Gluten-Free Diet: a Cure for Some, a Fad for Most

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As someone diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance, this article doe not sit well at all.
Were Adam diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity, I am sure his perspective would be much changed. You see, it is the lucky few who after years of symptoms and multiple doctors have finally been diagnosed. According to Peter H.R. Green, MD of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, only 3% of celiac patients have actually been diagnosed. And according to Shari Lieberman, PhD, nearly 30% of the American population is gluten sensitive.
So for those millions of Americans with unrelenting symptoms or genetic predispositions, the fact that the popularity of a gluten free lifestyle is on the rise, could prolong, greatly improve, even save their lives.
Sadly, this disease is one of still much controversy. Most doctors have yet to encounter it and may therefore have a hard time recognizing gluten sensitivity. So articles like this, articles based on questionable resources are damaging to all who are trying to get diagnosed. Every person who wonders if there is a correlation, a real cause for symptoms deserves open ears, not uneducated opinions that it is simply a personal choice.
This is why it is so important that those who are diagnosed continue to raise their voices, continue to ask restaurants for gluten free options, ask grocers to stock gluten free goods, ask one another via groups and forums how to handle certain aspects of this lifestyle.
And for those who are suspicious of a gluten sensitivity and in need of guidance (where to be tested, which method should be chosen, etc.), ask your questions. Ask until you get the answer that feels right to you. Ask until whatever your symptoms may be, and whatever their cause, you are finally, accurately diagnosed.
Sincerely,
Kristen Campbell
www.NaturallyDahling.com

Kristen Campbell of CA 8:15PM November 05, 2008

Millet carries a minute amount of gluten. A minute amount is enough to set off a chain reaction in the intestines of a person wilth Celiac disease.

C. A. Swanson of CA 5:43PM November 05, 2008

Lynn, I am sorry to hear of your ataxia. Gluten and gait ataxias are common in celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. Neurological disorders outpace gastrointestinal disorders at time of diagnosis, 51% to 20% respectively. This is not yet common knowledge in the medical community, but will be as more doctors are exposed to celiac disease research.
I am a celiac. 5 years ago I had IBS, acid reflux, anxiety, chronic fatigue and was 25 pounds overweight. It all went away on the gluten-free diet. I am also the editor of "Recognizing Celiac Disease" the first book to gather over 300 signs, symptoms, associated disorders and complications from medical studies and case reports from around the world into one reference. Many health issues in celiac disease are caused by the nutritional deficiencies that result from malabosrption of nutrients. (The book lists which nutrients are missing for those symptoms so people can determine what they need more of to get well.)
Some health problems are caused by the direct effect of gluten on cellular structures - this can be in any body system including the brain and nervous system - once it penetrates the lining of the small intestine and gets into the bloodstream. Some neurological disorders include fatigue, anxiety, blood perfusion abnormalities, schizophrenia, ataxia and behavioral disorders.
You can find lists of symptoms on our website www.glutenfreeworks.com. You will also find many articles on celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, the problems they cause and remedies. The site is free to the public.

John of PA 2:54PM November 05, 2008

Physicians do find it hard to diagnose celiac disease. Major risk factors include type I diabetes, iron deficiency anemia, osteoporosis, or first or second degree relative with celiac disease.
GlutenFreeQuiz ('http://www.drjohnlapuma.com/glutenfree') is a confidential, scientifically-sound quiz intended to improve access to screening. We have to reach more people who are suffering needlessly and have conditions that are treatable with food and diet.
Over two million Americans - 1 in 133 - are unaware that they cannot eat gluten (the protein in wheat, barley, rye and several other grains) and that it is causing painful symptoms. Nearly all (97 percent) of those who have Celiac Disease have not been diagnosed and some physicians do not suspect it. It is most common in adult women.
John La Puma, MD
www.drjohnlapuma.com
www.glutenfreequiz.com

John La Puma MD of CA 1:41PM November 05, 2008

Digestive enzymes for those with gluten sensitivity are available through licensed health care practitioners. These enzymes help the body break down gluten in the diet and might be beneficial for people who are sensitive to the protein.
www.enzymesinc.com

Bryan of MO 10:48AM November 05, 2008

I know that our support/education group has seen great increases in people being diagnosed. We also present the largest gluten free consumer event (a fundraiser for research) in North America. Each time we have held it the attendance has doubled. In 2007 we had 1,500 attend. In 2009 we expect close to 3,000 to attend.
-Michael Thorn, RN
www.suffolkcountyceliacs.org

Michael Thorn of NY 8:00AM November 05, 2008

Let the dieters diet.. at least I get more product options as having celiac disease.

Tasha of GA 8:09PM November 03, 2008

Please check out published medical research regarding this subject! www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez will put you into PubMed, and from there you can enter keywords such as "gliadin" and "Dr. Alessio Fasano." You will see that when we eat gluten or gliadin (the protein in wheat), our bodies produce more of another protein called Zonulin, which causes more space between our cells = leaky gut! Gluten has been linked to autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Type I Diabetes, etc. since the leaky gut allows all kinds of foreign proteins to circulate throughout the body. Also, the amount of the gliadin protein in wheat has doubled since the 1950s! A farmer in Washington State has been given a grant to develop a new type of wheat which does not have this harmful protein. P.S. Hordein (protein in barley) and secalin (protein in rye) are also harmful to mammals, but gliadin is used in lab testing because it is such a strong protein. Gluten = the word used to describe all three harmful proteins.

Karen Cormac-Jones of OR 7:03PM November 03, 2008

I have had Celiac Disease for most of my life but was not correctly disgnosed with it until I was in my early 30's. I have been on the diet for 28 years now .I suffered from many long term effects of not being on a Gluten-Free diet until I was diagnosed. Many of the problems were then resolved with the diet, but not all. I am just grateful to be alive. I, like many others, gained weight from it, but that is due to eating the same foods everyday, including cheese & corn tortillas which I eat for lack of interest and time in cooking and baking.
I have a 12 yr son with autism who I have never put on the Gluten-free-Casein-Free diet because of how restrictive it is and how little scientific documentation exists showing the diet might be helpful. My son has already recovered much from his autism because of other early and continuous interventions that began when he waas 18 months old. Nevertheless, he is not 'cured' or 'recovered' completely and has difficulties in independent living, transitioning from one task of high interest to another of lessr interest and deficits in social skills which causes him much frustration. He is also medicated because of his propensity towards being aggressive and for repetitive behaviors that interfere with his ability to live life.
The recent promotion of the diet by Jenny McCarthy in US Mag led me to ask my son to read the article and see if he would like to try the diet. He said he's like to try it so he might not have to take medicine any more. Whether he will actually stick with it, I don't know but we do hope to try it because we have nothing to lose. He's a very picky eater. If I had forced it on him as a toddler, it would have backfired. The casein ( dairy) part is going to be hard but I decided I would try that with him too and maybe lose a few pounds in the process. Wish us luck, lol!
ps: All my kids tested negative for Celiac Disease.

Kathy of MD 5:22PM November 03, 2008

Fran of OK
WOW! Maybe you should develop celiac disease and then tell us it doesn't exist!
When you have diarrhea and can't leave your house because you never know when it will hit, when you are weak because you are amemic because your small bowel is so destroyed it won't absorb iron, when you have dizzy spells that feels like an electrical impulse running down your body, when you are young and in menopause, when you have blood in your bowel movements, when you have asthma so bad you can't breath, when you have constant abdominal pain that is worse if you eat anything, when you vomit blood. When 3 people in your family develop cancer of their gastrointestinal system and die. When you elimate gluten and all these symptoms go away.
Then feel free to come back and tell the rest of us who deal with this on a daily basis it doesn't exist!
visit www.csacentral.com
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov
http://www.celiacdisease.net

GAngel of IN 10:31AM November 03, 2008