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Celiac.com 12/08/2015 - Is the rate of food sensitivity and allergy growing? Or are we just more concerned about it because children experience anaphylactic crisis, sometimes even dying from exposure to peanuts, strawberries, and all the other foods that most of us think of as harmless? Even if the rates are growing, what is the cause? And should we, in the gluten sensitive community, be concerned about developing such allergies? After all, celiac patients were often told that there was no greater risk of developing IgE food allergies among those with celiac disease than is experienced by the general population (1, 2). I was certainly told this, on more than one occasion, by apparently well qualified medical practitioners. Yet, more recent research is showing that those with any autoimmune disease, including celiac disease, have a much greater risk of developing such allergies (3). Unfortunately, we still have more questions than answers. Nonetheless, the issue really does warrant exploration, especially among those who are gluten sensitive. Further, since the numbers of those with non-celiac gluten sensitivity remain controversial, we can also look at the issue from another perspective. For instance, a study of childhood IgE allergy frequency, at a center in Texas devoted to treating allergies and similar ailments, the investigators looked at antibody reactions to cow's milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat. They reported that the rate of all of these allergies combined had almost tripled (from 3% to 8%) in only five years (4). That is a startling rate of increase. If this finding can be applied more broadly, it should be alarming. However, another research group at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, reported that childhood emergency department visits for food allergy reactions remained stable over a nine year period, while adult visits for food allergy reactions declined over this same time period (5). The central thrust of their report appears to be that we have an improving understanding of how to manage our own and our children's allergic reactions, so emergency room visits are becoming, relatively less frequent. This may simply signal that allergies are becoming so common that, as a culture, we are becoming better versed in how to avoid or manage mild allergic manifestations. Yet another group of investigators in Australia state that there has been a "dramatic rise in the prevalence of IgE-mediated food allergy over recent decades, particularly among infants and young children " (6). They go on to suggest that this increase may be due to "the composition, richness and balance of the microbiota that colonize the human gut during early infancy" (6). They further assert that IgE food allergies are connected to an impaired barrier function of epithelial cells that line the intestinal wall, in combination with immune dysregulation (6). Still others assert that the increase in allergies may be tied to climate change via several factors including "variability of aeroallergens, food allergens and insect-based allergic venoms" (7). Martin Blazer, M.D., in his book titled Missing Microbes argues that overuse of antibiotics may be at the root of both the increase in food allergies, as well as the increasing prevalence of celiac disease, through disrupting the gut microbiome and selection for antibiotic-resistant strains of microbes (8). Some or all of the foregoing theories may well have a legitimate influence on our growing rates of allergies. As I see it, however, the various theories postulated to explain these increasing rates have left out one powerful dietary trend that has also accompanied these increases in IgE food allergy prevalence. For instance, compromised intestinal barrier function is a well documented feature of gluten grain consumption, although it is greatest in the context of celiac disease. The increased release of zonulin, triggered by eating gluten grains, may also be a critical factor in the development and persistence of the disease process, especially in cases of celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and about one quarter of cases of multiple sclerosis (9, 10). In the gut, gluten triggers increased release of zonulin, which weakens the junction between the epithelial cells that form the intestinal walls, and usually provide a protective barrier where these cells connect (11). The "gap" between these cells, caused by increased zonulin release, allows undigested proteins and peptides to bypass the cells that usually transport digested particles from the intestine to the bloodstream. Partly digested proteins, small peptides, also move through these epithelial cells, following the same path that fully digested food particles follow. However, according to Dr. Fasano, those are usually so degraded that they don't trigger antibody production (9). Thus, the leaky gut that has long been associated with celiac disease, and is often seen as a characteristic of, but not restricted to this ailment, is a critical stage in the development of this illness. This leakiness is, as most readers will know, reversed by a gluten-free diet. We are now seeing, in the peer reviewed medical literature, a wide range of ailments being identified as manifestations of undigested food proteins being "leaked" into the circulatory system. Further, there is a dose-dependent relationship between increasing gut permeability and increased gluten consumption, both in celiac disease and in other forms of autoimmunity (12). If this dose-dependent relationship also applies to many of those with other sensitivities, at admittedly lower levels of permeability (13), and if that is the dynamic that underlies much of the increasing trend of IgE food allergies, we should be seeing the rates of these allergies continue to rise in the general population. And, if we continue with our gluten gluttony, who can say how many ailments are associated with gluten consumption and increased zonulin release? It is also possible, perhaps even probable, that some of us experience increased zonulin release into the bloodstream, rather than into the intestinal lumen. If so, those peoples' epithelial linings of lungs, nasal passages, and blood brain barriers, may be more compromised than those individuals who primarily experience a leaky gut. By weakening these other barriers, they may invite other ailments that are less obviously triggered by gluten and other food proteins. Dr. Alessio Fasano has stated that new understandings of zonulin's role in autoimmunity, inflammation, and some cancers, "suggests that the autoimmune process can be arrested if the interplay between genes and environmental triggers is prevented by reestablishing [sic] the intestinal barrier function" (9). An animal study showed that AT1001, an experimental drug that blocks the action of zonulin, protected against autoimmune attack on pancreatic islet cells (9) which produce insulin. A human study of twenty-one subjects, reported similar findings (14). While it is true that intestinal infections have also been shown to induce zonulin release in the gut, the issue of microbes may not be as large a factor as it at first appears. When bacteria colonize our intestines, there are three possible outcomes: First, the infection may run rampant and kill us, thus solving the problem in a most undesirable manner. Second, and much more likely, we may take antibiotics and deplete or eliminate these infectious agents in our intestines. Third, and most likely, a combination of our immune systems, other microbes resident in our gut, antibiotics, and other, possibly unknown factors, may quickly or slowly bring the infectious agent under control. By reducing its numbers sufficiently that it won't pose a serious threat to our well being, and the harmful impact of these microbes has been muted. The second and third possibilities will be both the most common and most desirable. Also, as soon as the microbe in question is under control, zonulin release should be diminished to a point where it is either a minor factor in triggering continued zonulin release or, because it has been eradicated, the microbe will become irrelevant to zonulin release. On the other hand, for as long as we consume gluten, zonulin continues to be released, thus disrupting tight junctions in the intestinal, pulmonary, sinus, and other mucosal membranes, permitting allergens to reach our circulatory systems, ultimately giving rise to the growing prevalence of dangerous allergies that may sometimes manifest in anaphylactic reactions. The most important issue here seems to be the impact of gluten consumption on zonulin release, along with its impact on several protective barriers in the body, weakening them at the previously tight junctions between their cells. These include the blood brain barrier, which usually protects the brain from impurities and antibodies in the blood. It also includes the mucosa that line the lungs and nasal passages that protect us from airborne toxins and microbes. When that barrier is compromised, small particles from the air that we breathe will reach our circulation and trigger immune reactions...also known as allergies. Perhaps the most important barrier is in the digestive tract. It is made up of several variants of mucosa that protect the tissues of the gastrointestinal tract from toxins and the unwanted particles in our foods and beverages (well, most of them anyway). This, it seems to me, is the crux of our growing crisis with environmental allergies and the elevated zonulin levels that sometimes accompany them. And we can't even begin to combat this dynamic without first understanding it better. In the meantime, adding AT1001 to gluten-containing flours might be useful. Conversely, the media voices that are selling the idea that a gluten-free diet is an expensive fad might soon see research that reveals the gluten-free diet as an excellent prophylactic against developing IgE allergies, a variety of cancers, autoimmunity, some psychiatric illnesses, and many neurological diseases. In the interim, we can only use our own best judgement and decide for ourselves. Would the dietary products of gluten grains really be that great a loss to the palate? Is it a reasonable trade-off to risk falling prey to all of the potential consequences that come to us through elevated release of zonulin? More compellingly, perhaps, Professor Loren Cordain's assertion that humans have not had enough time to become fully adapted to eating cereal grains, especially as a dominant portion of our diet (15), appears to gain considerable support from the discovery and characterization of zonulin. Further, although some European, Asian, and northern African genes may have had as much as 15,000 years to adapt to this food source, most of the world's inhabitants have had a much shorter time to adapt. These are periods that are most appropriately measured in centuries and decades. The assumption that gluten grains can be safely consumed by all humans, because we have been eating them for "thousands of years" is unlikely to be true for most of the world's current population, and may represent a Eurocentric perspective. Sources: Csorba S, Jezerniczky J, Ilyés I, Nagy B, Dvorácsek E, Szabó B. Immunoglobulin E in the sera of infants and children. Acta Paediatr Acad Sci Hung. 1976;17(3):207-14. Greco L, De Seta L, D'Adamo G, Baldassarre C, Mayer M, Siani P, Lojodice D. Atopy and coeliac disease: bias or true relation? Acta Paediatr Scand. 1990 Jun-Jul;79(6-7):670-4. Fraser K, Robertson L. Chronic urticaria and autoimmunity. Skin Therapy Lett. 2013 Nov-Dec;18(7):5-9. Amin AJ, Davis CM. Changes in prevalence and characteristics of IgE-mediated food allergies in children referred to a tertiary care center in 2003 and 2008. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2012 Jan-Feb;33(1):95-101. Clark S, Espinola JA, Rudders SA, Banerji A, Camargo CA. Favorable trends in the frequency of U.S. emergency department visits for food allergy, 2001-2009. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2013 Sep-Oct;34(5):439-45. Molloy J, Allen K, Collier F, Tang ML, Ward AC, Vuillermin P. The potential link between gut microbiota and IgE-mediated food allergy in early life. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Dec 16;10(12):7235-56. Bielory L(1), Lyons K, Goldberg R. Climate change and allergic disease. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2012 Dec;12(6):485-94. Blazer M. Missing Microbes. Harper Collins, Toronto, Canada, 2014. Fasano A. Zonulin and its regulation of intestinal barrier function: the biological door to inflammation, autoimmunity, and cancer. Physiol Rev. 2011 Jan;91(1):151-75. Yacyshyn B, Meddings J, Sadowski D, Bowen-Yacyshyn MB. Multiple sclerosis patients have peripheral blood CD45RO+ B cells and increased intestinal permeability. Dig Dis Sci. 1996 Dec;41(12):2493-8. Tripathi A, Lammers KM, Goldblum S, Shea-Donohue T, Netzel-Arnett S, Buzza MS, Antalis TM, Vogel SN, Zhao A, Yang S, Arrietta MC, Meddings JB, Fasano A. Identification of human zonulin, a physiological modulator of tight junctions, as prehaptoglobin-2. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Sep 29;106(39):16799-804. Fasano A. Leaky gut and autoimmune diseases. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2012 Feb;42(1):71-8. Drago S, El Asmar R, Di Pierro M, Grazia Clemente M, Tripathi A, Sapone A,Thakar M, Iacono G, Carroccio A, D'Agate C, Not T, Zampini L, Catassi C, Fasano A. Gliadin, zonulin and gut permeability: Effects on celiac and non-celiac intestinal mucosa and intestinal cell lines. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2006 Apr;41(4):408-19. Paterson BM, Lammers KM, Arrieta MC, Fasano A, Meddings JB. The safety, tolerance, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of single doses of AT-1001 in coeliac disease subjects: a proof of concept study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2007 Sep 1;26(5):757-66. Cordain L. Cereal Grains: Humanity's Double-Edged Sword. in Simopoulos AP (ed): Evolutionary Aspects of Nutrition and Health. Diet, Exercise, Genetics and Chronic Disease. World Rev Nutr Diet. Basel, Karger, 1999, vol 84, pp 19–73
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Celiac.com 12/26/2012 - The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., to ensure that students with celiac disease and other food allergies can fully and equally enjoy the university’s meal plan and food services in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Food allergies may constitute a disability under the ADA. Individuals with food allergies may have an autoimmune response to certain foods, the symptoms of which may include difficulty swallowing and breathing, asthma and anaphylaxis. For example, celiac disease, which is triggered by consumption of the protein gluten (found in foods such as wheat, barley and rye), can cause permanent damage to the surface of the small intestines and an inability to absorb certain nutrients, leading to vitamin deficiencies that deny vital nourishment to the brain, nervous system, bones, liver and other organs. Celiac disease affects about 1 in 133 Americans. “By implementing this agreement, Lesley University will ensure students with celiac disease and other food allergies can obtain safe and nutritional food options,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The agreement ensures that Lesley’s meal program is attentive to the schedules and demands of college students with food allergies, an issue colleges and universities across the country need to consider.” Under the settlement, Lesley University agrees to amend its policies and practices to: Continually provide ready-made hot and cold gluten- and allergen-free food options in its dining hall food lines; Develop individualized meal plans for students with food allergies, and allow those students to pre-order allergen free meals, that can be made available at the university’s dining halls in Cambridge and Boston; Provide a dedicated space in its main dining hall to store and prepare gluten-free and allergen-free foods and to avoid cross-contamination; Enable students to request food made without allergens, and ensure that a supply of allergen-free food is available; Work to retain vendors that accept students’ prepaid meal cards that offer food without allergens; Display notices concerning food allergies and identify foods containing specific allergens; Train food service and University staff about food allergy related issues; Pay $50,000 in compensatory damages to previously identified students who have celiac disease or other food allergies. The settlement agreement was reached under the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by public accommodations, including colleges and universities, in their full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, and facilities. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt . More information about the settlement with Lesley University can be found at www.ada.gov or by calling the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TTY).
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Clash With The Doctors On My Colonoscopy Prep
1desperateladysaved posted a blog entry in 1desperateladysaved's Blog
I am normally a very shy person just wanting to blend in and willingly do what I am asked. However, when doctors told me that I needed to drink high fructose corn syrup, corn in my medications, and plastic (Mira lax) they had overstepped their power and I felt threatened. I swell up if I smell corn, so I knew I couldn't eat it. They dismissed my concern about this saying, "You can do it for the test." I set out to figure out a safe alternative for me to prep for my colonoscopy. This process took me over a month of most of my daily thoughts to figure out. I felt in above my head. I asked pharmacists that worked with my doctor for alternative products. They referred me back to the doctor. I told them that the doctor would not provide me with an alternative product. They said well the doctor must not be concerned about your allergy problems. I asked the pharmacist at the local drugstore who also referred me back to the doctor. Baffled I finally asked a friend that was a pharmacist who I should ask that could help me. She said that she could help. She also said that she would not have believed my allergy problem, but she had a relative having the same sorts of issues. Finally, I felt ready and the day for prep arrived. I woke up that morning and for the second day in a row had diarrhea. I mean BEFORE my prep even began! As the day went on I scolded myself about not just being able to do what the doctor said it do. Still, the product should work, all I have to do is be absolutely sure I get enough fluids. I also had made broth with meat and veggies and had this strained for meals. I remembered the product mostly would not be absorbed by my body, so even know I took a large quantity, it would pass through. I trusted my friend the pharmacist and she had used this very substance for her colonoscopy a few years back. Besides the doctor had prescribed this substance to use in prep, just not the brand and form which I had. Finally, I convinced myself and poured the capsules into a cup. I added water and stirred. I drank it down. IN the bottom of my cup was soggy powder, so I chewed and swallowed. My pharmacist friend had told me that when the treatment was finished with the job, the stool would come out yellow and clear. Mind did by the end of the first dose. That meant that I could stop, but I did the second dose anyway, because I knew I had to be sure. The doctor's prep had also a morning prep before the test, but for me that would have meant being up at 3 am. I hadn't known this when I signed up for their first appointment of the day. I did both parts the day before so that I didn't have to get up during the night or worry about driving to the office with diarrhea. I first talked with a nurse that asked which prep I did. I told her I prepped with magnesium citrate. She asked if it were the one prescribed and I said I ordered one I could tolerate without corn. Are you]allergic to corn, she asked? I can't eat corn I replied. What are your symptoms? My body swells up. "You could have done it for the test." Anyway, I felt angry with her. She left me to dress. Another nurse came in and started going over more info that my prep wasn't good enough. The doctor came in and announced that she heard I was rude to the nurse. Then she went into a lecture about how my prep wasn't good enough. Her nurse told her that I did my own prep and this was foolish behavior! I began to yell about them dismissing a person when they say they can't have corn and ordering only giving meds with corn. The doctor claimed she wished she would have known I couldn't have corn... I had told her I couldn't, but they kept saying, but you can have it. Only bloating. Ahhhhhhhhh, I thought! . The doctor said that it was dangerous of me to take the same dose of magnesium citrate which she called for in a part of her plan. It can tend to give kidney problems. I didn't take the same formula, because it had lemon juice which I cannot have either. Also, she mentioned my kidney had showed somewhat dehydrated a couple of days before. Everything had looked within normal limits to me. And she affirmed that it was just a little borderline. They reminded me the Miralax doesn't have corn, but I said it is plastic which isn't to eat! ) I asked them with my hands on the oxygen tube in my nose if they wanted me to leave?! Finally I said, 'You know I think we both have the same goal-to keep me safe. I know that I can't eat corn. Finally everyone seemed a bit disarmed. The doctor decided to start in without sedatives to see if the "prep" worked." I alerted them that I read up on the sedatives and thought we needed to keep the dosage low. . I enjoyed watching the bright red shiny pictures as the scope traveled through a twisting tunnel. Everything looked clean except for a tiny wisp of mucous. The doctor looked rather excited (in a good way) over what she saw as if she were marveling also. Suddenly she hit a twist and began to turn. I felt extreme pain as if someone took a credit card and scraped it against the side of an open sore. This brought a muffled cry as I never recall making except perhaps in childbirth. It sounds a little like a chicken cackling after laying an egg. " I am sorry I said, I can't." I couldn't lie still as it hurt too much. Then she said that the prep looked good enough, so I got the sedatives,. . When I woke up, I was in a bed facing a huge window with the light cheerily coming in. The doctor was standing nearby looking concerned. She said that she knew that I wanted less dose of sedative, but they ended up giving more than usual. The kinks they found were so sensitive. Then she said that we could do the same prep again if we ever needed to. She mentioned fodmaps diet for me. I looked into it and it is similar in many respects to what I am doing. Fruit variety is limited, but my recent favorites strawberries and bananas are allowed. Many of the ones I can't eat are on the bad list that seemed interesting. It is also gluten free. The doc also said that the endoscopy looked great. Everything looked healed up. I apologized to the nurse and the doctor, for indeed I had been rude to them. I know a person who, "though He was reviled, He reviled not again" and would like to do likewise regardless of circumstances. I felt somewhat dizzy from the sedative. We walked to the lab to get my blood work. We got in the car. I gulped down two thermoses of home tap well water as I felt so thirsty. We drove for a while and then I started searching for a plastic bag if you get my drift. There were holes in the bag I found. oops, I had planned to put a bucket or something in. Anyway, I felt better when the water was gone and decided to wait til I got home to drink more and have some food. I came home and put on my robe and collapsed on the couch with my pillow. The children were duly impressed when they came home later. Actually they were a little worried. I had heard of the robe tactic when you need to rest and it truly worked. I really didn't feel too bad, but was told to lay low. I looked up kinks in the intestine. It can be cancer. my dad said that no one in the family has had cancer. He has a nice point. BUT "nobody" has had celiac either and that didn't stop me from getting it and or the genes Okay, but the doctor said that they found one polyp that looked benign She brought up cancer for that. She mentioned the kinks, but didn't mention cancer as an option. She took biopsy's, though, so we're bound to find out. Kinks can also be linked to celiac or chrohns, or pelvic inflammatory disease. I took from the Fodmap diet option that she is thinking food problems and that stands good for my side. My side of defending my right to not eat corn. Since, the doctor offered me a fruit intolerance test. But she mentioned you just drink some stuff and blow into something. I probably will stall out, because what do you think that the stuff will be? It is probably high fructose corn syrup. The results of my tests showed no cancer or significant ungoing damage to my digestive track. Thanks to my friend the pharmacist I knew to have the doctor check for electrolyte balance after that test. This test came out well. My prep didn't damage as was feared. Also the doctor said that if we needed to ever, we could use that same prep again, except perhaps would need to do the last coarse the morning of the exam. Personally, I hope there never is a reason, but am glad that if there is ever was I know where to go for help!- 1 comment
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Quite Simple, Food Allergies vs. Food Intolerance
Paul Smith posted an article in Allergy vs. Intolerance
Celiac.com 06/29/2009 - Hypersensitive reactions to food are becoming increasingly problematic in society. Allergy experts report that the prevalence of food allergies appears to be rising and while there are no exact figures for this in Australia, some studies have shown marked increases overseas. For example, a study from the Isle of Wight in the U.K. has shown a tripling in the rate of peanut allergies over the past 10 years. However, the reason for this is not yet clear. Auckland allergy expert Dr. Vincent Crump has three theories regarding the increase in peanut allergies. More people are eating peanuts and, up until recently, many eczema creams contained peanut oil, possibly exposing an allergy prone person to the food. There’s also the 'hygiene theory' of disease, which suggests that children are not exposed to enough dirt and bacteria these days, and therefore do not build up a normal immunity to harmless substances. So when they are exposed, their immune system overreacts and they develop an allergy. Despite the overall increase in food allergies, the rate in adults is still pretty low – around one per cent. However, the rate is higher in children, where up to five per cent are believed to have a food allergy. Allergy vs. intoleranceThe most common and best understood type of allergy is a reaction in which the body's immune system overreacts to a food and mistakenly produces antibodies (called IgE) to the food. This can cause reactions, sometimes severe, that affect the skin, breathing, gut and heart. An intolerance is an adverse reaction to a food that does not involve the immune system. Symptoms are generally less severe, and can include headaches, gut problems and worsening of skin conditions such as eczema. Intolerance is much less likely to be life-threatening than a true allergy. What is an allergy?According to the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and allergy (ASCIA) education resources website, the word “allergy” is frequently overused and misused to include any irritating or uncomfortable symptoms after eating. Strictly speaking the term should only be used for the symptoms which develop after eating certain foods as part of the immune response.In an allergic reaction, the body’s immune system mistakenly believes the food is harmful and tries to protect itself. In doing so it overreacts and produces, for example, harmful antibodies to fight the food “allergens”. In turn, these special antibodies (called IgE) make the body produce histamines and other chemicals, causing reactions that affect the skin, breathing, gut and heart. IgE antibodies can also “cross react “with other allergens. For example, someone with a latex allergy may also react after eating a banana, kiwi fruit or avocado. According to allergy specialist Professor Rohan Ameratunga, up to 50 per cent of people who react to one tree nut (including almonds, brazil nuts, Cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) will react to other tree nuts. A recently recognized form of food allergy is the “oral allergy syndrome”, where a person experiences a cross reaction between pollens and fresh fruit and vegetables. This “cross-reactivity” is also the reason why some adults with a predisposition to other allergies suddenly develop a food allergy. For example, a person with a birch pollen allergy can suddenly became allergic to apple or kiwi fruit allergens. Dr Crump says more and more adults prone to allergies are developing cross reactions after they are overexposed to certain foods (such as acquiring wheat allergies after working in a bakery). What are the most common food allergies?Allergies are mostly triggered by nuts, shellfish, fish, milk, eggs, wheat and soybeans.Adults are more likely to be allergic to fish, shellfish and nuts, with children suffering more from allergies to milk, eggs and peanuts. Reactions to seeds and fruits are also becoming more common. There are cultural differences in allergy patterns, according to professor Ameratunga. In Japan, rice allergy is common. In the Middle East and Australia, sesame allergy is on the rise. We know the treatment for coeliac disease is a gluten-free diet for life. Although people with coeliac disease produce antibodies the allergic process is different from that seen in most other allergic reactions. In coeliac disease, gluten reacts with the small intestine, and activates the immune system to attack the delicate lining of the bowel. The normally rippled lining of the intestine becomes damaged and inflamed, and forms the characteristic flat appearance of celiac disease. The surface area, which enables the absorption of nutrients and minerals from food, is seriously depleted, leading to gastrointestinal and malabsorptive symptoms. Common IntolerancesAlmost any food can cause an intolerance, but the repeat offenders are;OFFENDER: Lactose FOUND IN: Milk and milk products. Yoghurts have little lactose and hard cheeses have none. OFFENDER: Salicylates FOUND IN: Natural food chemicals found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables such as cauliflower, eggplant, broccoli, tomato, apple, orange, and pineapple. Also found in nuts, spices and aspirin. OFFENDER: Amines FOUND IN: Histamines and histamine-like chemicals produced during fermentation, and the ageing and ripening of foods. Found in wine, processed meats, hard cheese, tomato paste, chocolate, and many fruits and vegetables. OFFENDER: Glutamate FOUND IN: An amino acid found naturally in all protein foods such as cheese, processed meats and milk. MSG (additive621) is a type of glutamate, and natural glutamates are also found in soy sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, grapes, plums and many others foods. Anything else you'd like to add? Leave a comment- 10 comments
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Well, since my last post things have really turned around in a good way. My mom is now on my side fully with going gluten-free. I feel so much better, though I am now having huge flare-ups of new and typical allergies, and also now having loose stool and gastro pain. I think it's my daily pills... I'm having issues with lactose still, gluten (of course), my tea tree organic castile soap (Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Bar Soap), any shampoo (currently am using Mane and Tail), an organic body wash called 100% Pure White Peach Hydrating Body Wash which I used to be able to use to wash my face and now it causes an awful full-faced itchy, burning rash, and I'm sure other things which I can't think of at the moment. I take 40mg Lexapro daily for depression and anxiety. I have for about 10 years. Well all of a sudden on Thursday when I took all my pills in the afternoon I began having this awful panic attack - but it wasn't the kind where my brain is panicking - like "THE SKY IS FALLING" no, it's a body-only thing where my body gets super hot in the core and upper arms/legs and my hands and feet get freezing cold! and It's like there is a fire burning inside my torso. It's freaky and awful and I hate it! I eventually got over it mostly Thursday night and was finally able to fall asleep at about 4am. Then Friday afternoon I took only 2 Lexapro and no other medications. Same reaction, though not as severe. So I googled it and it seems it may be seretonin toxicity. Hmm. My gut may be healing - so it's absorbing more of the Lexapro - which makes my brain more saturated or whatever. So today I will only take 1 Lexapro (20mg) which is half dose. I'll see how I do tonight. I think I will take my blood pressure pill though. I do need that one. So, yeah, my body is freaking out severely and I have no idea why. Allergies, pain, rashes, panic attacks. I'm a walking mystery at this point. But hopefully I can get over these problems. *shrugs* I do see my allergist March 21st - this coming Friday. I will tell him everything that is going on and hopefully he can help me figure this out.
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Nature Immunology 2, 353 - 360 (April 2001) Celiac.com 04/12/2001 - According to an article published in the April issue of Nature Immunology, Dr. Marc Rothenberg and colleagues at the Childrens Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio performed a series of experiments on mice which led them to the conclusion that white blood cells called eosinophils could be the cause of many food allergies and gastrointestinal inflammation. The researchers believe that the eosinophil cells, which are present throughout the body, mistakenly identify food proteins as germs in individuals with food allergies. When the intestinal lining of an allergic person is exposed to an allergen, a substance called eotaxin is released by the cells lining the intestine, which causes the eosinophil cells and other immune cells to attack them and release powerful proteins that destroy the surrounding tissues and cause eosinophilic inflammation. The results of this study are unique because this is the first time eosinophils cells have been implicated in causing allergies, even though scientists have known for some time that they were present in great numbers at the sites of inflammation caused by reactions to food. The implication of this study is the possible development of drugs that stop this reaction from occurring, and thus prevent digestive inflammation and destruction that occurs when people with food allergies eat foods to which they are allergic. These results put scientists one step further in understanding how and why the digestive system is attacked in certain individuals, and a possible means of one day controlling the process.
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Celiac.com 03/16/2004 - According to Dr. Erika Jensen-Jarolim, professor of medicine and immunology at the University of Vienna, there may be a connection between the development of food allergies and the use of antacids. Dr. Jensen-Jarolim presented her teams preliminary findings at the World Allergy Congress on September 10, 2003. Individuals who take medications that reduce or neutralize the acidity in the stomach may be at a higher risk of developing food allergies, possibly caused by normally harmless food proteins passing in tact through the digestive system. Normally acid and pepsin break down food proteins before they pass into the digestive tract, and if Dr. Jensen-Jarolim is correct, interrupting this process could cause serious, lifelong consequences. Dozens of over the counter and prescription medications suppress acid production or neutralize it. The Austrian research team conducted experiments on mice which were fed hazelnut proteins and other allergens. The normal group of mice did not develop allergies to these foods, while mice that were given the ulcer drugs omeprazole (Prilosec) or ranitidine (Zantac) with the foods they ate did develop allergies to those foods. The animal results were further backed by data on 153 human patients who are taking part in a Hungarian acid-suppression therapy study. One interesting finding in their study was that mice only developed food allergies in response to novel foods that were introduced, not to their regular daily diets. Since an estimated ten percent of the population is taking acid-suppression/neutralization medications, Dr. Jensen-Jarolim recommends that these people should not try eating any novel foods during their treatment.
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People with Cereal Allergies Warned of Cola Risk
Scott Adams posted an article in Additional Concerns
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1999;96:11482-11485. (Celiac.com 04/10/2000) Spanish researchers, including Dr. Alicia Armentia Medina from the Hospital Rio Hortega in Valladolid, Spain, warn that people who have cereal allergies should exercise caution when drinking cola or cocoa products as these beverages may contain cereal proteins. These proteins could cause a severe asthmatic reaction in rare instances. Cereal allergies are very common throughout the world, and it is difficult to know the formulation of cola drinks. According to Dr. Medina: It is possible that they contain cereals. In their study, which was presented to the 16th World Congress of Asthma in Spain, Medinas team analyzed the allergic reactions of nine people who suffered severe asthmatic reactions after drinking cola. The researchers linked their allergic reactions to specific alpha-amylase inhibitor molecules that originate from wheat, rye and barley, and were found in their drink. The researchers conclude: My personal opinion is that persons who know that they have a cereal allergy should be careful about consuming foods such as (colas) and cocoa that could contain cereal in their composition.
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