I’ve said before that Hashimoto’s and Celiac Disease together are very common.
There are three gluten related health issues. Wheat allergy, celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.
A wheat allergy has symptoms of wheezing, trouble breathing, cramping, nausea, throwing up, bloating, gas and diarrhea. You might also see symptoms come out in your skin with hives and itchy skin. Most often this is common in toddlers or younger and is diagnosed with a skin prick test. If you have a wheat allergy you only have to avoid wheat- not gluten.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease of the small intestine that is set off by consuming gluten and while there is technically gluten in all grains, the gluten proteins in wheat, Rye, Barley, Spelt, Oats which are not digested in the small intestine.
You can have the genes HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 which will predispose you to celiac disease but does not mean you have it if you have these genes. Around 1% of the population has celiac disease in the US. There appears to be a rise in the disease not necessarily due to better testing methods but because of the higher content of gluten in wheat due to hybridization, fertilizer on the fields- nitrogen applied to wheat fields actually increases the gluten content. There is some research to show that babies being formula fed or not being breastfed for very long also play a role in the rise in celiac disease. One study showed that when a baby before four months old is given gluten (probably from wheat) has a 500% higher chance of getting celiac disease.
The big issue and I want you to pay attention to this- you can have symptoms in weeks to years and years after being exposed to gluten. Once you go gluten free, your symptoms can show up almost instantly after being exposed. The trigger for the disease is different for everyone. Like I said, you can have the genes for this disease and never get it- you can then have some issue in your life that triggers the onset. The trigger is individual.
What are the symptoms of celiac disease?
The most common ones are diarrhea, fatigue, stomach pain, gas, bloating, weight loss. Some of the lesser known or not thought of as related to celiac symptoms are bone loss- this is when someone goes a lifetime without diagnosis and they are in their 50’s and are diagnosed with osteoporosis because their bones are like those of a 70 year old. Other symptoms are having elevated liver enzymes with no explanation for it, iron deficiency anemia, and constipation.
There are sometimes no symptoms that present but a person tests positive for it. If you have type 1 diabetes or other autoimmune disease including Hashimoto’s or Graves disease. If you have recurrent miscarriages, migraines or IBS consider being tested for celiac disease.
The amount of gluten you consume and get a reaction from it is different for everyone. Some people can have no symptoms from consuming gluten and some will have terrible reactions.
If you go in for a test there are a couple options. Tissue transglutaminase IgA is the test your doctor is likely to use because it is the cheaper of the two tests. It is pretty accurate UNLESS you have celiac and you are not making any IgA (immunoglobulin A), which by the way is not unheard of, then this will not show up as a positive marker. I hope that makes sense- I’ll say it another way. People with celiac disease often don’t make Immunoglobulin A which is what the test looks for so you have to ask them to test IgA along with IgG.
The other test is the antiendomysial IgA (EMA) which has a false negative rate as high as around 26%.
If you test positive from one of these tests you will probably be having a biopsy of your small intestine which is the gold standard way to diagnose the disease. You have to be eating gluten for a minimum of six weeks before having this done and then you have to have a certain level of damage to the small intestine for a diagnosis of celiac disease to be made. This means the villi on the brush boarder of your small intestine have to be basically flat. I’ve heard Dr. Tom O’Brian describe it as a healthy microvilli in the small intestine are like shag carpet and the microvilli in a celiac disease are like berber carpet.
Now you can have some damage to the microvilii and you won’t be diagnosed though you might be on your way to the full disease and if there is not significant damage throughout your small intestine, you may not be diagnosed either because the biopsy will have missed a damaged spot. When a biopsy is done, they take a part of your small intestine out and look at it. They need to find the damage in order to diagnose you!
If you are not eating enough gluten or taking immune suppressing drugs you can come up with a negative test.
If you have family members with celiac disease you will have a higher chance of having it.
If you have undiagnosed celiac disease you are likely to have a bunch of nutrient deficiencies. This is due to the microvilli in the small intestine being damaged. This is where we absorb most of our nutrients. Zinc, selenium, iron, protein, B vitamins and more. In addition, you can have issues with detoxification. You’ll have more toxins reabsorbed rather than eliminated. The long term risks of not being diagnosed properly are potential cancer of the small intestine, esophagus and even non hodgkins lymphoma so it is pretty serious.
If you have celiac disease you have a 3x higher risk of hypothyroidism and are 3-10x likely to have other autoimmune diseases.
A gluten free diet is the only treatment so far for this disease and it can take a year or two before you see some major healing to the small intestine so not only is a gluten free diet important but a really nutrient dense and healing diet is important. Everyone who has celiac disease has a leaky gut so healing the gut is important.
Read labels. Know what is in your food.
Fatigue, pain, depression, obesity, insomnia, anxiety, headaches, foggy thinking.
Common symptoms for many people.
Some might even say normal, a part of getting older. These symptoms may be common but they are not normal. Common means a lot of people are dealing with them. Normal means they are supposed to have it.
You don’t have to live with these symptoms, you don’t have to accept them as normal and you definitely should not ignore them.
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This client took advantage of the fantastic deal to get their health on track to being the best it can be. For $37 you will get a nutritional assessment, protocol and diet plan in a 15 minute consult with me where we can address any questions you might have. Head over to outofthewoodsnutrition.com and take advantage of the covid-19 special. That feels like such a cheesy name for it but truly- I get that many of us are dealing with financial hardship, myself included and it is my way of helping out or giving back by giving such a price break on my services.
I said this last week and I’m saying it again. I want you to know that it is okay if you are not doing okay. This whole situation sucks. If you can find the silver lining in all of this I applaud you. Personally, I am struggling as I have said before. I get a little irritated at all of the celebrities who are saying to stay home and saying it with a smile. It’s not that easy for a lot of people. Many of us feel isolated even in a house full of people. My kids are even feeling a bit lost. Not motivated to even try in school because “it doesn’t really matter”. Please just do the best you can. Take care of your mental health- keeping your diet clean will help a lot with that. I’ve also deactivated my personal facebook account and am staying off social media.
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My heart is with you all. Peace.