Symptoms

Between 10 and 15% of adults within the United States will be diagnosed with a kidney stone.

Recurrence rates are estimated at about 10% per year, totaling 50% over a 5–10 year period and 75% over 20 years. Men are affected approximately 4 times more often than women. Recent evidence has shown an increase in pediatric  cases. The total cost for treating this condition was $2 billion in 2003.¹

Kidney stones are an atypical symptom and associated disorder of celiac disease, however not all people with celiac disease will develop kidney stones. This article describes the pathway for the development of kidney stones that are seen in persons with celiac disease as well as the treatment and prevention. Read More »

Photo: Whole Foods, http://wholefoods.com

It can be challenging enough on gluten-free diet, but what if you eat a vegetarian or vegan diet?

It’s well established that there are health benefits to reducing the amount of meat in the diets of most Americans, and the lifestyle has appeal for some people based on ethical and/or environmental reasons.  Fortunately, with extra planning, a well-rounded and delicious gluten-free vegetarian diet is possible.

The good news is that many vegetarian staples, like beans, lentils, tofu, dairy, nuts, seeds and eggs are already naturally gluten-free.  And some of the best sources of vegetarian and vegan protein are gluten-free pseudo-grains, such as quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth. Also, grains, such as millet, teff and sorghum are very nutritious.  In addition to protein and fiber, they all have other vital nutrients, like Read More »

Proteins produced from partial breakdown of microorganisms are often recognized by the body’s immune system as foreign antigens triggering production of antibodies that may be detected in the blood.

Such antibodies include proteins from the cell walls (outer membranes) or flagella of the bacteria Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s or Brewer’s yeast) that are found in Crohn’s disease. Stimulation of the immune system by these proteins can also confuse the body into thinking that it needs to continue fighting an ongoing battle against an invader. Read More »

Whether due to malabsorption from an undiagnosed syndrome like celiac disease, poor diet or defective activation of nutrients, many people are not receiving or utilizing the nutrients their bodies need to thrive.

The human body is tough. You can operate at sub-optimal levels for years or decades before a clinical symptom becomes apparent or is recognized as resulting from a deficiency.

Unfortunately, this recognition frequently comes only after symptoms have become so severe as to significantly impact your health.  Until that point, medications and surgeries are more likely to be used as treatments, neither of which correct the underlying cause of the deficiency.

In fact, many drugs exacerbate nutrient depletion.  So, while they may improve your symptoms in the short term, they can cause more harm than good in the long term.

Many prescription and non-prescription medications can deplete nutrients by any of these ways:

1. Preventing normal digestion and/or absorption, so nutrients cannot get into the body.

2. Interfering with nutrient transport and/or use in the body, so nutrients cannot Read More »

The following questions and answers were developed by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School:

Q. What is it like for a person you see who is newly diagnosed with Celiac Disease?
A. The gluten-free diet requires more preparation, taking food with you when you travel, making sure that you are safe in dining-out situations or when you are visiting with family or friends. So for some, it is very simple and straight forward and they are already experimenting with new grains like amaranth, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, and teff. But some people are Read More »

Photo courtesy of Joe Brentin

Sometimes gluten can appear in strange places; places you’d never expect. When you’re diagnosed with Celiac Disease, or gluten-intolerance, it’s up to you to make sure your toothpaste, the ketchup bottle in your fridge, and even your vitamins don’t contain anything that can make you sick.

Some of these products may surprise you. For example, most people wouldn’t suspect their vitamins contained gluten when in fact gluten is a common ingredient in Read More »

Osteomalacia is common in celiac disease. Osteomalacia can occur at any age. It children, it is called rickets.  It is a metabolic bone disorder that involves slow loss of minerals from bone tissue throughout the skeleton, stemming from inadequate absorption of vitamin D. As minerals are dissolved from bone tissue to provide for essential functions elsewhere in the body, bones gradually lose their hardness.

Consequently, pronounced softening of the bones characterizes osteomalacia. Soft bones become deformed, especially bones of the arms, legs, spine, thorax and pelvis. The softer bones have a normal amount of collagen, a strong fibrous protein in the bone matrix (osteoid) that gives bone its structure and tensile capacity, but there is not sufficient calcium and phosphate minerals available to properly mineralize or be deposited in the osteoid to give it necessary hardness. Read More »

When you have a child diagnosed with a severe food allergy it can be extremely challenging to help them feel comfortable and safe in social situations.  While living with food allergies may always present challenges there are a few things you can do as a parent to help your child manage their fears and anxieties.

First and foremost…you must try and remain as calm as you can, while still watching out for them.  When you get very worked up  and anxious in front of your child, they feel this and it passes on to them.  Teach them to be cautious and what to watch out for, but Read More »

The Go Gluten-Free study assessed the affects of a gluten-free diet on digestive health and fatigue in healthy people, without celiac disease. This was the largest study of its kind in the United Kingdom. Participants ate a gluten-free diet for three weeks and then went back to their regular diet.

The independent research was performed by Rowett Institution of Nutrition and Health at Aberdeen University. The results refute the claims made by many that the gluten-free diet is deficient in nutrients or in some way “bad” for people without celiac disease. In fact, these participants ate better, felt better and experienced decreased cholesterol levels, decreased salt, increased energy levels, clearer thinking and increased fiber contents of their meals.