Low Fat Diet Trigger For Onset Of Symptoms?

[juniorlifesaver]

Hello All,

I'd appreciate any help/advice you can offer. I have been reading about celiac's disease and wondering if I have it. I recently (5 weeks ago) began eating according to the eat to live diet. This is a vegan diet that requires that you eat TONS of fruits and veggies. For the first couple of weeks I was really strict about it (so I was so full from the fruits and veggies I wasn't eating bread). I have done it before and found it helped me feel less foggy mentally and I am in an intensive school setting right now so decided to do the diet to help with the brain fog I often experience. I noticed both this time and last time that I very quickly react to dairy when it is reintroduced after just a week of going off of it. So I have been really good about no dairy. But in the last couple of weeks I have eaten out more/eaten more bread/pasta, etc. I have felt lethargic, had diarrhea,gas, painful stomach tightness and stomach cramps, feel really feverish (but with no fever), no appetite (really weird for me), I have a burning feeling in my throat and strawberry tongue. Also for the last four weeks or so I have a hacking/smoker's type cough but I don't smoke. It is dry and is more of a nuisance than anything but it shows no signs of going away. I assumed this came from moving from a humid climate to a dry climate (5 weeks ago).

For the last few months I have been fatigued (thought it was stress related to upcoming move). I have sciatica that runs down my left leg. I also have irregular periods in that they stop for a day in the middle of my cycle. I have been googling my symptoms and celiac keeps coming up.

I am also an alcoholic with 2+ years of sobriety. My dad is also an alcoholic and my mom was diagnosed after years of weird symptoms with Hashimotos disease. All of these seem to be linked to celiac in some way.

I read somewhere that celiac can be triggered by switching to a low fat diet...does anyone know if that is true?

Also, I don't have insurance until next month. Should I give up gluten? Or wait until I can get to the doctor?

Thanks!

[Cara in Boston]

You certainly sound like a candidate for celiac. Do not try the gluten free diet until AFTER you have been tested by your doctor. Once you eliminate gluten from your diet, all tests will come back negative. Depending on your situation, you may not need a doctor's diagnosis. I needed one for my son since he was only 5 at the time . . . he has years and years of school, summer camp, college dorms, etc. that may require a doctor's note to ensure he is provided with safe accommodations. If you are an adult and don't need that, you can certainly go gluten free and see if it helps.

Not sure about the low fat diet being a trigger, but I have read many, many books on diet and nutrition (since my son and I were diagnosed more than a year ago) and I have come to a conclusion that low fat is not the way to go (at least for me.) I've done low-fat before and lost a few pounds but it was a struggle. (hungry and cranky all the time. Never satisfied.) Now I eat closer to a paleo diet - not exactly, but closer (no grains, limited dairy, reduce refined sugar, reduce legumes) and not only am I consistently losing weight, but I feel great. Clear -headed, full of energy, not hungry, etc. It turns out to be much higher in fat (lots of meat, eggs, healthy fats like avocado and coconut) but the weight is coming off. It was hard to get used to at first since everything I had been taught was the opposite of what I was learning about.

My kids are doing better on a more high-fat / low carb (very few grains and all gluten free) diet too - even the non-celiac one . . . better moods, better sleep, better behavior.

Cara

[Takala]

No, low fat diet is not the "trigger," but if it is there, lurking, (meaning the gluten intolerance,) the typical low fat, high grain veggie diet does tend to bring out the symptoms.

My theory is that much of the addictive behaviors we see are a result of modern malnutrition, from undiagnosed celiac and gluten intolerance, (and this spans all races and ethnic groups) and that many of us can be freed of these problems by eating how we should eat - rather the opposite of the truly dreadful, wheat and barley dominant USDA "food pyramid."

And our modern society expects us all to be really high functioning, just brilliant people who can work 50 hours a week in non-socially- supportive, high pressure, crummy jobs that can disappear any minute. Bleah !

If you test negative for celiac, try the diet afterwards anyway, as many potential celiacs are just in the 'gluten intolerant only' category.