Gluten Can Kill You

I read an article called "Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You," by Dr. Mark Hyman, that is a great motivator to kicking off my next gluten, corn and soy free year. The article mentions a broad, new study that found that gluten increases the risk of death from cancer or heart disease in those who are sensitive.

Even scarier, 99% of people who are sensitive to gluten don't know it. "This is ground-breaking research that proves you don't have to have full-blown celiac disease with a positive intestinal biopsy (which is what conventional thinking tells us) to have serious health problems and complications--even death--from eating gluten."

The article goes on to list 55 other "diseases" that gluten can cause: "These include

• Osteoporosis,
• Irritable bowel disease,
• Inflammatory bowel disease,
• Anemia,
• Cancer,
• Fatigue,
• Canker sores,
• Rheumatoid arthritis,
• Lupus,
• Multiple sclerosis,
• Almost all other autoimmune diseases.

"Gluten is also linked to many psychiatric (vi) and neurological diseases, including

• Anxiety,
• Depression,
• Schizophrenia,
• Dementia,
• Migraines,
• Epilepsy, and
• Neuropathy (nerve damage).
• It has also been linked to autism.

One of my favorite quotes from the article is: "We used to think that gluten problems or celiac disease were confined to children who had diarrhea, weight loss, and failure to thrive. Now we know you can be old, fat, and constipated and still have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.

Gluten-intolerance: Do you have it?

• 1 in 133 Americans is gluten-intolerant.
• 1 in 22 Americans is gluten-intolerant if an immediate family member is gluten-intolerant. (So, my family members, pay attention here.)

I have been thinking about writing a post on gluten-intolerance for a while and decided today is a good day since Spider63 asked me about gluten after my last post. (If you read my last post, I discussed my excitement at having an entirely gluten free restaurant meal, including beer.)

Typical Symptoms:

• There may be none!

I did however have symptoms, which is how I discovered my wheat allergy/gluten intolerance. My symptoms included:

• Diarrhea
• Bloating
• Gas (Stinky, too)
• Abdominal Pain
• Fatigue

I only found out I was gluten-intolerant last summer, because I was having all of the above, felt constantly lethargic and a little bit foggy in the brain. I also knew that something I was eating wasn't digesting quite right.

It was one lone day when I ate a 100% wheat pita and had the big D within a few minutes, then continued to have abdominal pain, the gas, bloating, and hay fever-like symptoms, too, that I decided that I should probably get some food allergy testing done for wheat.

I got tested a week later and did find out that I was allergic to wheat and corn and soy products (much to my surprise). My allergist, given the symptoms that I discussed with him, asked me to get tested for celiacs disease. I did get the blood test done, which came back negative. He is still encouraging me to get the more invasive test done (where they scope out your intestines), but I haven't gotten that done. (It takes on average 12 years for someone to be diagnosed with celiacs... I don't feel like waiting around for that!)

I have already found that when I get rid of wheat, soy, and corn products my digestive symptoms almost entirely disappear (including bloating, which is nice for the figure), and my allergies get better in general .

Most people who are allergic to wheat are actually allergic to the gluten (a protein) found in wheat and several other grains, including:

Wheat
Barley
Rye
Farina
Graham flour
Semolina
Durham
Bulgur
Kamut
Kasha
Matzo meal
Spelt (a form of wheat)
Triticale

I avoid all gluten products. There is some debate about whether people can have oats. Oats can often be cross contaminated with wheat and other gluten-containing items. I am an oat fanatic, so I haven't removed them from my diet. Maybe I should for a while and see if things get even better, but... we'll see.

Interesting Side Effects/Risk Factors:

Diabetes/Blood Sugar Sensitivity: Another reason I think people in my family should pay attention is that diabetes and sugar sensitivities are often linked with celiac's disease/gluten-intolerance. Several people in my family have one of the two of those.

Thyroid Diseases: A link has also been shown between thyroid diseases, such as Hashimoto's and Graves Diseases, and gluten-intolerance. Several people in my family are affected here, too. A few more links on this:

http://www.celiac.com/articles/1135/1/Connection-Found-between-Celiac-Disease-and-Hashimotos-Thyroiditis/Page1.html

http://www.denvernaturopathic.com/news/celiac.html

Lactose Intolerance: People who are gluten-intolerant, have celiacs disease, are allergic to wheat, etc., are often lactose intolerant due to the damage to their intestinal lining caused by the intolerance/disease/allergy. I was very lactose intolerant. One interesting thing, is that if you take gluten out of your diet, your lactose intolerance can go away as your intestines heal. I am no longer lactose intolerant! It is crazy! I can actually drink a latte made with normal milk and not pass out in pain from the effects.

PCOS and Gluten-sensitivity: Recently, people are finding that PCOS (disease that affects women's fertility) patients are often highly likely to be gluten sensitive. One nutritionist found that 85% of her PCOS patients were gluten sensitive.

If Left Untreated...

• Malnutrition
• Osteoperosis
• Lactose Intolerance
• Cancer
• Neurological Complications

Another complication for women:

• Miscarriages and Stillborn/Low Birth Weight Babies

If you think some of the items in this article apply to you, you may want to try a gluten-free diet for a month. It takes your body 2 to 3 weeks to begin healing, if you are gluten-intolerant. There are a ton of great sites for gluten-free recipes. I have one listed on my favorite blogs.

Here is a good British Web page from their National Institute of Health that discusses celiacs disease. The British are ahead of the curve on tracking the problem, because a good portion of their population appears to be affected.