If You Follow A Strict Gluten-free Diet, Does Celiac Put You At Risk For...

[nikki2008]

Thanks in advance.

[mftnchn]

Not sure but a good thing to research. Did you search in the "related disorders" section of this forum?

[spunky]

From what I've read, after the first gluten free year, the risk of all of those things drops dramatically.

After that, the longer you are gluten free, the less risk of any of those complications. The only one that stays elevated is intestinal lymphoma, but that risk is still very low (from what I've read not that much higher than in the general population) and fortunately, is a rare occurence.

One report from 2004 even suggested that after the first gluten-free year, celiacs may in fact be at even LESS risk for certain cancers than the general population is.

[greendog]

Thanks in advance.

My way of thinking is that by following a strict gluten free diet with the proper supplements you probably are healthier than the general population who are eating foods packed with preservatives and other unhealthy additives. I believe we label readers pay more but eat better. Example being I like Lays Potato Chips because they have about 3 ingredients listed on the label (simple to understand), but read the ingredients on a package of Barbeque Chips and the list of ingredients is unbelievable. So you ask yourself, why does it take so many chemicals to make a chip taste like barbeque? YUK.

[AliB]

Sadly Celiacs don't have the monopoly on gluten being the cause of their problems. Whilst those who are not Celiac may not have to avoid it for the same reasons, their health issues due to gluten consumption may be just as debilitating and in some cases even more so.

The plain fact is that because of the damage that gluten does to us all, virtually everyone who eats the stuff would actually be much better off without it. Man's meddling with its molecular structure has turned it into a deceptively insidious poison that is contributing to most of our 'Western' diseases - diabetes, arthritis, chronic fatigue, stomach and bowel disease, neurological problems, depression and psychological and emotional problems, you name it, even Cancer - the list goes on and on....... Adding to the mix is the huge quantity of the stuff that we ingest either directly or indirectly (and Celiacs know exactly how easy it is to get it indirectly without knowing!).

Whilst those who are not Celiac may have been able to get away with consuming small amounts of the stuff - we are literally bombarded with it from the minute we get up to the minute we go to bed and whilst the so-called 'nutritionists' keep telling us not to eat salt, fat, sugar (well they did get that one right), very rarely do any of them ever vilify carbohydrates of which gluten is by far the largest portion.

So yes, not eating gluten does have huge health benefits for Celiacs, but the same applies to the rest of us too.

PS. I usually listen to what the 'nutritionists' say, then go off and do the exact opposite!