Enzeym Pill?

[Beck]

Hi Guys;I am recently diagnosed and have been gluten free for about a month now. I had a question I was hoping some one could answer.My sister in-law was telling me that at the health food store there is a pill (some kind of enzyem) that we celiacs could take before eating gluten

[2kids4me]

I have seen something similar mentioned on a thread a while back. The problem is that celiac is an immune reaction to the gluten - in any form. This "magic pill" may help digest gluten but it will not stop the body's reaction to the gluten particles as they come in contact with the wall of the intestine (villi). Celiacs do not lack the enzymes or digestive juices to break down the gluten. Our immune system reacts to it, causing intestinal damge and thus incompletely digested proteins (gluten being one of them) enter the bloodstream.

Celiac:

ingest gluten

immune reaction attacks villi that gluten have come in contact with

inflammation and villi destruction

most people then have symptoms but some do not

My personal opinion is that an enzyme pill cannot help a celiac.

Sandy

[shayesmom]

I believe that the pill she is referring to is Glutenzyme. And no, it does not make gluten foods safe for celiacs. It merely helps break the protein down a bit more. You can't take it to prevent gluten damage or reactions. The only pill that may prevent the reaction is still in clinical trials and is not available on the open market.

Your sil is misinformed. Hopefully, someone will set her straight on this and then she should also correct the health food store employee who gave her such horrible information. It's one thing to do stupid things on your own. It's quite another to put other people's health at risk by giving this kind of information out. Your customer's welfare should be worth more than the $20 you make on the sale of a useless bottle of pills.

I can understand your frustration at family events. Of course, there's no tactful way of telling other family members that your sil is an idiot. Just kidding! But you can tell them that the pill doesn't work for you or your dd as you're both too sensitive and then thank them for their concern and understanding in the matter.

[kitten37]

This is very similar to lactase?!? <----- unsure of correct name. For lactose intolerants to take before injesting lactose. While with some lactose intolerants it may mask symptoms and make processing it slightly better it is not a cure and it is unkown what damage is still done to the intestinal tract. Taking the pill only mimics having the enzyme present needed to digest gluten. Although it may be ok to take once and a RARE while if you believe you are going to be stuck in a situation that you cannot avoid the gluten do note that you are still going to damage yourself even if symptoms are masked

[Mountaineer Josh]

Hi Guys;I am recently diagnosed and have been gluten free for about a month now. I had a question I was hoping some one could answer.My sister in-law was telling me that at the health food store there is a pill (some kind of enzyem) that we celiacs could take before eating gluten

[happygirl]

The other promising Celiac pill is described here: Open Original Shared Link

[home-based-mom]

Your sister-in-law may be thinking of GlutenEase, which claims on the label that it "assists with gluten and casein digestion."

If you take a capsule or two before entering the mine field of a salad bar or other area of high cross contamination possibility, you could possibly minimize your symptoms. The same could be said for taking some as soon as you realize you have been glutened. It has, in fact, helped me through a couple of such instances, and my daughter has used it that way, too.

HOWEVER

It is not NOT NOT a license to eat pizza and do-nuts.

[Beck]

Thank you all so much for the useful info. I know I am not a vetern at this, but knew I had been reading enough to have never heard of the "magic pill".

I will try to let my sister in law know, but apperantly she swears by this lady at the nutrion store. In the end it matters only what I do for my daughter and I and beleive me, wewill be keeping our eyes and ears open for the real "magic pill".

Thanks again!

By the way I was wondering if any one out there also has type 1 diabetes. We are having a horrible time with my duaghters blood sugars since starting the diet. Her docs said her blood suagrs will go crazy for a bit as now her body is healing and she is finally getting some nutrion in her system. I was just wondering how long until things clam down and when we can expect to find the new doses for her insulin.

Thanks

[tom]

By the way I was wondering if any one out there also has type 1 diabetes.

I know one here and will alert her to this thread.

You'd probably get more input by starting a new thread, also.

[gfp]

Your sister-in-law may be thinking of GlutenEase, which claims on the label that it "assists with gluten and casein digestion."

If you take a capsule or two before entering the mine field of a salad bar or other area of high cross contamination possibility, you could possibly minimize your symptoms. The same could be said for taking some as soon as you realize you have been glutened. It has, in fact, helped me through a couple of such instances, and my daughter has used it that way, too.

HOWEVER

It is not NOT NOT a license to eat pizza and do-nuts.

The thing is (IMHO) the reaction is so variable ... at least for me the amount of gluten bears no real correlation to how much I eat. Like many here I have eaten a whole pizza and though I got away with it only to crash 3 days later and I have had the tiniest CC and reacted in an hour.

Most toxins decay in half lives... that is you get rid of more in the first day than the next if you get rid of 1/2 on day one then 1/4 on day 2 and 1/8 on day 3 (etc.) so perhaps a pizza takes 7 days and a tiny CC takes 6 ... ?? (just exampes)

However overall I have found other factors make much more difference, mainly general health and level of fatigue, sleeping properly etc.

At the same time the time to reaction is also variable from hours to days... I might eat something today and not get a reaction until Wednesday ... (Today being sat) .. or I might react the same day...

Because there are so many possible sources of CC its hard to relate today's slip with perhaps having eaten something Tuesday?? which was the slip??

So putting this together does the pill work? Does it delay it or accelerate? etc. etc. but most importantly how can we judge if it helped at that salad bar when we might not react for 3-4 days and then we blame something else?

Herein I think lies the danger in that we take the pill and think the salad bar is OK so it must be something else but perhaps its just the delayed reaction from the salad bar?

[debmidge]

The way I look at it, if this "Gluten-zyme" over the counter pill worked, why then are two pharmaceutical companies working on a pill for gluten sensitivity in the gut?

I am leery of a health food store person pushing a pill which has dubious claims -- you gotta look at the money angle here.

For celiac disease, it's the proteins that do the damage. The protein chain is broken down by the "gluten-zyme" -- so I follow that logic, but I am not so sure that the immune system will ignore the broken down enzyme chain and my question then is, will the immune system still react?

Keep in mind that these pills are considered "diet supplements" and are not tested by the FDA and they are not required to provide clinical data to support their claims -- so the manufacturer of Gluten-zyme could be selling you anything.

So you could be taking this Gluten zyme and your immune system is still being churned up by a "broken-down" gluten enzyme. Just because it's broken down doesn't necessarily mean it's safe for a celiac. I'd have to see clinical proof before I purchased it.

[kbtoyssni]

I agree with everyone that these pills don't allow a celiac to eat gluten. I also wanted to note that they are not FDA approved so these claims do not have to have medical studies to back them up. Who knows if or what kind of studies were done to substantiate the claims.

[elye]

By the way I was wondering if any one out there also has type 1 diabetes. We are having a horrible time with my duaghters blood sugars since starting the diet. Her docs said her blood suagrs will go crazy for a bit as now her body is healing and she is finally getting some nutrion in her system. I was just wondering how long until things clam down and when we can expect to find the new doses for her insulin.

Thanks

Hi, Beck!

Tom's advice is good--you should start a thread in the Related Disorders section, as having it buried here will not necessarily reach the many experienced type one/celiacs that are members here. Actually, if you do a search for "celiac and diabetic diets", you will likely find my first post on here, when I was an overwhelmed, newly-diagnosed celiac trying to manage both the diabetic and gluten-free diets at once.

I have been a type one most of my life, and for many years have kept very tight blood sugar control through injections, careful eating and daily exercise. When I was diagnosed with celiac almost three years ago and began eating gluten-free, my control slipped somewhat, and I think that was due to a couple of things: stress, and my consumption of processed gluten-free products, which are often much higher in sugar and fat than the same package/box containing gluten. I would say within a couple of months my readings were back to where I wanted them, because I began the diet I am on now and forever: gluten-free (of course!), very little if any processed food, and very little grain. Grains are very tough on us diabetics--high on the glycemic index, and little nutritional payback.

It's tough to expect a child to stay way from grain and gluten-free cookies, breads, pasta, etc. I would suggest trying to limit these things in your daughter's diet, and you may well see marked improvement. Good luck!

[bump]

I saw this thread and can't let it go by without comment.

REMEMBER celiac disease is AUTOIMMUNE and is active in the prsence of gluten (technically it is active in the presence of broken down gluten amino acid fragments called "GLIADIN"). I have seen the "GlutenEase" product made by Enzymedia and been to the company's web site. My husband (not a celiac) has difficulty digesting carbs and uses another one of their products called "digest gold". I have contacted the company about the GlutenEase and they have said that "IT IS NOT FOR PERSONS WITH CELIAC DISEASE!!". Enzymedica offers various digestive enzymes for persons who have difficulty with digesting certain foods (sugars, starches, proteins, etc). We (celiacs) don't technically have a digestive problem, we have an immune system problem which effects our digestion. I would be the first one to grab a glazed donut and basket-full of real garlic bread if the pill were effective for celiac disease.

Stay healthy!

[happygirl]

I would be the first one to grab a glazed donut and basket-full of real garlic bread if the pill were effective for celiac disease.

There might be some healthy competition on this forum for who goes first