Another Question From A Newly Diagnosed Celiac

[CecilyF]

Went to natural "doctor" and besides the celiac disease, he said my liver was "congested/sluggish." Has anyone gone through anything like this before? He wants me on a juice diet using a juicer at home. I have tried to drink carrot juice and Romaine lettuce juice and it's just not going down. Does anyone know of any other things I can try to detoxify my liver? Also, is this common among Celiacs?

What about Ph levels? Anyone know about that? Mine was a 4.9 and the average or recommended is 7.2. How do you raise your Ph levels?

thank you.....

[YoloGx]

Went to natural "doctor" and besides the celiac disease, he said my liver was "congested/sluggish." Has anyone gone through anything like this before? He wants me on a juice diet using a juicer at home. I have tried to drink carrot juice and Romaine lettuce juice and it's just not going down. Does anyone know of any other things I can try to detoxify my liver? Also, is this common among Celiacs?

What about Ph levels? Anyone know about that? Mine was a 4.9 and the average or recommended is 7.2. How do you raise your Ph levels?

thank you.....

Yes it is very common to have a congested liver with celiac. It makes sense if you think about it since the villi get axed and then undigested proteins go into your blood stream, the lymphatic system then reacts to these "forein invaders" with inflammation and downwind of which it all toxifies the liver.

You can either juice or simply blend your veggies--or just eat lots of them. Steaming is OK if you don't like raw, and raw is harder in the winter. I often add a small zuchinni to my green vegetable drink to make it more mellow. Parsley, cucumber, beet, bok choi, celery all make good combos. And yes combos in my estimation are best for a veggie blend.

Detox herbs are also a great help. Such as dandelion in particular.

If you have difficulty with constipation etc. then taking bitters half an hour to fifteen minutes before you eat will help greatly (small amounts of dandelion and gentian root powder work well for this). These bitters also really help your liver too.

Remember to avoid tinctures since the alcohol is not likely to be gluten-free.

Bea

[Northern Celiac]

Went to natural "doctor" and besides the celiac disease, he said my liver was "congested/sluggish." Has anyone gone through anything like this before? He wants me on a juice diet using a juicer at home. I have tried to drink carrot juice and Romaine lettuce juice and it's just not going down. Does anyone know of any other things I can try to detoxify my liver? Also, is this common among Celiacs?

What about Ph levels? Anyone know about that? Mine was a 4.9 and the average or recommended is 7.2. How do you raise your Ph levels?

thank you.....

Cecily, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES LISTEN TO THIS PERSON. Have you gotten the proper bloodwork done? Have you had an endoscopy? These can only be done by an MD otherwise4 you can risk your health by doing what this "naturopath" wants. Before I had my diagnosis I went to one and she was a "quack"claiming she could cure anything. I only went to her twice. Do your self a favour and get a regular doctor that knows about Celiac disease

[Cessairskye]

I would agree that you would want to have your liver function tested just to make sure you don't have anything major going on. If you have had a full blood panel done lately they are on that test.

In regards to your Ph, what are you using to test it? Or I should ask, what bodily fluid are you using? Are you doing the salivary strips? Body Ph in the mouth can be a reflection of what is going on in your body but you need to take into account what you last had in your mouth that will greatly affect the strip (if you do it after a night of a few glasses of wine or a breakfast of coffee, eggs and yogurt they are all acidic and will effect the strip). If you look on-line for foods that are more alkaline they will help balance your system a bit better, also look at what foods are acidic because you will be surprised at what is on that list, most are foods we eat daily.

Good luck on your quest for health.

Skye

[YoloGx]

I agree its best if you can find a regular MD and take all those tests--though as we all know (or many of us do) AMA docs aren't all up on celiac or severe gluten intolerance. Many of them are in this regard quite ignorant.

However if you already know that you can't handle the gluten (and may be way beyond the period of time when the tests won't do you any good unless you are willing to go back to eating gluten again) I see nothing wrong with seeing a good naturopath.

Just like AMA docs, some naturopaths can also be wrong about celiac however. Some are not up on the current info on it and actually still think one can "grow out of it".

This actually happened to me--after my naturopath treated me for a while I discovered he was behind the times on this matter even though he was up on all kinds of other knowledge. Four years ago my naturopath prescribed supplements for me that had gluten in them--not knowingly--instead quite ignorantly. That was before I knew all the ins and outs of having celiac--which I suspected I had. He didn't know one has to avoid all trace gluten to stay well. I had told him I thought I had celiac or gluten intolerance. He tried to have me take detox remedies that were alcohol based. Of course they did not work; and instead they made me worse. I discovered even homeopathics have either a milk or an alcohol base. He ended up thinking I was just "too sensitive"!! The only thing that worked was the mud packs! And not seeing him...

Now however more naturopaths now seem to know about celiac and overall are more open to the latest research than many AMA docs who keep thinking its a fad. At least the naturopaths are usually pre disposed to thinking that food has something to do with one's health, whereas AMA docs often basically are untrained and easily gives up in that area.

In any case, whether you see a naturopath or regular MD or just treat yourself, going the natural route by eating more greens for instance would be good for most anyone (unless one is on certain heart anti coagulant medicines that make one intolerant of eating much greens since the greens can then increase one's bruising). In my estimation, for those who have celiac or severe gluten intolerance, it really seems more important to eat greens as well as whole, non additive, non sugary laden foods than for the usual person.

As far as herbal detoxing suggestions, see my last post. I think its a very good idea esp. if one tends to be constipated. Different kinds of detoxing can also be good for those who have diarrhea too however, like saunas, exercise, mud packs and again eating or juicing or blending lots of greens--once the D has passed (otherwise its safer to eat cooked/steamed greens --the raw greens can be irritating for an already irritated gut).

What one does for one's health doesn't have to be anything radical; it should instead involve moderation and common sense.

Bea