Tag Archives: 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 »

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 »

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.

Editors’ note: This animal study investigating the effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus, a strain of probiotic bacteria, on ulcers of the stomach lining of rats demonstrated that bacteria placed directly into the stomach significantly and according to dose reduced gastric ulcer size.  If the results of this animal research are reproduced in humans, it would demonstrate that probiotics may hasten recovery for people suffering from stomach ulcers.  The bacteria did not affect the function of normal gastric mucosa but normalized those with abnormal changes during ulceration.

“Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG enhances gastric ulcer healing in rats.”

Lam EK, et. al.

Department of Pharmacology, The University of Hong Kong, China.

European Journal of Pharmacology. 2007 Jun 22;565(1-3):171-9.

Background: Probiotics are widely used as functional foods which have been advocated for the maintenance of gastrointestinal microflora equilibrium and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. However, studying the role of probiotics in peptic ulcer disease is limited. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of a probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG on gastric ulcer and to elucidate the mechanisms involved.

Methods: Gastric kissing ulcers were induced in rats by acetic acid (60% v/v). L. rhamnosus GG was given intragastrically (directly into the stomach) at 10(8) cfu/day or 10(9) cfu/day for three consecutive days after ulcer induction. L. rhamnosus GG successfully colonized in the gastric mucosa especially at the ulcer margin. It also significantly and dose-dependently reduced gastric ulcer area.

Results: L. rhamnosus GG successfully colonized in the gastric mucosa especially at the ulcer margin. It also significantly and dose-dependently reduced gastric ulcer area. Cell apoptosis to cell proliferation ratio was strongly decreased and accompanied by significant up-regulation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein expression at the ulcer margin. Angiogenesis was also significantly stimulated together with the induction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. Furthermore, L. rhamnosus GG up-regulated the phosphorylation level of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF receptor) without altering the total EGF receptor expression.

Conclusions: These findings suggested that L. rhamnosus GG enhanced gastric ulcer healing via the attenuation of cell apoptosis to cell proliferation ratio and increase in angiogenesis. Regulators of these processes such as ODC, Bcl-2, VEGF and EGF receptor are likely to be involved in the healing action of L. rhamnosus GG for gastric ulcer.

————————
Author Information: Cleo Libonati, RN, BSN
Cleo Libonati is president/CEO and co-Founder of Gluten Free Works, Inc. She is the author of Recognizing Celiac Disease and the Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a female menstrual disorder that occurs regularly around ovulation and subsides within a few days of the onset of menstruation.  PMS affects up to 75% of women during their childbearing years.

Symptoms.  Most women with PMS will have abdominal cramps, be anxious, irritable, sad, emotionally unstable and feel bloated and uncomfortable in the days leading up to their period.  PMS symptoms commonly worsen in the years approaching menopause.

Diagnosis of PMS depends on 5 or more of the symptoms listed below with at least one symptom being one of the first 4: Read More »

Kathleen (not her real name) came to counseling because of anxiety. After an intake, we identified several areas in her life that sounded like they were contributing to her difficulties. We started working with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a system that looks at the thought sequence you use, and where a distorted belief can be corrected and thereby relieve suffering.

After teaching her a series of formulas, she was able to apply the principles herself when not in the office with me. This is a very effective psychotherapy intervention, that is so useful that many insurance companies paying for counseling expect to see it as part of a treatment plan. But, it did not seem to offer Kathleen the relief I was expecting. So, we continued looking elsewhere in her life for the source and solution of her anxiety. If it wasn’t her thinking causing it, perhaps it was situational. Read More »

I sit here writing this post from my bed. It’s 9:39pm and I have been in bed since 4:30pm. My tonsils are so big it hurts to swallow and I feel like I have been in a boxing match where I lost, severely.

I used to get sick like this all the time before I was diagnosed with coeliac disease and I am starting this think that my immune system is a wreck again.

Why? Because I have been slack. Many of those out there with coeliac disease will think I am stupid. I am stupid.

You see at my current job we have staff cafe. Read More »