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Celiac.com 02/22/2017 - Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and celiac disease (celiac disease) are autoimmune diseases that share similar genetic patterns. T1DM treatment is based on diet, physical activity and insulin therapy, whereas celiac disease treatment is based on a gluten-free diet. A research team recently set out to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of individuals with the association of T1DM and celiac disease, to characterize their nutritional status and to compare it with those with only one disease and to healthier control subjects. The research team included JG Nunes-Silva, VS Nunes, RP Schwartz, S1 Mlss Trecco, D Evazian, ML Correa-Giannella, M Nery, and MS Queiroz. The are variously affiliated with the Nutrition and Dietetics Division, Central Institute of Clinics Hospital, the Lipids Laboratory (LIM-10), Endocrinology and Metabolism Division of Hospital das Clinicas, Faculty of Medical Sciences, the Radiology Institute of Clinics Hospital, the Cellular and Molecular Endocrinology Laboratory (LIM-18), and the Endocrinology Division, Internal Medicine Department, all at the University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil. The researchers evaluated sixty patients controlled by sex, age and body mass index (BMI). Patients were further divided into the following groups based on previous diagnosis: DMCD group (T1DM and celiac disease); DM group (T1DM); celiac disease group (celiac disease); or HC (healthy control subjects). They used the SF-36 questionnaire to assess psychological well-being, and compared the results with glycemic control, presence of complications related to diabetes, and adhesion to gluten-free diet (GFD). Using BMI, waist circumference, bio-impedance, general laboratory tests and whole-body densitometry, they determined nutritional status and body mass composition. Both the DMCD and DM groups had similar times of diagnosis, but the duration of celiac disease was significantly higher in the celiac disease group compared with DMCD. The SF-36 analysis revealed statistically significant differences between DM and HC groups in two domains: general health (P=0.042) and energy/vitality (P=0.012). QoL was also correlated with compliance to a GFD, and scores were similar in both groups: DMCD and celiac disease. Forty percent of individuals in the celiac disease group had visceral fat area above 100 cm2, compared with just 20% in the other groups. So, are people with both Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease automatically doomed to worse health? It seems not. To be sure, they are generally less healthy than control subjects, but the study found that the DMCD group had similar scores to DM, celiac disease and HC on QoL, as well as on their nutritional status and bone metabolism. The researchers conclude from this that the association of T1DM and celiac disease did not deteriorate the health status of the individuals with both Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. So, it seems that having both Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease dose not automatically mean having worse health, nutrition and well-being. Source: Nutr Diabetes. 2017 Jan 9;7(1):e239. doi: 10.1038/nutd.2016.43.

Celiac.com 10/06/2016 - You do not need to be celiac to need to stay away from gluten. Wheat isn't just harmful to celiac or gluten-sensitive individuals. Did you know that just one slice of wheat bread raises one's blood sugar higher than 3 teaspoons of table sugar? That is equivalent to 12 grams of sugar! Talk about diabetes waiting to happen! I am very diligent in reading over even the gluten–free ingredients of products to ensure they are indeed gluten-free. I decided to start grabbing items off of the shelf to read the other listed ingredients as well. Wow, was I surprised! Sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fructose etc.! Sweetener and especially sugar are added to so many things; it is really horrible. No wonder Americans are addicted to it. We have many new diagnoses and physical disorders stemming from the standard American Diet, the "improper diet", not to mention a rapid rise in obesity statistics and diagnosed diabetes. Americans love bread, gluten-free or not. Go to a restaurant and what is the first thing brought to the table? Bread! Can you imagine being brought some cut up cucumbers and celery instead? Now THAT would be a nice change! I often ask for this by the way and suggest you do as well. Kids products are the worst! To give a tiny or growing body with a rapidly developing brain that needs proper nutrition all that junk, additives and unhealthy ingredient are a crime. If your child has been having trouble focusing in school, I highly advise you to look at the ingredients list of the food and snacks he or she eats and check out the children's menu at a restaurant. Gluten-free foods as well. You may not have any issues with gluten and wheat type bread but it is harming your body in one way or another and I strongly advise you to stay away from it and keep your family off of it too. I also highly suggest you start being diligent and read your gluten-free product's ingredients list. Going gluten-free is the first step as a diagnosed celiac or one who is gluten intolerant, but getting healthier or staying healthy is of utmost importance to a long and healthy lifestyle. Your body's future is in your hands.

Celiac.com 09/05/2013 - Current medical science describes diarrhea as a classical symptom of celiac disease, while anemia is described as an atypical or silent manifestation. However, there was actually very little information that accurately compares the severity of celiac disease between patients who present with anemia against those who present with diarrhea. A team of researchers recently set out to determine whether people with anemia have more severe celiac disease than people with diarrhea. The research team included H.A. Daya, B. Lebwohl, S.K. Lewis, and P.H. Green. They are affiliated with the Celiac Disease Center, Department of Internal Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. For their study, the researchers selected a study group of 727 patients from a database of celiac disease patients evaluated at a tertiary referral center between 1990 and 2011. They used the degree of villous atrophy and clinical and serologic parameters to determine the severity of the celiac disease for each patient. The team compared patients according to mode of presentation and sex. They also conducted age and sex-adjusted multivariable analyses to assess the association between the mode of celiac disease presentation and cholesterol level, bone density, severity of villous atrophy, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and level of anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG). They found that just over three-quarters of the patients presented with diarrhea, while just under one-quarter presented with anemia; 92% of which was iron deficient anemia. Multiple regression analysis showed that celiac disease with anemia was associated with lower levels of total cholesterol (P=.02) and high-density lipoprotein (P=.002), and a higher ESR (P=.001) and level of anti-tTG (P=.01). In women only, celiac disease with anemia was associated with a lower level of cholesterol. Anemic patients were more than twice as likely to have severe villous atrophy and a low bone mass density at time they were diagnosed with celiac disease than were patients who presented with diarrhea. So, the results show that celiac disease patients who present with anemia have more severe disease than those who present with diarrhea. There also seem to be sex-specific differences with respect to the connection between anemia and the various features of celiac disease, such as cholesterol. Source: Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013 Jun 8. pii: S1542-3565(13)00775-1. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2013.05.030.