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Magnesium Deficiency

magnesium
Bananas Are a Good Source of Natural Magnesium.

What Is Magnesium?

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]agnesium is an essential mineral predominantly found in the body within cells, where it is vital for their functions.

Here is a summary of what magnesium does in our body:

  1. Co-factor for over 300 enzymes involved in the metabolism of food components and synthesis of many compounds.
  2. Required for nerve transmission.
  3. Required for muscle activity (acts to relax muscles in opposition to calcium which acts to contract).
  4. Acts to maintain heart rhythm.
  5. Required for membrane transport and interactions.
  6. Required for glucose metabolism and energy production within cells.
  7. Component of bone mineralization and tooth formation.
  8. Plays a key role in calcium and phosphorus metabolism and management by parathyroid hormone.
  9. Maintains the structural and functional integrity of vital eye tissues such as lens.1

Only 1% of magnesium is found in blood, but the body must keep blood levels of magnesium constant.

What Is Magnesium Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Agarwal R, Iezhitsa I, Agarwal P, Spasov A. Magnesium deficiency: does it have a role to play in cataractogenesis? Exp Eye Res. 2012 Aug; 101:82-9. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2012.05.008. [↩]

Dementia

DementiaWhat Is Dementia?

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]ementia is the term used to describe a group of symptoms that show significant deterioration of an individual’s intellectual and social abilities.

The deterioration in intellectual function is progressive and is characterized by memory and cognitive impairment involving deficits in reasoning, judgment, abstract thought, comprehension, learning, use of language, and task execution.

Some types of dementia can be reversed,  while most types of dementia are degenerative or nonreversible.

Q: What causes dementia?

A: There are  many differing causes of dementia.  Here are some causes according to nonreversible and reversible:

  • Nonreversible dementia may not be turned back due to these conditions:
  • Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of degenerative dementia caused by abnormal protein structures in certain areas of the brain. 
  • Lewy body disease is a leading cause of dementia in elderly adults.
  • Vascular dementia due to many small strokes.
  • Medical conditions: Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, infections that can affect the brain, such as HIV/AIDS and Lyme disease, Parkinson’s disease, Pick’s disease, and progressive supranuclear palsy.
  • Reversible dementia may be stopped or reversed if these conditions are found soon enough:
  • Brain injury.
  • Brain tumors.
  • Chronic alcohol abuse.
  • Changes in blood sugar, sodium, and calcium levels.
  • Changes that can occur with celiac disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, and other metabolic disorders.
  • Nutritional deficiencies.
  • Use of certain medications, including cimetadine and some cholesterol-lowering medications.1

What Is Dementia In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001748/ [↩]

Depression

Depression and glutenWhat Is Depression?

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]epression is a mood disorder characterized by absence of cheerfulness, dejection, and loss of interest or pleasure in living, making the person dysfunctional and unable to cope with or perform tasks of daily living.

More than a feeling, this negative psychological status can range from mild to profound and can involve other parts of the body, causing physical problems such as poor digestion, constipation, weight gain or weight loss, mentrual irregularities in females, and impotence in males.

Q: How is depression identified?

A: According to the American Psychiatric Association, depression is a psychic condition that lasts for more than a month and involves four or more of these symptoms:

  • Abnormal appetite.
  • Diminished ability to concentrate or think properly.
  • Feelings of worthlessness.
  • Low energy or fatigue.
  • Physical inactivity or hyperactivity.
  • Sleep disturbances.
  • Thoughts of death.

Grief or sadness at the loss of a loved one or a similar event or remorse for sin is normal. However, depression that is prolonged usually involves imbalances of nerve chemicals called neurotransmitters. Imbalances can result from health disorders such as hormonal imbalances, low blood sugar, stress, drug side effects, or nutrient deficiencies.

What Is Depression In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) Deficiency

Macherel...
Macherel…EPA Rich!

What Is EPA?

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]PA (eicosapentaenoic acid) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is crucial for fetal brain and retina development and the child’s subsequent neurodevelopment among very many other activities in people of all ages.

Omega-3 fatty acids  are polyunsaturated long chain fatty acids which must be obtained from animal foods since they do not occur in plants.

In all ages, EPA is essential for normal brain function.

Q: Why is EPA essential to the way the brain works?

A: EPA helps nerve cells in the brain to communicate with each other.

In pregnancy, EPA may also play a role in determining the length of gestation and in preventing perinatal depression in the mother.1 and is essential for normal growth in children.

EPA is important building material for the eicosanoids, a large group of highly bioactive hormone-like substances including prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and thromboxanes that are involved in blood clotting, inflammation, and vasoconstriction. Its many important functions are described below.

What Is EPA Deficiency?

Sources:
  1. Coletta JM, Bell SJ, and Roman AS. Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Pregnancy. Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Fall; 3(4): 163–171 [↩]

Calcium Deficiency

active-milk-quality-picture-material_38-4418What Is Calcium?

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]alcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, with 99% residing in teeth and bones where it constitutes 40% of skeletal bone weight along with 45% phosphorus.

As a component of hard tissues, calcium fulfills a structural role to maintain body size and acts as attachments for musculoskeletal tissues.

Q: What does the non-skeleton calcium do in the body?

A: The remaining 1% of calcium is present in blood and soft tissues. Calcium levels in the blood are maintained within very strict limits by dietary intake, hormonal regulation and a rapidly exchangeable pool in bone tissue. The many important functions are described below.

What Is Calcium Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Amino Acid Deficiency (Essential)

phWhat Are Essential Amino Acids?

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]mino acids are small molecules, or subunits, that link together in various combinations to make up big, complicated proteins. As such, amino acids are commonly referred to as “the building blocks” of proteins.

Q: How many amino acids are used in our body?

A: There are 20 amino acids that are used within our body to synthesize or produce our unique human proteins.  Of these amino acids,  9 are termed essential, meaning our bodies require them to live but cannot make them. Therefore, the essential amino acids must come from the food we eat, whether from plant or animal sources.

The essential amino acids include histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

What Is Deficiency Of Essential Amino Acids In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) Deficiency

thiamin deficiency What Is Thiamin?

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hiamin, also called vitamin B1, is an essential vitamin that is required to convert foodstuffs into energy and for the health and proper functioning of the nervous, muscular and cardiovascular systems.

In the bloodstream, 90% of active thiamin (TPP) is carried by red blood cells while 10% is transported in the bloodstream as free thiamin and thiamin monophosphate bound mostly to the protein albumin.

In the diet, animal food sources provide active thiamin while plant food sources provide free thiamin.1

Urinary excretion of thiamin cannot be detected when vitamin intake is below the required levels. On the other hand, when intake exceeds saturation in the body, thiamin and/or its metabolites are actively excreted into urine to prevent excessive toxicity of the vitamins.2

In patients who have thiamin deficiency, the most common conditions that bring them to a clinician include neuropathies, depression, myalgia, cardiomyopathies or takes diuretics and/or eat a high carbohydrate diet.3

What Is Thiamin Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Kathleen Mahan and Sylvia Escott-Stump, ed. Krause’s Food, Nutrition & Diet Therapy, 10th Edition. Philadelphia, PA. USA: W.B. Saunders Company, 2000. [↩]
  2. 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. [↩]
  3. Spectracell Labs, Inc. [↩]

Hypomagnesemia (Low Blood Level of Magnesium)

hypomagnesemiaWhat Is Hypomagnesemia?

[dropcap]H[/dropcap]ypomagnesemia means the level of magnesium in the bloodstream is too low to meet metabolic needs of the body for this mineral.

Q: What are the metabolic needs of the body for magnesium?

A: The metabolic needs of the body for magnesium are numerous which gives rise to very many distressing symptoms when this mineral is deficient.

A major function of magnesium is to stabilize the structure of an enzyme called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) within cells for the production of energy. In the brain, magnesium plays important roles in all the major metabolisms such as oxidation-reduction and regulation of ions (charged minerals).1

What Is Hypomagnesemia In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Bourre JM. Effects of nutrients (in food) on the structure and function of the nervous system: update on dietary requirements for brain. Part 1: micronutrients. J Nutr Health Aging. 2006 Sep-Oct;10(5):377-85. [↩]

Folate Deficiency (Folic Acid)

Lovely Lettuce Briming With Folates.
Lovely Lettuce Brimming With Folates.

What Is Folate?

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]olate, also called folic acid or vitamin B9, is a family group of essential water-soluble B vitamins needed to produce healthy blood cells and other tissue cells.

Folate is required for healthy blood cells, the metabolism of at least 5 amino acids, the production of DNA, RNA and tRNA (genetic material), the normal development of a baby in the womb, male and female fertility, and regulation of homocysteine (amino acid) by reduction of harmful blood levels in conjunction with vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.

Urinary excretion of folate cannot be detected when vitamin intake is below the required levels. On the other hand, when intake exceeds saturation in the body, the vitamins and/or their metabolites are actively excreted into urine to prevent excessive toxicity of the vitamins.1

What Is Folate Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. 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. [↩]

Anxiety, Chronic

AnxietyWhat Is Anxiety?

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nxiety or worry is a distressing emotional state of mind or mood that is characterized by a vague uneasiness, unpleasant feelings of apprehension or anticipation of danger and by interference with normal functioning, ranging from mild qualms and easy startling to occasional panic.

Q: What causes anxiety?

A: Anxiety can be a normal response to stress such as making an important decision, illness, divorce, problems at work or preparing for an exam.

In a dangerous situation, profound physiological changes rapidly prepare us for a “fight or flight” response by release of adrenalin hormone. Adrenalin speeds up metabolism to make available quick energy, tightens muscles in readiness, and speeds up the heartbeat and breathing so that more oxygen is made available to the brain and muscles.

Anxiety becomes a maladaptive disorder when it is excessive, unrealistic, or not provoked and impairs the ability to lead a normal life.

Anxiety that is part of a person’s personality is called “trait anxiety.” Anxiety that comes and goes is “state anxiety,” as in state of mind, and is usually due to unresolved stress or an underlying health problem.

What Is Chronic Anxiety in Celiac Disease?