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Kidney Stones (Renal Calculus): Causes & Treatment in Celiac Disease

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.

Probiotics and altered gut flora – Winning the war on terrorism in your gut

probiotics celiac glutenProteins 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.

Can Medicine Make You Sicker? Common Drugs that Deplete Nutrients

medications that cause nutrient deficienciesWhether 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

Osteomalacia in Adult Celiac Disease

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.

Helping Kids With Food Allergies Overcome Anxiety

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

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Nutritional Deficiencies That Cause It

PMS Nutrition Gluten FreePremenstrual 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:

Celiac Disease, on the Couch

stock-photo-3443895-depression-and-sorrow1-216x300[1]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.

I Got Glutened and It’s My Own Fault!

no glutenI 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.