Focus On The Fight | Celiac Disease

Focus On The Fight | Celiac Disease

Welcome to this weeks Spoonie Spotlight. A new series where writers with different chronic conditions will be featured. Along with a brief discussion of their condition and a few generic signs and symptoms are for their condition.

This weeks post will highlight:


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The Truth Behind the Gluten Free Diet Part 2

Continuing on from Part 1 we will now take a look at what researchers have found more recently in regards to The gluten diet. We will also be looking at the potential benefits and potential risks of eating a diet low in gluten. I will also give you some examples of good gluten-free foods and the kinds of foods you should avoid. In the early 2000's Dr. Fasano continued the study of celiac disease, and the gluten-free diet. He also completed a large study that found the prevalence of celiac disease in the US to be about 1%. Which was actually 10 times higher that what researchers in the US before this study! Fasano's research was published in the Journal JAMA International Medicine 2003.

After the spotlight was placed on Celiacs Disease in the US, many more studies were done and published, regarding the gluten sensitivity in Americans. Some research began to suggest that a gluten free diet might actually be beneficial to people with other health conditions, not just Celiacs. There have also been research done that showed that there could potentially be a link between gluten and schizophrenia, or gluten and autism.

"There is a possibility that some groups of individuals with other chronic inflammatory conditions, including autoimmune diseases like diabetes or multiple sclerosis, of course autism ... and schizophrenia ... there could be a subgroup of these individuals that could benefit from embracing a gluten-free diet," Fasano said.

As research on this issue has continued, links between gluten-free diets and improvements of various other symptoms and disorders, has been found.

Around 2010 celebrities started to speak out about gluten-free diets. A popular singer and actress put out information on social media that she had lost a significant amount of weight by removing gluten and lactose from her diet, she did also say that she has allergies to gluten and lactose. But not everyone heard it chose to listen that she cut it out due to allergies and only saw that when she did this she lost weight. Around this same time, multiple food manufacturing companies began working to expand products that were gluten-free to keep interest in the products among the groups that were eating gluten-free diets. At this time rules for defining gluten-free products changed and would now require that food labeled as gluten-free must have an undetectable level of gluten. The early 2010's is when the shift in gluten-free diets started. At this point removing gluten was not longer a medical treatment Celiac's Disease, but a diet method.

Although in the past, gluten sensitivities were very obscure, it is now estimated that gluten-related disorders could affect 10% of Americans. While gluten sensitivity is being seen more often all over the world. It has been found that more consumers who don't have any Celiacs Disease, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, decided to change to a gluten-free diets by choice. According to a study that was published in The Journal of Internal Medicine in November 2016, in 2009 and 2010, 0.52% of Americans without celiac disease eliminated gluten from their diets, and by 2014 that percentage rose to about 1.69%.

The increase in people on a gluten-free diet could be due to the benefits that can be found from eating that way. Dr. Axe wrote an article talking about Gluten. He states that a diet low in gluten could potentially increase fat burning, provide a burst of extra energy, reduces inflammation, and easing of digestive symptoms like gas, bloating it diarrhea.

In the article by Dr. Axe he lists 6 ways a person can benefit from a gluten free diet. They are:

  1. May ease digestive symptoms
  2. Could provide extra energy and resulting in less brain fog
  3. Could be beneficial for children with autism
  4. Can decrease inflammation
  5. Promotes fat loss
  6. Improve symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Some research in the last few years has found that gluten & gluten containing foods can potentially be a trigger for joint pain. It has been proven that certain foods are pro-inflammatory, meaning they increase inflammation. Pro-inflammatory foods could include gluten-containing grains, and any of the thousands of foods that are made from those grains. Many people with celiac or gluten sensitivity have found that when they remove gluten and gluten containing products they have less arthritis pain. However, most providers don't feel like there has been enough research done on humans to determine if gluten can really help reduce inflammation.

That being said, medical experts caution that no one should begin a gluten-free diet for arthritis before having testing for celiac disease. Due to the fact that it might not be gluten causing the problems it could be a wheat protein allergy or lactose allergy or an issue with FODMAPs(which is small sugar molecules in some fruits and veggies.) They can all be pro-inflammatory and irritate the gut as well.

Since gluten-free diets have become one of the current "fad diets," experts have began to warn people that gluten-free eating might not offer benefits. If you don't have gluten sensitivity changing to a gluten-free diet could actually do more harm than good in the long run.

"We definitely don't recommend a gluten-free diet for weight loss. My dietician will tell you that. The reason why is, when they remove gluten from a lot of these foods to make them taste more appealing, they add more calories or carbohydrates," said Dr. Runa Watkins, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who specializes in celiac disease.

"The second thing is, being on a gluten-free diet also puts you at risk for other nutritional deficiencies in the long run, such as like B-12 and zinc and folate," she added, "And cost-wise, it can be expensive. So we definitely don't recommend it just because."

What you don't hear much about is other foods, chemicals and medications that cause inflammatory issues, which is great for those without a diagnosis. People who have celiac symptoms or inflammatory issues who test negative for celiac disease are left without a diagnosis. But we are starting to learn about other foods and meds that could potentially produce the symptoms they are having. Recently there have been studies that have shown that the following foods and additives can trigger symptoms identical to celiac, gluten sensitivity and increased inflammation

The following list contains foods and additives that can potentially cause the aforementioned symptoms.

  1. Sugar
  2. Vegetable Oil
  3. Fried Foods
  4. Refined flour
  5. Dairy
  6. Artificial Sweeteners
  7. Artificial additives
  8. Saturated Fats
  9. Grain Fed Meats
  10. Processed Meats
  11. Gluten in store bought bread
  12. A second round of alcohol
  13. Trans fats
  14. Fast food

There is new research that has been done and published in the Journal of Proteome Research that has identified 5 new groups of non-gluten proteins that are responsible for inflammatory issues in patients with celiac. These proteins are very different to the gluten proteins that are known to cause celiac disease. This research gives those who test negative for gluten antibodies but respond well to a gluten-free diet hope. Hope that one day we will really understand what foods cause inflammation issues, GI symptoms, and what foods don't.

In order for you to totally remove gluten from your diet, reading food labels is essential. Sadly, most of the time you won't find "gluten" listed in a food label. So instead you should avoid foods that contain the following

  • Wheat
  • Rye
  • Barley
  • Malt
  • Brewer's Yeast
  • Oats (unless you see on the label that they are gluten free)

So now you may be thinking, "What's left?" So below you will find a list of good gluten-free foods, that are very nutrient dense.

  • Quinoa
  • Buckwheat
  • Brown Rice
  • Corn Grits
  • Gluten-Free Oats
  • Nut Flowers
  • Veggies and Fruits
  • Meat, Poultry and Fish
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Beans and Legumes
  • Dairy Products

Fad diets will come and go, just look at how Jenny Craig, South Beach Diet, or Weight Watchers are in and out of popularity. Everyone is always going to be looking for the easy out and the quick way to lose weight. The gluten-free diet is not one you should look into for weight loss though. Gluten-free diets really should be reserved for those who truly have a gluten sensitivity or have tested positive for celiac disease.

It is essential that you talk with your doctor before you make ANY DIETARY CHANGE. If you want to eat a low gluten or gluten-free diet, your Doctor needs to check to make sure you don't have a gluten sensitivity. Simply because changing to a gluten-free diet can actually be detrimental to your health if you don't have a reason to be eating that way. If your doctor okays the diet change, and you have a good experience with the change, stay the course. But remember when shopping to read the labels. In many cases when gluten is taken out of products, a lot of preservatives are put in its place. Many times there will be more calories and carbs in "gluten-free" food. If you are changing your diet and removing gluten and gluten containing products to see if inflammation levels will drop, please check with your dr before making dietary change. What may work for one person may not work for another. That being said, I expect that in the coming years more research will come out about how gluten impacts inflammation. I also expect more guidelines to come out from the FDA regarding the nutritional content of gluten free foods.

I hope that you were able to learn something from the information provided. And that you might be able to make a more educated decision on what you want to do regarding gluten in your diet!

** If you like this type of research based post please let me know in the comments. I want to produce the kinds of things you guys like to read!!

With Love,


The Truth Behind the Gluten-Free Diet Part 1

To avoid making one very long post, due to all the Information out there on the history of gluten and how it's dietary use has changed In the last 76+ years, I will divide this into two blogs. Past and present. So here we go......

Gluten, one simple, short little word that has become the center of many debates and conversations over the last few years! But honestly what is GLUTEN?? A concise definition would say that Gluten is a family of proteins found in grains like wheat, rye, spelt, and barley. Gluten free diets have been around for many since the 1940's or earlier. However, at that time they were only used as a type of medical treatment, usually for those linked with Celiacs Disease. Over the last 3 or 4 decades research has been done regarding the gluten-free diet as a medical treatment for those with celiac, and as a choice for those without a sensitivity to gluten. . And interestingly enough it's been found that if people who are not gluten intolerant choose to eat a gluten-free way of life their health could actually be negatively impacted. We have also found that there is a direct link in gluten and inflammation levels in the body. Gluten is so much more than a simple little word.

Let's take a look back in history, the gluten free diet actually emerged in Europe in the 1940's as a medical treatment for children with celiac disease. Since that time it is estimated that MILLIONS of people around the world have removed some or all gluten and gluten containing foods from their diet. Many choose to do this on their own with no doctors recommendation. Until the 1970's a gluten free diet was most commonly seen in those who had celiac disease. Which is a disorder of the gut where the body is abnormally sensitive to gluten. During World War 2 in Europe, people, especially children, were becoming very malnourished because of lack of access to fruits, veggies and wheat. Obviously this was not ideal and weakened the health of many. But doctors noticed that it seemed to improve the health of those with Celiacs Disease. A Dutch pediatrician, Dr. Willem-Karen Dicke, discovered that children who had celiacs were suffering much less during the war than they did before the war. Before the war they had an adequate source of fruits, veggies and wheat. A disease, that before the World War 2, had about a 30% mortality rate was found to no longer be killing anyone. The only link that could be found was an overall lack of availability of wheat. In fact flour that may have included wheat pre-war, was being made with potato starch instead of wheat.

In 1941, Dr. Dicke wrote and published a paper about the effects of a wheat free diet that he had observed. Following the publication doctors started to link symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, constipation, gas, pain in the stomach and nausea, to gluten

Following the observations that Dr. Dicke documented in the early 1940's, there really was very little research on the topic for a few decades. Fast forward to the 1970's, when scientists began to find the first signs that celiacs disease could possibly be autoimmune rather than an allergy. The 1970's is when the research was done on how celiac develops (the pathogenesis of the disease). By the late 1970's many studies were published on the pathogenesis of the disease, that clearly linked celiac disease with other immunological disorders. Those studies would eventually prove that celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder. Meaning the immune system attacks it's own intestines when gluten enters the body. At this point scientist only believed that people with celiac disease could have a reaction to gluten, but the idea started to emerge that gluten could possibly impact the health of people without celiacs disease.

In the 1980's more research was being done that showed there was something called "non-celiac gluten sensitivity." The description of non-celiac gluten sensitivity was published in 1989 in the Journal of Gastroenterology. This specific publication discussed the stories of 8 women who complained of abdominal pain and chronic diarrhea, until they followed a gluten-free diet. These women had blood tests, and biopsies that were all negative for celiac disease. This remained a slightly confusing idea as it was showing new and different things that had been seen in previous research. It was decided at that time that those with non-celiac gluten sensitivity would be viewed as a medical condition that has the same symptoms of Celiac disease, without the immune system causing damage to their intestines. At this point in history they couldn't be completely positive that those with non-celiac gluten sensitivity are sensitive to gluten itself. They were looking at the fact that another protein in wheat could be the problem.

In the early 1990's celiac disease was considered extremely rare, almost nonexistent in the United States. Which was totally opposite of what was being seen in Europe at that same time. Celiacs disease was on the edge of being a total epidemic in Europe at that time. Dr. Alessio Fasano move from Naples to the Unites States in 1993 and he was shocked that the reported incidence of celiacs was so low in the US while it was so high in Europe. He found that this was partially due to the fact that research on celiac and gluten-free diets were almost exclusively being done in Europe, until Dr. Alessio moved to the US. Once he was settled in the US he began to do research to find out why the number of cases suffered so much between the US and Europe. What he found was that celiac disease was just as prevalent here in the US. The only difference was that it was basically being ignored here. He published an article about celiacs disease saying "Now you know, wherever you look for it, you find it, provided there are genes and environment triggers." Fasano would go on to publish a paper with more data, that lead to the change in the scientific community's viewpoint on Gluten in America.

Next time we will look at thoughts on Gluten now and how the gluten-free diet has become what seems more of a fad to many. So come back next week for part 2!