Always Feeling Cold

[Skylark]

Why is the absorption sub-par?

Um... We don't absorb ANYTHING well, remember? Inflammation is bad for absorption, villous atrophy even worse.

[love2travel]

Where I live it is winter for more than six months of the year. And I mean COLD winter, as in -40C OR F for ages on end. Tires on our vehicles are square; we must plug in our vehicles just so they will start. And our blizzards on the prairies are fierce with windchills reaching -65F at times. Nasty stuff. One of the many reasons we will be moving to Croatia.

Anyway, I am HEAT intolerant. Can't stand heat. It completely exhausts and criples me. So, when we do move we will be coming back to Alberta for summmers as they are not as hot and humid for as long as in Croatia. My ideal temperature is about 60-65F. Not asking for much, am I?

[Katrala]

Um... We don't absorb ANYTHING well, remember? Inflammation is bad for absorption, villous atrophy even worse.

Well, right, but once the villi are healed, I mean. Does the relationship between the two return to non-celiac levels?

[Skylark]

Well, right, but once the villi are healed, I mean. Does the relationship between the two return to non-celiac levels?

Sorry, I totally misunderstood you! Once you start absorbing things like iron and calcium, you'll be absorbing selenium and iodine too. It can help to be sure you're getting the US RDA of both, but not a lot more. The absorption improvement part of why people's thyroid function tends to improve gluten-free. Less inflammation in the thyroid helps too.

Unfortunately, you can be unlucky like me and develop thyroid autoimmunity that does not resolve off gluten. My thyroid just keeps getting worse and worse.

And then there's the fluoride in water problem. Fluoride is a little thyrotoxic plus the thyroid gland mistakes it for iodine. Fluoride is effective enough at slowing thyroid function that it used to be used as a treatment for Graves' disease (autoimmune hyperthyroidism). Is it any wonder we're all slightly hypothyroid and cold??? If you're in an area with fluoridated water it is very important to be sure you're getting the US RDA of iodine for your thyroid to work right. You can lower the amount of fluoride in your diet by drinking and cooking with RO purified water, eating organic produce, drinking organic wine, and avoiding black or green tea and choosing herbal teas instead.

If you might be hypothyroid, you also want to avoid certain foods that slow thyroid function. Avoid large amounts of soy, raw peanuts, and raw cruciferous veggies (brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, kale, turnips, etc.). A little soy is OK but don't make tofu your main protein, and go for cooked broccoli over cole slaw with raw cabbage.

[lcarter]

I agree with the others who think you could be hypothyroid because of feeling cold and the lower blood pressure, both key signs of hypothyroid [low thyroid hormone level]. Thyroid problems are a likely companion to celiac disease. Most doctors only do a TSH [Thyroid Stimulating Hormone] screening which really doesn't tell the whole story. In other words, the TSH is only the hormone which stimulates the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone - so, it's not a direct test. Besides that, the American Endocrinology Association, a few years ago, changed the range for "normal" from a high reading of 5.0 to a new high of only 3.0. Many labs are still using the 5.0 range which leaves a lot of folks with symptoms without a diagnosis.

For example, in my own situation, if I hadn't been able to eventually talk my general family doctor into running the whole thyroid panels [TSH, T4, Free T4, and Free T3 + the antibody panel of TPOAb and Anti-TPO] I would have never found out that I am hypothyroid and have autoimmune Hasimoto's thyroiditis. My TSH hovered between 4.7 to 5.1 for a few years there before I finally got it fully checked out. All that time I was having various symptoms, including joint pain. Three days after starting a low dose of thyroid medication, the joint pain totally disappeared and has never returned! That was 3 years ago. When a follow up sonogram was done after being on medication for a while, my thyroid had shrunk back down to a normal size. My family doctor had been manually feeling my neck and kept telling me that the thyroid felt normal. Only after the initial scan did we know it was enlarged and sitting at an angle that was not easily manually felt. Needless to say, you know your own body best. If you think there could be a problem, insist on the correct testing. And, if your doctor won't go along with it, find a doctor who will.

[Unipeg05]

Wow, I have always wondered why I was the only one in the house freezing their butt off. I cannot tolerate the cold at all. My hands and feet are the worst, it seems to get right into your bones and makes it impossible to warm up.

[jenbunni87]

Interesting because I am always freezing freaking cold and then when I get nauseated I get even colder

[Melody1]

I have trouble regulating body temp either way when I'm glutened. I'm hot then cold - sometimes within just a few minutes.

[CaraLouise]

I totally agree with everyone, I have Raynauds and am always cold! One time I was at a science museum and held up my hands to the heat sensor and they were black! Scary!!!! But a gluten free diet does help and bundling up!