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Is This A Good Digestive Enzyme?


CGally81

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CGally81 Enthusiast

I read that some digestive enzymes are capable of making celiac symptoms worse if you take them when you eat gluten.

Now, I can't swallow pills, so I needed to buy a chewable digestive enzyme. I linked to several in a topic and asked if they were okay, and was told that "AFP Chewables Multiple Protease by Houston Nutraceuticals" would be a good choice. I bought it, and I take them before eating breakfast and dinner (at work, there's no shared silverware or anything I have to worry about, so I don't need them with lunch), and I haven't been glutened since.

At least, I think I haven't. I now have this headache and sometimes fatigue after eating that comes and goes. It first showed up when I was eating Fudgsicles, not realizing they had gluten (malt powder) in them. Stupid labeling laws. Anyway, once I stopped eating them, the headaches/fatigue started to go away. Then come back, and go away, and come back... I am wondering if the reason I have them is because I'm still eating gluten somehow (all my foods are gluten free, and I don't even trust butter anymore, because of bread crumb contamination in my family!) and the enzymes might somehow be exacerbating the effect.

To test to see if my headaches are in fact a gluten-related condition, I took L-Glutamine just now, as it helps TREMENDOUSLY with celiac symptoms. (It always killed them in a real hurry in the past) The headaches don't seem to be going away. In fact, it's an hour later, and I still have a dull headache.

Anyway, two questions:

Are the headaches possibly a withdrawal symptom or something that'll just come and go? Are they nothing to worry about in the long run?

And, is "AFP Chewables Multiple Protease by Houston Nutraceuticals" trustworthy? Is it known to exacerbate celiac symptoms, or does it help a great deal with trace amounts and cross contamination? That company said it can be used to "supplement or replace the Gluten-free Casein-free diet". I hope they're at least right about the "supplement" part!


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    • trents
      You might consider asking for a referral to a RD (Registered Dietician) to help with food choices and planning a diet. Even apart from any gluten issues, you will likely find there are some foods you need to avoid because of the shorter bowel but you may also find that your system may make adjustments over time and that symptoms may improve.
    • Ello
      I wish Dr’s would have these discussions with their patients. So frustrating but will continue to do research. Absolutely love this website. I will post any updates on my testing and results.  Thank you
    • trents
      Losing 12" of your small bowel is going to present challenges for you in nutritional uptake because you are losing a significant amount of nutritional absorption surface area. You will need to focus on consuming foods that are nutritionally dense and also probably look at some good supplements. If indeed you are having issues with gluten you will need to educate yourself as to how gluten is hidden in the food supply. There's more to it than just avoiding the major sources of gluten like bread and pasta. It is hidden in so many things you would never expect to find it in like canned tomato soup and soy sauce just to name a few. It can be in pills and medications.  Also, your "yellow diarrhea, constipation and bloating" though these are classic signs of a gluten disorder, could also be related to the post surgical shorter length of your small bowel causing incomplete processing/digestion of food.
    • Ello
      Yes this information helps. I will continue to be pro active with this issues I am having. More testing to be done. Thank you so much for your response. 
    • trents
      There are two gluten-related disorders that share many of the same symptoms but differ in nature from each other. One is known as celiac disease or "gluten intolerance". By nature, it is an autoimmune disorder, meaning the ingestion of gluten triggers the body to attack it's own tissues, specifically the lining of the small bowel. This attack causes inflammation and produces antibodies that can be detected in the blood by specific tests like the TTG-IGA test you had. Over time, if gluten is not withheld, this inflammation can cause severe damage to the lining of the small bowel and even result in nutrient deficiency related health issues since the small bowel lining is organ where all the nutrition found in our food is absorbed.  The other is NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity or just "gluten sensitivity") which we know less about and are unsure of the exact mechanism of action. It is not an autoimmune disorder and unlike celiac disease it does not damage the lining of the small bowel, though, like celiac disease, it can cause GI distress and it can also do other kinds of damage to the body. It is thought to be more common than celiac disease. Currently, we cannot test for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out to arrive at a diagnosis of NCGS. Both disorders require elimination of gluten from the diet.  Either of these disorders can find their onset at any stage of life. We know that celiac disease has a genetic component but the genes are inactive until awakened by some stress event. About 40% of the general population has the genetic potential to develop celiac disease but only about 1% develop active celiac disease. The incidence of NCGS is thought to be considerably higher. I hope this helps.
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