Explaining Celiac

[Chrissyb]

My DH and I were talking and he was asking about what happens when I eat wheat. We know the basic like the damage it does to the villi and the other diease it can cause down the road. What he was wanting to know was, let say if something has wheat in it and it hit my stomach, does my body produce extra acid to try to get rid of it or since it is and auto immune disease does my body attach itself?

I read somewhere to that it can also get in your blood stream. I think my husband just would like to know what kind of goes on. When you have like a peanut allergy you will break out in hives and stuff like that. He is just wanting to be more in formed.

It is hard on him dealing with something he can't really see symptoms of other then me in pain, I also have multiple sclerosis and not all my symptoms are visable with that either, but he is very supportive.

I am very very blessed to have him for a husband

[YoloGx]

My DH and I were talking and he was asking about what happens when I eat wheat. We know the basic like the damage it does to the villi and the other diease it can cause down the road. What he was wanting to know was, let say if something has wheat in it and it hit my stomach, does my body produce extra acid to try to get rid of it or since it is and auto immune disease does my body attach itself?

I read somewhere to that it can also get in your blood stream. I think my husband just would like to know what kind of goes on. When you have like a peanut allergy you will break out in hives and stuff like that. He is just wanting to be more in formed.

It is hard on him dealing with something he can't really see symptoms of other then me in pain, I also have multiple sclerosis and not all my symptoms are visable with that either, but he is very supportive.

I am very very blessed to have him for a husband

My understanding is that your body attacks the villi and flattens them when gluten is present in an auto immune response. If this happens enough you get scar tissue. In either case with the villi flattened you are unable or difficult to make use of certain basic nutrients, i.e., thus it causes malabsorption of things like Vitamin D, B complex, the minerals calcium, magnesium, zinc etc., essential fatty acids, vitamins E and A etc. In my case it was degrading my nervous system as a result, making it so the myelin sheath was down 50%. This could relate to your MS by the way! I have to take co-enzyme B vitamins as a way to get around the difficulty absorping B vitamins which are essential for nerve health, including the heart and brain. Anyway, meanwhile, a lot of undigested proteins then are able to leak through the lining of the intestines. These then are recognized by our T cells as foreign invaders and then this whole "allergic reaction" or sensitivity happens. This in turn overloads the liver and possibly eventually the kidneys. Celiac disease can precipitate other auto immune break down effects if it goes on long enough, like RA, lupus, cancer or even MS. Fibromyalgia like symptoms are common (achey tendons and joints, swelling etc.). Candida and/or fungal overgrowth occurs frequently given the body is so shut down and candida etc. is so opportunistic.

This is why I suggest taking detox herbs to help out the liver -- such as dandelion, and alternately yellow dock and oregon grape root (avoid these last two if you have D! however they are great if you tend to get C). You can take echinacea or cleavers (not both at once!) as a way to clean out your lymphatic system. Marshmallow root and/or slippery elm help heal and soothe the intestines. Avoid tinctures since most are made with grain alcohol!

Taking digestive enzymes like pancreatin and bromelain/papain helps your intestines digest food better. Taking acidophilus (esp. if its enterically coated) can really help create a better intestinal climate as well as counteract some of the effects of CC.

Hope this helps explain a few things...

You are indeed blessed to have such an understanding and interested husband!

Bea

[Mother of Jibril]

The normal function of the immune system is to create antibodies that can get rid of foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria. This is a very important function. People with depressed immune systems (from AIDS, cancer treatment, etc...) are in danger because these viruses and bacteria can get out of control very quickly.

When you have an autoimmune disorder, your immune system overreacts to invaders by creating antibodies that attack your own organs. There are lots of theories about why this happens... for example, certain viruses (like Epstein-Barr) might mimic your own cells as a defense. Depending on your genetic make-up, your body can produce antibodies to many different parts of your body... thyroid (Hashimoto's and Graves' disease), adrenal glands (Addison's), skin (vitiligo), pancreas (type I diabetes), liver (AIH), blood cells (ITP, APS), intestines (celiac, Chron's), joints (rheumatoid arthritis), etc... In extreme cases, your immune system can cause so much damage that your disorder becomes fatal.

One additional problem with celiac disease... which is why some people think it might be the "mother" of all other autoimmune disorders... is that it damages your intestines and allows undigested particles of food to leak out into your bloodstream. This is very dangerous, and it might be the ultimate trigger for autoimmune disorders. I think it's the book "Dangerous Grains" that gives this example... if you ground up a piece of beef and injected it into your body, your immune system would FREAK out. It would probably kill you. However, when your intestines are damaged the same thing happens on a smaller scale. The difference is that it doesn't kill you right away... it kills you slowly over a number of years.

It's great that your husband wants to educate himself! "Dangerous Grains" is a good place to start. I would also recommend "The Autoimmune Connection."

[CeliacMom2008]

Dr. Peter Green's book, Celiac Disease: The Hidden Epidemic, is also excellent.

[lizard00]

Dr. Peter Green's book, Celiac Disease: The Hidden Epidemic, is also excellent.

Yes, it is! It really made it very simple to understand what exactly happens, and why even trace amounts of gluten must be avoided. It's very scientific, but easy to understand. I find myself referencing it a lot.

[pele]

Open Original Shared Link

educational video on celiac

[JennyC]

Here are the basics:

Upon gluten ingestion, gluten is able to enter into the subepitelial space in the small intestine. This barrier may have been damaged by zonulin or bacterial infections.

Glutamine residues in proline-rich areas of the gluten peptide are deaminated by tTG

Deaminated peptides have a higher binding affinity to disease-relevant HLA (molecules involved in antibody-antigen interaction).

tTG-gluten hapten complexes are picked up & presented by antigen presenting cells

Gluten is presented to CD4 (helper) T cells

Inflammatory response is characterized by a CD4 TH1 response with IFNγ as the predominant cytokine, which causes leukocyte migration, natural killer cell activity, and the antigen presenting capacity of other cells.

Gluten-derived peptides may also induce the release of IL-15 by intestinal epithelial cells, a part of the innate immune system.

IL-15 activates antigen-presenting dendritic cells & leads to increased expression of MIC-A by epithelial cells.

CD8 (cytotoxic T cells) intraepithelial lymphocytes can be activated via their NKG2D receptors, which recognize MIC-A.

These activated CD8 cells kill MIC-A expressing epithelial cells.

So, the flattening of the villi is caused by cytotoxic T cells and and natural killer cells.

Sorry, it this is too much information...I'm a molecular biology/immunology nerd and I think this is fascinating.

[YoloGx]

Here are the basics:

Upon gluten ingestion, gluten is able to enter into the subepitelial space in the small intestine. This barrier may have been damaged by zonulin or bacterial infections.

Glutamine residues in proline-rich areas of the gluten peptide are deaminated by tTG

Deaminated peptides have a higher binding affinity to disease-relevant HLA (molecules involved in antibody-antigen interaction).

tTG-gluten hapten complexes are picked up & presented by antigen presenting cells

Gluten is presented to CD4 (helper) T cells

Inflammatory response is characterized by a CD4 TH1 response with IFNγ as the predominant cytokine, which causes leukocyte migration, natural killer cell activity, and the antigen presenting capacity of other cells.

Gluten-derived peptides may also induce the release of IL-15 by intestinal epithelial cells, a part of the innate immune system.

IL-15 activates antigen-presenting dendritic cells & leads to increased expression of MIC-A by epithelial cells.

CD8 (cytotoxic T cells) intraepithelial lymphocytes can be activated via their NKG2D receptors, which recognize MIC-A.

These activated CD8 cells kill MIC-A expressing epithelial cells.

So, the flattening of the villi is caused by cytotoxic T cells and and natural killer cells.

Sorry, it this is too much information...I'm a molecular biology/immunology nerd and I think this is fascinating.

Thanks Jenny! That helped me plus showed me I got the basic gist of it right.

Bea

[Chrissyb]

Thank you all for responding. You have been so so helpful.