculously young for her age. I was wondering if a gluten sensitivity could be the cause? I am quite tall, 5 feet 8 inches so I don't think it's a hormonal deficiency, I dress normally and my hair looks normal too but I have the face of a teenager and I don't understand why. This has affected me in every aspect of my life from relationships to employment and I'm now very depressed because of it.

 

I do have health problems that could be linked to gluten. I have had pcos-like symptoms since my teenage years although I've never been diagnosed with it. I had acne, took low dose Accutane for 3 months when I was 19 which eliminated most of it permanently. I've had irregular menstrual cycles (too close together) all my life and ovarian cysts.

 

I also have tmj problems, social anxiety disorder and occasional dizziness.

 

I don't think I've ever been tested for celiac because I don't know what the test is. I had a complete blood test and urine test done about 6 months ago which was normal and several years ago I had a blood test for hormones which also turned out normal although my DHEA levels were in the high-normal range.

 

Do you think I might have a gluten sensitivity? Could it be the cause of my ageless face?

 

Thanks!

Edited November 8, 2013 by AudreyD

[nvsmom]

I doubt that will be a common problem amongst celiacs or those with NCGI. Autoimmune diseases tend to age a person. I'm a bit stooped from back issues, have thinning hair, acne... not things that help us look young.

 

Sun tanning could give you some wrinkles...

[cyclinglady]

Here's a link to the University of Chicago's Celiac website that discusses the actual components of a Celiac Blood Test:

 

http://www.cureceliacdisease.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CDCFactSheets3_Antibody.pdf

 

I don't think looking young is a celiac symptom.  It's probably genetic.   My niece and I are both young looking and our small statures just compounds it.  Eventually, it will catch up to you.  Just wait until you're forty or fifty.

 

You might try presenting yourself differently.  Confidence can take you far!  Good luck to you.

[AudreyD]

Here's a link to the University of Chicago's Celiac website that discusses the actual components of a Celiac Blood Test:

 

http://www.cureceliacdisease.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CDCFactSheets3_Antibody.pdf

 

I don't think looking young is a celiac symptom.  It's probably genetic.   My niece and I are both young looking and our small statures just compounds it.  Eventually, it will catch up to you.  Just wait until you're forty or fifty.

 

You might try presenting yourself differently.  Confidence can take you far!  Good luck to you.

Thanks for your replies.

 

Apparently I'm not the only one who's thinking this gluten sensitivity thing might be responsible for our baby faces: https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91748-failure-to-thrivelooking-younger-in-young-adults-due-to-celiac/

 

It would explain a lot of things. I've also read that there are far more celiacs with social anxiety disorder than in the general population. I've also struggled with social anxiety my whole life. PCOS and tmj problems are also linked to gluten sensitivity. My dentist told me I should go on a gluten free and dairy free diet.

 

But the youthful face is baffling to me. I know it can be genetic however, nobody in my family looks that young. I don't just look younger than my age, when I tell people how old I am, they look at me as if they've just seen a ghost. They can't understand stand and neither can I.

 

It would be great if it could all be explained by a gluten sensitivity.

[answerseeker]

I look very young for my age. I'm 40 and am often told I look under 30. people don't belive that I have 4 children. But I attribute it to my genes not celiac.

[Sarah2009]

I look young for my age even though I am in my forties. Recently my friend commented that people with celiac look young. But my mom looks young for her age so I did not know celiac has to do with looking younger but I do believe that people with celiac have to watch what they eat and they may shrink and look younger then their age. But genetics play more of the role than celiac.

[Late Athenian]

this is purely anecdotal, but I also look very young for my age. People have asked if I am a teenager and guess I'm in my early 20s and I'm 30. It's a GREAT problem to have, tbh. Unless it just a sign of early autoimmune induced mortality lol. Tradeoffs

[MakeIt]

Hi, I realize this is very old question but maybe you’ll get an email triggered by my reply.  I also have PCOS and look like I’m in my 20’s even though I’m 39. I read somewhere that the elevated levels of DHEA-S in women with PCOS can slow down visible aging. I’m also gluten and dairy free - both of these foods are both so inflammatory and the majority of the population eats both multiple times a day. I think cutting down on inflammatory foods can also make people look younger than they are. Personally I’m glad I look like I’m in my 20’s! A little gift for suffering with PCOS and not being able to eat pizza!

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum, and unfortunately the original posters here are no longer following this thread.

I don't know much about polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but are you gluten-free because you have celiac disease, or are you self diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity? 

Also, there are many gluten-free pizza options available, although not all are healthy versions so if you're worried about inflammation it might be best to make your own.

[DanMc]

This is also purely anecdotal, but I also look young for my age. I'm 46, but if I didn't have a greying beard, my face looks more like about 30. My dad - alcoholic, hard living, abundant conditions that I now associate with undiagnosed coeliac - also looked very young up till his death. Additionally, I have weak and poorly defined muscles, and always have. How odd.

[Wheatwacked]

I was an alcoholic for thirty years. A friend of Bill's.  I started GFD at 63.  The addiction disappeared immediately.  I found I no longer cared to drink. did not like what it did to me, and there was no jonesing. I can drink socially without binging afterwards, but prefer to not drink. If your dad is alive, exhort him to try gluton free for a month.  Don't mention the alcohol.  It'll work or it won't.  Also he needs to increase vitamin D drastically, I take 10,000 IU a day.  Target 70 ng/ml.  Large doses of vitamin B1 or better benfothiamine.  Choline supplementation about 500 mg a day, will help his gut and replenish acetyl choline for brain function. Choline is in liver, eggs and steak. 3 eggs a day equals about 350 mg, but more is better.  The supplements bypasses the fear of cholesterol while allowing higher dose. The RDA upper limit is 3500 mg.

Quitting alcohol never worked for me.  Quitting gluten did.  Less than 20% of alcoholics successfully quit.  And those that do often get sick and die within two years.  Those were the statistics when I was an orderly in a hospital detox ward in1972.  I don't think they have changed.

On 8/7/2023 at 12:15 AM, DanMc said:

weak and poorly defined muscles

That would be best adressed with increased iodine.  I eat 27 grams of rehydrated dried sheet kelp a day.  Aside from speeding up a very slow healing cyst, it has dramatically improved my muscle tone.

Much of the symptoms of Celiac are unadressed malnutrition caused by the Celiac Disease Malabsorption Syndrome and food aversions. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Wheatwacked

[DanMc]

4 hours ago, Wheatwacked said:

I was an alcoholic for thirty years. A friend of Bill's.  I started GFD at 63.  The addiction disappeared immediately.  I found I no longer cared to drink. did not like what it did to me, and there was no jonesing. I can drink socially without binging afterwards, but prefer to not drink. If your dad is alive, exhort him to try gluton free for a month.  Don't mention the alcohol.  It'll work or it won't.  Also he needs to increase vitamin D drastically, I take 10,000 IU a day.  Target 70 ng/ml.  Large doses of vitamin B1 or better benfothiamine.  Choline supplementation about 500 mg a day, will help his gut and replenish acetyl choline for brain function. Choline is in liver, eggs and steak. 3 eggs a day equals about 350 mg, but more is better.  The supplements bypasses the fear of cholesterol while allowing higher dose. The RDA upper limit is 3500 mg.

Quitting alcohol never worked for me.  Quitting gluten did.  Less than 20% of alcoholics successfully quit.  And those that do often get sick and die within two years.  Those were the statistics when I was an orderly in a hospital detox ward in1972.  I don't think they have changed.

That would be best adressed with increased iodine.  I eat 27 grams of rehydrated dried sheet kelp a day.  Aside from speeding up a very slow healing cyst, it has dramatically improved my muscle tone.

Much of the symptoms of Celiac are unadressed malnutrition caused by the Celiac Disease Malabsorption Syndrome and food aversions. 

Sadly, my dad died years ago at the relatively young age of 69, from a combination of liver cirrhosis and bowel cancer. I wish I'd known about coeliac back then, I might have been able to convince him to try something new (and potentially life saving). Interestingly, I recently found out from my sister (who is herself rake thin and afflicted with various neurological problems) that two of my extended family on my father's side died of malnutrition. 

Thanks for the tip about iodine @Wheatwacked, I'll look into that!

[Wheatwacked]

Sorry to hear about your dad and relatives.  If you plan on getting a medical diagnosis you should do so before starting gluten free.  

     Here are some starter links about iodine.   The RDA is set at 125 micrograms (0.125 mg or 0.000125 grams).  Safe upper limit in US is set at 1 gram, in Japan at 3 grams.  Iodine was used in medicine until the Wolff-Chaikoff Effect was published in 1948 which "resulted in the removal of iodine from the food supply and most likely caused more misery and death in the US than both world wars".

1.     The Wolff-Chaikoff Effect: Crying Wolf?
2.      Why You NEED Iodine - Discussion with Dr. David Brownstein
3.      The Extrathyronine Actions of Iodine as Antioxidant, Apoptotic, and Differentiation Factor in Various Tissues   Only very high doses (>30 mg/day)[ 30,000 mcg ], mainly as iodide (I−), generate hypothyroidism and goiter, which rapidly revert to normal when these individuals stop taking the high-iodine supplement. On the other hand, considerable evidence indicates that iodine per se can ameliorate physiopathologies of several organs that take up iodine, primarily the thyroid, mammary, and prostate glands and potentially the pancreas, gastric, and nervous systems, and it may act as an antioxidant in the whole organism if this element is ingested at concentrations higher than 3 mg/day. 

[Celeste3]

Hi 

I’m a newly diagnosed Celiac & I too look a lot younger than my age. I’m 56 & often get mistake for someone in my mid 30’s. My husband also gets asked if I’m his daughter. I’ve had no work done (I’m too tired for that kind of thing!) and I also don’t find it flattering. When my son was a teenager people thought I was his sister - when they discovered I was his mother I’d get odd looks…like I must have had him extremely young. Now in his late 20’s he gets mistaken as my husband. You can perhaps see why I don’t like it. I totally empathise with you & hope with your early diagnosis you might be able to overcome this. X