2 posts tagged “celiac disease”
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease triggered by consumption of the protein 'gluten'. About 1% of the population has celiac disease but only a small percent of those suffering have been diagnosed and it is estimated that currently 3 million Americans have celiac but don't know it. They are suffering from a myriad of health problems and searching for the root cause but not finding the true answer. The average celiac sufferer goes through a minimum of 10 years of misdiagnosis before getting properly diagnosed.
I had a discussion with the Executive Director of the Foundation who has celiac herself but she was unaware that about 45-50% of the population suffers with gluten sensitivity. As you can see we have a lot of work to do to educate people on the subject of gluten.
After this event and discussion with her I am more motivated by how much work needs to be done and why I am currently writing a book on gluten sensitivity and its connection to a widespread host of symptoms. I will let you all know when it is going to be released and will most likely give some "sneak peaks" on this blog to receive your feedback.
Feel free to ask me any questions on this topic.
Best,
Dr. Vikki Petersen
Gluten Blog – Post January 3, 2008
Many patients find themselves in the position of having removed gluten from their diet but still suffering health problems. These patients have made the Herculean effort to remove gluten entirely from their diet and while improved, their health is still not where they would have hoped.
What’s the problem?
In my clinical experience I find that patient’s who are either Celiac or gluten intolerant are highly susceptible to intestinal infections. The damage which gluten causes to the lining of the small intestine also damages the integrity of the immune system within the intestines. Considering that it is estimated that every 10 minutes our intestines are exposed to a pathogenic (able to cause infection) organism, it is critical to good health that our immune systems are strong enough to destroy these organisms. Gluten intolerant individuals don’t have a strong immune system and thereby tend to contract infections.
You might think that if you had an intestinal infection you would have a fever, severe diarrhea or abdominal pain. While this can occur, more often these infections are less extreme in their presentation. But they are not silent. A patient with an intestinal infection will not enjoy optimal health and, unfortunately, will not get the full benefit of removing the offending gluten from their diet. When infection is not present, the removal of gluten results in the healing of the intestines and the improved health and well being of the patient. In the presence of infection that healing does not take place because the infectious organism continues to irritate the lining of the intestine and the patient does not improve markedly.
Most doctors who diagnose celiac disease or gluten intolerance only focus on the change of diet that is necessary. They don’t go the next step and rule out any hidden infection. Many times patients have been diagnosed with an infection and stated that they felt they had had an infection but were told that because they didn’t have a fever or acute diarrhea it was not possible.
If you have been avoiding gluten but haven’t seen all the benefits to your health which you had hoped, consider getting evaluated for hidden infection.
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