Dermatomyositis
![Obesity_001_[1]](https://glutenfreeworks.com/health/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/Obesity_001_1.jpg)
What Is Unexplained Weight Gain?
U nexplained weight gain is characterized by increased body mass due to excess fat accumulation that is not desired by the individual.
A body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30 signifies being overweight.
Gas
What Is Obnoxious Gas?
Obnoxious gas, or flatus, is gas that is not only offensive when passed but also lingers in the air longer than ordinary gas does.
Gas is a natural digestive product within the colon that is composed mainly of hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases. These gases are given off in the necessary bacterial breakdown of undigested fermentable food entering the colon from the small intestine.
Q: What makes gas obnoxious?
A: The production of obnoxious gas depends on the type and quantity of undigested food residue that is passed into the colon from the small intestine, dysfunctional motility instead of normal peristalsis, and dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is the condition of having unhealthy or insufficient populations of microbes responsible for digesting (fermenting) foodstuffs in the lower gut or colon.
Gases produced by intestinal microbes may modulate intestinal motor function (muscle movement) in individuals with functional bowel disease. Methane, produced by enteric bacteria in the human gut, is associated with slowed intestinal transit and constipation.1
What Is Obnoxious Gas In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:- Jahng J, Jung IS, Choi EJ, Conklin JL, Park H. The effects of methane and hydrogen gases produced by enteric bacteria on ileal motility and colonic transit time. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2012 Feb;24(2):185-90, e92. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2982.2011.01819.x. Epub 2011 Nov 20.
Methane is produced in the colon by intestinal methanogens (microbes) that metabolize hydrogen, one of the end products of normal anaerobic (meaning without oxygen) bacterial fermentation. Fermentation of the undigested starchy part of carbohydrates produces hydrogen in the intestine, which is the food for methane production by intestinal methanogens.
Hydrogen and methane are excreted in the flatus and in breath giving the opportunity to indirectly measure their production using breath testing. ((Triantafyllou K, Chang C, Pimentel M. Methanogens, Methane and Gastrointestinal Motility. J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2014 Jan;20(1):31-40. Epub 2013 Dec 30. [↩]
Stomach Acid, Low: definition
A decrease in or lack of normally occurring hydrochloric acid in the digestive juices of the stomach, causing food to remain in the stomach longer than the usual period of time needed for digestion. This can cause heartburn and/or…
Low Plasma Proteins
What Are Low Plasma Proteins?
Low plasma proteins found in blood indicates an abnormal blood level.
Plasma proteins are any of the proteins that constitute about 6% to 7% of the blood plasma in the body. They include albumin, fibrinogen, prothrombin, and the gamma globulins. All plasma proteins except the gamma globulins are produced in the liver.1
Q: Which protein is most abundant in blood?
A: Of the dozens of plasma proteins, albumin makes up more than half. Albumin level is the most frequently tested in the presence of weight loss and other signs of poor nutrition. Albumin helps maintain water balance that affects osmotic pressure, increase blood viscosity, and helps maintain blood pressure.1
Other commonly tested blood proteins are globulins which make up about a third of plasma proteins. Lab reports show the ratio between albumin and globulin, as well as, their individual values. Fibrinogen, essential for clot formation, makes 7% of plasma proteins while regulatory proteins, which include enzymes and hormones, make up 1%.
What Are Low Plasma Proteins In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:Iron Deficiency
What Is Iron?
Iron is an essential mineral that is required for normal body function.
Almost two-thirds of iron in the body is found in hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to tissues. Smaller amounts of iron are found in myoglobin, a protein that helps supply oxygen to muscle, and in enzymes that assist biochemical reactions.
Iron is also found in proteins that store iron for future needs and that transport iron in blood.
Q: How are iron stores regulated?
A:Iron stores are regulated by intestinal iron absorption.1That is, whenever iron is needed, more iron is absorbed than when iron is sufficient. This mechanism prevents excess iron in the body which is harmful.
In the brain, iron is necessary to ensure oxygenation and to produce energy in the cerebral parenchyma (via cytochrome oxid. ase), and for the synthesis of neurotransmitters and myelin.
Iron concentrations in the umbilical artery are critical during the development of the fetus, and in relation with the IQ in the child.2
What Is Iron Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Deficiency
What Is Vitamin B3 (Niacin)?
Niacin is an essential water-soluble B vitamin that is required by all cells of the body.
During digestion of food containing it, niacin (the form in food) is changed in the small intestines to the active form niacinamide (niacin plus an amide group), which is then absorbed into the bloodstream.
Niacinamide is converted by the body into co-enzymes which are present in all cells. These are niacinimide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and NADP. NADP is formed when the body adds a phosphate to NAD.
Q: How do these enzymes work?
A: These enzymes function in oxidation-reduction reactions essential for release of energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins and are needed as components for more than 200 enzymes involved in metabolism.
In addition to producing energy, niacinamide is essential for healthy skin and the mucosal lining of the digestive tract, normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and production of steroid hormones in adrenal glands and hormones in sex glands. Functions are more fully described below.
Urinary excretion of niacin cannot be detected when vitamin intake is below the required levels. On the other hand, when intake exceeds saturation in the body, the vitamin and/or its metabolites are actively excreted into urine to prevent excessive toxicity of the vitamins.1
What Is Niacin Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:- Shibata K, Hirose J, Fukuwatari T. Relationship Between Urinary Concentrations of Nine Water-soluble Vitamins and their Vitamin Intakes in Japanese Adult Males. Nutr Metab Insights. 2014 Aug 5;7:61-75. doi: 10.4137/NMI.S17245. eCollection 2014. [↩]
Potassium Deficiency
What Is Potassium?
Potassium is a mineral that is crucial for life being essential for every cell, especially nerve and muscle function.
Most potassium is intracellular, meaning it is found within cells while sodium, its opposing mineral (both electrolytes), is found in the fluid surrounding cells.
In muscle contraction, exchange of potassium and sodium takes place so that potassium moves out of muscle cells and sodium moves into them.
With muscle relaxation, potassium moves back into the cells and sodium moves out. Functions are described below.
Importantly, a recent study investigating the association between the metabolic syndrome and potassium intake in the general population found a significant inverse association between potassium intake and metabolic syndrome in adults. That is, the lower the potassium intake, the greater the odds of developing metabolic syndrome. After adjusting for various lifestyle and dietary confounders, subjects in the highest quartile of potassium intake had 39% lower odds for metabolic syndrome compared to those in the lowest quartile. This association was consistent for both sexes. Among the components of metabolic syndrome, potassium intake was inversely related to abdominal obesity and fasting hyperglycemia in multivariate analysis.1
What Is Potassium Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:- Shin D, Joh HK, Kim KH, Park SM. Benefits of potassium intake on metabolic syndrome: The fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV). Atherosclerosis. 2013 Sep;230(1):80-5. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2013.06.025. [↩]
Chromium Deficiency
What Is Chromium?
Chromium is a mineral that the body absolutely requires in trace amounts for normal metabolism, meaning the physical and chemical processes by which energy is produced and used.
Chromium is especially involved in the use of glucose sugar and lipids such as cholesterol and the effectiveness of insulin hormone.
Q: How is chromium involved in the use of glucose?
A: Very small amounts of chromium are required to enable insulin to move glucose from the bloodstream into cells for use as energy.
Insulin is a hormone that controls the use and storage of glucose in two ways: 1) lowers a rise of glucose in blood after meals by moving it out of the bloodstream into body cells, especially muscle cells and 2) limits the release of glucose from the liver between meals. Insulin is produced by beta cells on the surface of the pancreas.
To date, the molecular mechanism by which chromium affects glucose and lipid metabolism is still unclear.1
What Is Chromium Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:- Lewicki S, Zdanowski R, Krzyżowska M, Lewicka A, Dębski B, Niemcewicz M, Goniewicz M. The role of Chromium III in the organism and its possible use in diabetes and obesity treatment. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2014 Jun 10;21(2):331-335. [↩]
Copper Deficiency
What Is Copper Deficiency?
Copper is an essential trace element that is required for a number of enzymes which are necessary for normal metabolic function.
In the body almost all the copper is present as a component of copper proteins which are produced and controlled by the liver.
Q: How does the liver control copper?
A: The liver maintains proper copper balance by binding free copper to proteins and by excreting excess copper as part of bile that is then emptied into the intestinal tract and excreted in stool.
Metabolic balance studies have demonstrated that daily copper losses are approximately 1.3 mg/day.1
Among its specific functions listed below, copper is essential for energy production, blood and nerve functions, blood components, immunity, and collagen tissue. The copper enzyme, lysyl oxidase, is involved in the cross-linking of collagen in forming the framework for depositing calcium and other minerals to build and repair bone.
Animal studies suggest that adequate copper levels during pregnancy are critical to development of higher brain function in the offspring.2
What Is Copper Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:Phosphorus Deficiency
What Is Phosphorus?
Phosphorus is an essential mineral present in every cell of the body mostly in the form of phosphate.
About 85% of phosphorus is present in bone making up a major component of bone formation. As a component of calcium phosphate, phosphorus constitutes 45% of skeletal bone weight while calcium constitutes 40% to support the body.1.
Phosphorus is required for normal tooth development. Inadequate phosphorus in early childhood development makes for defective tooth enamel in permanent teeth.
Phosphorus is crucial for the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a molecule within cells that the body uses to store energy, and is required for production of phosphocreatine to power muscles. Functions are more fully described below.
One gram of protein in food provides approximately 15 mg of phosphorus. In an adult, the body content of phosphorus ia about 700 grams.
What Is Phosphorus Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:- http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002424.htm [↩]