Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Red Heads


ctenny

Recommended Posts

sharilee Rookie

I was diagnosed with celiac disease a little over a week ago and I am a red head.

  • 2 weeks later...

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



  • Replies 56
  • Created
  • Last Reply
ncteacher Newbie

I'm a redhead!

I heard from a fellow celiac (who is brunette, by the way) that celiac disease seems to be more common along the Irish/Scottish hereditary line. If that's true (I'm skeptical), maybe there is a link!

IrishHeart Veteran

New here...Hi all.......I have red orange hair, no freckles and light olive complected and the only one in the family with red hair......I can't find anyone in the family who knows any relatives with Celiac.......My heritage is French, Irish and German.

Trying to get a hang of the board.

Hi Hon! Welcome to the forum!

Ditto for me-- French, Irish, German ---and Armenian.

There's no one in my family with Celiac (that we know of anyway )--except me--but there are others (of this, I am quite sure) as the family is loaded with auotimmune diseases. My Dad certainly had it, we know now. And in our grandparents' time, no one kept records.

...and well, someone has to be diagnosed FIRST, right? :)

Guess that's us!

IrishHeart Veteran

I'm a redhead!

I heard from a fellow celiac (who is brunette, by the way) that celiac disease seems to be more common along the Irish/Scottish hereditary line. If that's true (I'm skeptical), maybe there is a link!

There is quite a bit written about the celtic association (some folks kiddingly calling this " Celtic Disease".) and the genetic markers that are prevalent in Ireland/the UK. Interesting stuff! :)

Ryniev Apprentice

My hair is brown but tends to have reddish highlights. I don't think that counts though because I look very Italian and I don't think there are many Italian redheads running amok.

PatSch Newbie

Redhead w/freckles here. But the rest of my large family with gluten issues are not.

xJalin Newbie

I'm a redhead too. :) Interestingly enough, my brother's friend is a celiac, and he's a redhead too.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



xJalin Newbie

Come to think of it, all the people I know who are celiacs or are of Irish descent. My aunt, myself, and 2 friends (all redheads), and another friend who isn't a redhead but is 100% Irish

  • 2 weeks later...
SugarBiscuit Newbie

Interesting...I am half Native American, half Irish. I was born with back hair, but turned brown with red tinting when I was a teenager.

  • 2 weeks later...
ctenny Rookie

Celiac is called the Celtic disease...

ChuGotItDood Newbie

I am blonde, my bf is a red head, and our friend is brunette. And we are all Celiacs. I'm new to this too( diagnosed this week ), but knew a bit about Celiacs from them before.

ctenny Rookie

Welcome to the club! I've been diagnosed for 2 and a half months now.

frieze Community Regular

My hair is brown but tends to have reddish highlights. I don't think that counts though because I look very Italian and I don't think there are many Italian redheads running amok.

virna lisi, natural blonde/blue eye italian actress....about 2% are red heads, so I just read.

  • 3 weeks later...
vickimini Newbie

First post for me! I have some Irish blood and some (unconfirmed) native blood. My hair is unremarkable brown but I used to get red highlights in the summer, when I was young. All highlights are gray now!

Glad to be here. You all know so much about this! I have no Dx but have had an explosion of symptoms, fierce anxiety and irritability being the worst, since quitting gluten about five months ago.

EJR Rookie

Another redhead here. My grandparents were from Norway so have the fair skin, freckles, etc.

Stubborn red head Apprentice

I have red in my hair. I have always been the red head of the family. We all have some in our hair but mine shows the most. Im strawberry blonde, I have pail skin and freckled from head to toe with all kinds of moles.

Takala Enthusiast

The only place that's left red is some of my thinning eyebrows and eyelashes. I was born light blonde that went to strawberry blonde and then it darkened to dark medium ashy mixed by high school, so it was very easy to bring it back up to lighter with mild highlighting solutions. It got very dark (the roots) by my forties, then started to go dull ashy mudd grey mixed with the red and blonde. After gluten free, it changed texture again (thank God, it got thicker) and came in curlier and lighter colored. That was the strange part, my hair changed color, too. But I kept highlighting, at least the roots blended nicely. I am pale skinned, why not.

Then, tragically, L'Oreal stopped making my color, :( so I had to switch. :lol: And we have real funky well water minerals around here, all my neighbors my age are sort of in need of a rainwater rinse and conditioning. My hair is currently not quite the right color, especially since skin tends to change with age (could I be any whiter than this ? not by much) but when I've tried others with the Garnier (no gluten) they are not coming out the way I wanted, yet. Grey is funky to dye over.

My mother, by this age, was much more light silver grey than I am, and her hair was much more brunette than mine ever has been. I let my hair grow all the way out natural color last year, looked at it, said, NOPE, I'm no silver fox, :blink: and went to the cabinet for the color.

I have very mild freckling, pale skin, pale blue eyes, and the whole Celt/Indigenous/Irish/English/German routine. Both parents were dark haired and all the kids were born blonde.

  • 2 months later...
FruitEnthusiast Enthusiast

I was just diagnosed a week ago, so as of today, I have not met a single other person with Celiac's in real life. I have no idea what they look like! I have heard, through the grapevine of the internet, that there seems to be a high frequency of red heads in the Celiac population.

Is this just because of the two gene's common European upbringing?

Who here is a red head? I am!

What do you think of this odd coincidence?

Hi, I'm a redhead too! I've also heard celiac is prevalent among redheads. Though I'm gluten intolerant and tested negative for celiac, my GI said to be extra careful "cause I'm a redhead. I've heard that redheads have one less layer of epidermis on the outer most layer of their skin and also on the inner most layer internally too. Food for thought.

RL2011 Rookie

You Gingers have all kinds of added issues (said laughingly).

FruitEnthusiast Enthusiast

You Gingers have all kinds of added issues (said laughingly).

Hmmm... perhaps... but it's soooo worth it! :)

Chad Sines Rising Star

I like redheads and I have celiac? Coincidence?? Who knows...

FruitEnthusiast Enthusiast

laughing...

RonSchon Explorer

I was married to a Redhead when I came down with celiac disease. Coincidence? I think not.

jerseyangel Proficient

I was married to a Redhead when I came down with celiac disease. Coincidence? I think not.

Celiac by association? :D

katt983 Newbie

Medium brown hair here, with some reddish highlights that have faded a bit with time.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - Wheatwacked replied to Midwesteaglesfan's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Going for upper endoscopy today

    2. - Midwesteaglesfan posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Going for upper endoscopy today

    3. - marlene333 replied to Grace Good's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      3

      Bee balm lipbalm not gluten free

    4. - Mari replied to Jmartes71's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      4

      Related issues


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,267
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Kristine Ryder
    Newest Member
    Kristine Ryder
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Hello @Midwesteaglesfan and welcome. A result greater than 10 U/mL is considered positive. Some labs use 15 as the cutoff, but 34 is in the positive.  The endoscopy and biopsy is looking for damage to your small intestine.  I don't don't think 5 days is enough to repair the damage. This comment is effectly your answer, regardless of your biopsy results.  The endoscopy has been the Gold Standard diagnostic, and most healthcare providers won't diagnose celiac disease until your intestinal lining Marsh Score reaches stage 3. You don't really want to wait for the damage to get worse, especially since only five days mostly gluten free gave you relief.  Yes, migranes is one of the 200 symptoms that may be caused by Celiac Disease. Malabsorption Syndrome is often comorbid with celiac disease.  The western diet is deficient in many vitamins and minerals.  That's why gluten processed foods are fortified.  Gluten free processed foods are not; Vitamin D deficiency is a virtual given.  40 to 60% of the industrial population is deficient in vitamin D, Damage to the intestinal lining from celiac disease can decrease the number of vitamin D receptors.  So now you get no vitamin D from the sun (skin cancer scare) the major source of vitamin D, plus absorbtion from food is poor because of intestinal damage.   Low iodine intake is getting more of a concern because the major source of iodine used to be bread (dough conditioner with iodine was stopped in the US in the 1970s), dairy (lactose intolerance from eating quick pickles with vinegar instead of fermented pickles which supply lactase excreting lactobacillus to improve Lactose intolerance. Commercial Dairies have wheat, barley and rye added to the cow feed. Some say they are sensitive to milk protein, but it is the gluten added to supplement the cow feed to increase milk production that becomes part of the milk protein causing the problem.  And people use less iodized salt.  In the US intake of iodine dropped 50% from 1970 to 1984. Switch to Grass fed only milk and consider supplementing Liquid Iodine drops to your diet.  The omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of commercial milk is 5:1; Organic milk is 3:1 and grass fed milk is 1:1. The typical western diet is around 14:1, optimum for humans is 1:1.  Wheat flour is 22:1 omega 6:3.  Choose vegetables lower in omega 6, it is inflammatory. Eat fermented foods and switch to Grass fed only milk.  Some say they are sensitive to milk protein, but it is the gluten added to supplement the cow feed to increase milk production that becomes part of the milk protein.   
    • Midwesteaglesfan
      At 41 years old I have been fighting fatigue and joint pain for a couple months.  My family doctor kept saying nothing was wrong but I was insistent that I just didn’t feel right.  Finally after running several blood labs, one came back showing inflammation in my body and I was referred to a rheumatologist.  He was extremely thorough and sat with me and my family for a good hour asking questions and listening. He ordered X-rays of all my joints and more bloodwork.  He suspected some sort of reactive inflammatory arthritis.  My TTG (Tissue Transglutaminase) came back at 34. he told me to try going gluten free and out me on Salfasalzin to help the join inflammation.  Over the next couple days going gluten free and doing a lot of research and talking to people with celiacs,  we found that I should have an upper endoscopy for insurance purposes in the future.  I reached back out to my rheumatologist and expressed this concern and he got back to me stating I was correct and resume regular gluten diet and stop the medication until after that scope.     They were able to schedule me in for 2 days later.  I had been gluten free, or as close to it as I could be for about 5 days.  I know I ate some brats with it but wanted to use them up.  My symptoms had gotten slightly better in those 5 days.  I felt less fatigue and joint pain was slightly better(it had gotten really bad) so for these last 2 days I’ve gone crazy with wheat bread, pasta and such.  I’m hoping those 5 days didn’t screw this endoscopy up.  I can’t imagine after a life of gluten, my intestines healed in 5 days and after eating gluten again for these couple days,  my stomach hurts, joint pain is coming back up so I know the inflammation is there.   Hinesight after this diagnosis, I have had chronic migraines since my late teens.  Has that been a lingering symptom of celiacs all these years?  I’ve never really had the stomach issues, for me it came in heavy these last couple months as the fatigue, just always feeling tired and exhausted.  And the joint pain.     So getting in the car for the 2 hour drive to the hospital for this scope now.     Wish me luck!
    • marlene333
      To play it safe, use Vasoline Lip Therapy. No questions as to it containing gluten.
    • Mari
      jmartes, Thank you for sharing  more information with us. Most of us Celiacs whose problems do not clear up with in a few years have to decide what to do next. We can keep seeing DR.s and hope that we will get some  medication or advice that will improve our health. Or we can go looking for other ways to improve our health. Usually Celiac Disease is not a killer disease, it is a disabling disease as  you have found out. You have time to find some ways to help you recover. Stay on your gluten-free diet and be more careful in avoiding cross contamination . KnittyKitty  and others here can give you advice about avoiding some foods that can give you the gluten auto immune reaction and advice about vitamins and supplement that help celiacs. You may need to take higher doses of Vit. B12  and D3.  About 20 years before a Dr. suggested I might have Celiac disease I had health problems that all other Dr said they could not identify or treat. I was very opposed to alternative providers and treatments. So many people were getting help from a local healer I decided to try that out. It was a little helpful but then, because I had a good education in medical laboraties she gave me a book  to read and what did I think. With great skeptism I started reading and before I was half way through it I began using the methods outlined in the book. Using those herbs and supplements I went from hardly able to work to being able to work almost fulltime. I still use that program. But because I had undiagnosed celiac disease by 10 years later some  of my problems returned and I started to loose weight.    So how does a person find a program that will benefit them? Among the programs you can find online there are many that are snake oil scams and some that will be beneficial. by asking around, as I did. Is there an ND in your area? Do they reccomend that person? If you would like to read about the program I use go to www.drclark.net   
    • Scott Adams
      It's unfortunate that they won't work with you on this, but in the end sometimes we have to take charge of our own health--which is exactly what happened to me. I did finally get the tests done, but only after years of going down various rabbit holes and suffering. Just quitting gluten may be the best path for you at this point.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.