Atkins And Celiac Disease

[Reba32]

Let me preface this by saying I have had gastric symptoms pretty much my entire life. I'm 42 years old. Pain, gas, constipation, nausea etc etc and so on. I'd been diagnosed with "migraine stomach", IBS, allergies, and the ubiquitous "well, we have no idea what's wrong with you. Eat more fibre"

Around 1998 I started losing A LOT of weight. I went from a size 12 (Canada) to size 2 in about a year. We couldn't figure out what it was, I'd eat, and still kept losing weight. A few years later, I started gaining weight, and gaining and gaining and gaining. Then I moved from Canada to the US after getting married, and had about 2 years without health insurance, or money for doctors. Was literally going crazy from crazy symptoms. And continued to gain weight, despite starving myself on low fat, low calorie, high carb diet plans.

when I finally got a job and some health insurance, during a routine anual physical, they drew blood and found that my thyroid levels were out of whack. (the PA then told me I had hypo thyroid, it was actually hyper thyroid, Grave's disease). I was put on antithyroid meds and yes, I gained some more weight. A LOT more weight! 20 pounds in one month! GAH! And it kept going up and up and up, no matter what I did. Plus, the constipation, gas, pain etc kept getting worse. "well, sounds like IBS, eat more fibre"

Finally one day when my fairly new jeans that had been loose 2 months prior, were about to snap me in half and they actually had bruised my thigh! I had had enough. I looked up Atkins. I had tried pretty much everything else, short of calling Jenny, so what the heck right?

I read and read and read all I could about Atkins, joined the online community to learn some more, and then got started the week before Thanksgiving 2008. And by Thanksgiving I felt soooooooooooo much better, it was amazing! And why was that you may ask? Because for the first phases of Atkins you don't eat any grains!.

There was a woman on the forums who said she had Celiac Disease, and she described what it was and then I did some more reading and went "hmmmmmm". Then there was a whole bunch more people turning up saying they'd just been diagnosed, or they've had Celiac for years, and Atkins is the best, and easiest diet they've followed!

Now to placate my husband, whose life "had become hell" because I wouldn't eat bread any more, after nearly a year of being gluten free, at the end of October last year, I started a gluten challenge, so I could get the definitive diagnosis. I KNEW I had Celiac, but he wouldn't believe me unless a doctor told him so. SO, I tortured myself for 8 weeks just to shut him up. Didn't work, despite my positive diagnosis, he still bugs me

But there ya go. Not only can you lose weight on Atkins, and keep it off, but you can diagnose lifelong diseases finally too!

Anyone else a low-carber or Atkineer?

[Roda]

I've been following the South beach diet. The first two weeks I lost 13 lbs. I didn't eat any grains either. I was already diagnosed for almost a year before starting it, just wanted to loose some of the extra pounds. I have had some issues come up recently so I have not suck to the plan. I attribute my (eventual) diagnosis to my youngest son. He had so many food issues when he was a baby. He reacted to rice and oatmeal cereal and a bunch of other foods through my breast milk. I eliminated dairy, oats, rice, and tree nuts out of my diet. I ate lots of meats, fruits and veggies. I was not gluten free, but probably gluten light.About 4 months after I started adding things back in my diet is when I started with all of the symptoms that started me going to the doctor. I was eventually diagnosed 2 1/2 years after that. Of course I figured the connetion after the fact. I'm glad you figured it out. It is such a relief to know what is wrong after so long.

[Reba32]

Atkins has a new book out this week called "The New Atkins for a New You". It's an easy read, and has lots of info on the science of how the plan works.

Even if you don't have to lose weight, following an Atkins whole foods plan just for general good health, and it can even help with a gluten free diet, because it is naturally gluten free until you get to the last rung of on-going weight loss. Then you just don't introduce the gluten grains. I'm too carb sensitive I've learned, so I may never re-introduce rice and corn (just the smell of corn these days makes me ill anyway!), but honestly, I don't miss them at all anyhow!

[ksymonds84]

I remember in my 30's I did low carb and swore it cured my IBS Actually, my G.I. Dr. Lewey told me that he can't prove it but suspects that being on a strict low carb diet then returning to a regular diet can trigger celiac genes to turn on. Just a theory of his.

[Reba32]

Well, I'm quite positive I've had Celiac/been gluten intolerant pretty much my entire life, and was always just misdiagnosed up until I figured it out myself.

I had done elimination diets several times trying to figure out what was wrong, since I was probably 4 years old, but never gave up wheat, barley and rye all together like I did when I started Atkins. After about a month and I felt better than I could ever remember, I figured it had to be something!

I'm not alone either, there are a few on the forums at the Atkins site who have also discovered gluten intolerance or outright Celiac since starting Atkins.