Do you have one of the following autoimmune diseases or conditions (or another)?
Addison's Disease
Alopecia
Anemia, Pernicious Anemia
Asthma
Bladder Problems
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Crohn's Disease
Diabetes
Fibromyalgia
Gallbladder Disease
Growth Failure
IBS
Liver Disease
Lupus
Malabsorption Syndrome
Migraine Headaches
Osteoporosis
Premature Menopause
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Scoliosis
Short Stature
Sjogren's Syndrome
Thyroid Disease
If the answer is yes, or if you have another autoimmune conditon, you may also have celiac disease. And if you have celiac disease, your autoimmune symptoms may improve on a gluten-free diet. Many doctors do not up-to-date on celiac disease and how common it is (1 in 133 have it, with another 20 to 40% of the population being gluten-sensitive), or the connection between it and other autoimmune conditions, so they don't look for it. Unfortunately, we have to be the ones to educate them. If you believe in being pro-active about your health, you can do the research and gauge whether this might be important information for you. www.celiac.com is a very useful website for information. Enter your symptoms or condition into the search bar and see what comes up.
The following article lists the incidence of some autoimmune disorders among celiacs, in a Finnish study:
http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=107&p_catid=&sid=91hH9H1kX0RL8Mc-0810706
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From another article on www.celiac.com:
Studies in the UK and Italy have demonstrated that the prevalence of celiac disease in young children is essentially the same as in adults, meaning celiac disease begins in infancy. Infancy is the critical time period for the development of the immune system. Gluten exposure and the onset of celiac disease symptoms early in life, therefore, have a much greater and more important impact on the immune system and its development than exposure to gluten later in life. Malabsorption during infancy and early childhood can also adversely affect the crucial function of the thymus, T cell production, and T cell repertoire. So the stage is set early in life rather than later for increased risk of autoimmune disease. The timing of gluten exposure in life seems to be more critical to autoimmune disease risk rather than the overall lifetime duration of gluten exposure. It is, therefore, extremely important to diagnose celiac disease and initiate a gluten-free diet as soon as possible during infancy and young childhood to lower the risk of autoimmune disease later in life.
http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=1202&p_catid=&sid=91hH9H1kX0RL8Mc-5010751
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Helpful books on celiac disease and how it relates to other medical conditions:
Dangerous Grains: Why Gluten Cereal Grains May Be Hazardous to Your Health, by James Braly, M.D. and Ron Hoggan, M.A.
Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic, BY Peter H. R. Green, M.D.
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Addendum: the blood test that is usually administered to test for celiac disease is not accurate if you are gluten-sensitive, but do not yet have celiac diease. The antibodies exist first in the digestive system, before they get into the blood, so if your doctor says you don't have celiac, it doesn't mean you won't get it. Check out www.enterolab.com for the test for genetic predisposition for celiac, and the fecal antibody test. If I had it to do over again, I would have had my family members get these tests first.
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Comments: 40
I have avoided gluten for 6 years (though have had accidental exposures).
I suffer from gluten intolerance and at least 1 of every 133 people have it. Many do not know they have it. I highly recommend Celiac.com for great information and message boards.
Also, I wrote an article about it a while back Living with Celiac Disease.
Living with Celiac Disease
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977017487&nav=Namespace
In 1995 I was diagnosed and by 1998 I was in a wheelchair or using a cane, had to ride the electric carts in stores etc. Today thanks to my doctor, I lead a pretty much normal life, do all my own shopping and housekeeping and sit at the computer at least 4 hours per day to do creative writing and Gathering. When I see misinformation, I have to speak up because that's how I found this treatment. A friend told me she got her life back in about 5 years with this doctor.
And he reckons it's probably pregnancy that triggered it.
Also, even if kids haven't got it (we had one tested and he hadn't then), it might be triggered by stress later, so they should remain aware of it as a possibility.
Please see this article by Ron Hoggan on www.celiac.com on a possible connection between fibromyalgia and celiac....
Fibromyalgia and Celiac Disease
Dr. St. Amand MD believes that Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndromes are different manifestations of the same Genetic Kidney Disorder. On-going UCLA Genetic research on DNA of 3-5 generations of families with some FMS/CFS patients in each generation have so far found at least 4 markers which define active-symptom fibromyalgics, carriers, and dormant fibromyalgics. Children of two parents with Fibromyalgia will have 100% of their siblings with one of these three catagories of Fibromyalgics. I see the same in my family of 3 children, 12 living grandchildren, and 4 great grands. Dormant Fibromyalgics do not have symptoms until/unless they suffer a trauma to body or mind. At that time the Fibromyalgia becomes active and symptoms begin.
That being said, I have myself traced changes in symptoms to a change in diet. I felt better but my joints still got worse with osteo-arthritis and my IBS type symptoms got worse as well.
There is a little understood metabolic componant to FMS/CFS that is in the process of being studied. about 45% of FMS patients will have Hypoglycemia, Insulin Resistance or Type II Diabetes in their lifetime.
While diet can ease IBS type symptoms, the lack of elimination of used phosphates by disfunctional kidneys still continues to plague the patient and eventually, diverticulitis, osteo-arthritis, and Type II Diabetes may become evident in the untreated Fibromyalgic body. This is why medication to stimulate the kidneys to perform all its duties is the best treatment for complete reversal of Fibromyalgic & chronic fatigue symptoms. Sadly, there is no cure for Fibromyalgia at this time.
This is not to say that Fibromyalgics can't or wouldn't have Celiac Disease as well. I'm only saying Celiac is not the reason for Fibro. Many of us suffer from more than one chronic disorder.
I'm happy to read that your son has been diagnosed and you know how to help him live the best life possible. This is all important with such myriad-symptom-disorders and diseases. Genetics research offers that kind of hope for my family, too.
Asked my doctor if there were any implications for aging, and she said no. But seems like the various nutrients not absorbed in younger life - especially calcium - may indeed have implications, so will ask with more knowledge next time I see her.
Thanks for publicising this. Hope it's gets publicized more in the established medical community too.
There is also such a thing as "refractory sprue" which means that the absorption problems still exist despite a gluten-free diet, and nutritional supplements must continue to be taken.
And thank you for the several comments you have made on my Aesop's Fables articles. I have finally placed all the links I have so far on one article to make it easier to get to the rest of the ones you may not have read. I have 22 so far.
All Aesop's Fables Article Links
I'm sure many people will be helped by this.