[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:
Co-factor for over 300 enzymes involved in the metabolism of food components and synthesis of many compounds.
Required for nerve transmission.
Required for muscle activity (acts to relax muscles in opposition to calcium which acts to contract).
Acts to maintain heart rhythm.
Required for membrane transport and interactions.
Required for glucose metabolism and energy production within cells.
Component of bone mineralization and tooth formation.
Plays a key role in calcium and phosphorus metabolism and management by parathyroid hormone.
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:
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. [↩]
Close-up shows inflammation and infected patches on roof and back of the mouth caused by candidiasis. Uvula is swollen, hanging near the tongue. Courtesy: Wikimedia.
What Is Candida Albicans Infection?
[dropcap]C[/dropcap]andida albicans infection, called candidosis or candidiasis, is an opportunistic invasion of mucous membrane or skin by candida albicans, an endogenous yeast found in 40 to 80% of normal human beings. A former name for this small, budding fungus is monilia albicans.
Opportunistic means that yeast living on mucosal and skin surfaces does not invade (infect) unless these tissues become unhealthy and therefore cannot protect themselves.
Q: How does candida albicans cause infection?
A: Candida albicans lives on the mucosal surfaces and skin in most people without causing infection (colonizes) because of our normal defenses against invasion. In fact, candida albicans is a very effective colonizer of humans. For example, Russell and Lay found that 47% of 1-month-old infants were orally colonized with candida albicans, and 49% were colonized with other fungi.
During growth within the intestinal tract, the organism senses pH (acidity), oxygen, carbon sources, and the presence of surfaces allowing it to optimize gene expression for a particular environment. With these mechanisms for sensing, candida albicans is able to efficiently colonize humans in infancy.1
Candida Infection Of The Esophagus (White Area) On X-ray. Courtesy Radiology Assistant.nl
Lowered host defenses allow yeast already present on mucosal and skin surfaces to take advantage and can grow rapidly, becoming pathogenic (disease producing) so that infection results.
Infection is characterized by superficial, irregular white patches on mucosal surfaces and possible invasion of the bloodstream by a filamentous form (thread-like structures) that can rapidly develop.
Candida albicans is unique among oral pathogens in its ability to invade cornified layers of stratified squamous epithelium of the tongue, mouth surfaces, hard and soft palate, esophagus, and gut. Stratified squamous epithelium is the tough surface cells that ordinarily protect underlying tissues from damage or invasion by microbes.
Candida albicans is also capable of invading the lungs and causing pneumonia and septicemia, which is the spread of infection into the bloodstream.
Here is a time honored simple do-it-youself test for infection of the mouth or throat: First thing in the morning before brushing your teeth or eating, fill a small see through glass with water then gently spit onto the surface. If after an hour the spit remains on the water surface, it is unlikely you have candida in the mouth. If it grows legs downward, it indicates that yeast is growing. If the spit sinks to the bottom, you have this problem. Yeast in the mouth can quickly travel down the esophagus and into the gut.
Medical diagnosis. Difinitive diagnosis for the oral cavity is made by your clinician by swabbing the areas of your mouth and/or throat and viewing under a microscope for evidence of candida.
Infections of the esophagus and gut require inspection by gastroscopy or endoscopy procedure and the taking of samples to be examined under microscope. This examination also give the opportunity to rule out other problems. Barium swallow can show the extent of infection and any disfiguration of the esophagus that results.
What Is Candida Albicans Infection In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:
Rosenbach A, Dignard D, Pierce JV, Whiteway M, Kumamoto CA. Adaptations of Candida albicans for growth in the mammalian intestinal tract. Eukaryot Cell. 2010 Jul;9(7):1075-86. doi: 10.1128/EC.00034-10. Epub 2010 Apr 30. [↩]
Underarm showing skin darkening, which is a feature of Addison’s Disease
What Is Primary Addison’s Disease?
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ddison’s disease is an autoimmune destruction of the adrenal glands by autoantibodies that target the adrenal cortex, or outer part of these glands, and is characterized by a slow progressive failure of the adrenal glands to adequately produce its steroid hormones.
Symptoms of adrenal fatigue or failure may not develop until the majority of adrenal tissue is destroyed. When untreated, progression leads to coma, called Addisonian crisis, which is a medical emergency.
There are two adrenal glands each located on top of a kidney and enclosed in a connective tissue capsule. Each is a small, triangular shape that is made of two parts: the outer region and the inner region.
The inner region, called the adrenal medulla, produces epinephrine and norepinephrine chemicals that are needed to deal with stress.
The outer region, called the adrenal cortex, produces adrenocortical (steroid) hormones and releases them into the bloodstream in response to pituitary stimulating hormone from the brain.
Q: What is the function of steroid hormones produced by the adrenal glands?
A: Functions of the three steroid hormones produced by the adrenal glands are:
Glucocorticoids restrain inflammation and metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins to maintain a normal glucose blood level. The major glucocorticoid is hydrocortisone.
Mineralocorticoids regulate the retention and excretion of fluids and electrolytes by the kidneys. The most important mineralocorticoid is aldosterone.
Androgen (testosterone) is a male sex hormone.
Secondary adrenal insufficiency may develop from other causes that are not immune related such as chronic infections, tumor, and medications.
What Is Addison’s Disease In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
[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?
[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:
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. [↩]
[dropcap]N[/dropcap]iacin 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. [↩]
What Is Vitamin B12 Deficiency Anemia? [dropcap]V[/dropcap]itamin B12 deficiency anemia is a megaloblastic anemia that is characterized by defective DNA synthesis of red blood cells due to a lack of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is essential…
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ngina pectoris, or simply angina, is a coronary syndrome characterized by an oppressive substernal pain (pain under breastbone) or pressure brought on by exertion and relieved by rest that results from failure of coronary arteries to deliver adequate oxygen to heart tissue due to ischemic heart disease.
Q: Why do coronary arteries fail to deliver adequate oxygen to heart tissue?
A: Coronary arteries are the blood vessels that serve the heart. In angina, these vessels fail to deliver adequate oxygen to heart tissue because they are narrowed or blocked by fatty buildups, called atherosclerotic plaques or by a blood clot which impair their ability to carry adequate blood that carries the oxygen. Diseased coronary arteries cannot deliver adequate oxygenated blood pumped by the heart to its own muscle cells.
The heart is a muscular organ that is working all the time without rest, so it needs a constant supply of oxygen. When heart muscle has to work harder, it needs more oxygen. Lack of oxygen causes pain which makes the affected person stop activity and rest.
Angina can be stable or unstable. Unstable angina is much more serious and can be life-threatening.
Stable angina produces predictable pain and responds to rest and/or medication. It is less serious than unstable angina but can be very painful or uncomfortable. Anything that makes the heart muscle need more oxygen can cause an angina attack in someone with heart disease, including: smoking, cold weather, exercise, emotional stress, obesity, and large meals. Other causes of angina include: abnormal heart rhythms (usually ones that cause the heart to beat quickly), anemia, coronary artery spasm, heart failure, heart valve disease, and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid).1
Unstable angina produces unpredictable pain that may occur at rest, lasting more than 20 minutes. It is more severe than stable angina and less responsive to medication. Atherosclerosis is by far the most common cause of unstable angina. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein, so-called bad cholesterol, and oxysterols play an important role in atherogenesis, the development of atherosclerosis. Coronary arteries that are narrowed by atherosclerotic plaques can rupture causing injury to the coronary blood vessel resulting in blood clotting which blocks the flow of blood to the heart muscle. Blood clots may form, partially dissolve, and later form again and angina can occur each time a clot blocks blood flow in an artery. People with unstable angina are at increased risk of having a heart attack.2
What Is Angina In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
[dropcap]K[/dropcap]idney stones, also called renal calculi, are abnormal hard formations in the kidneys that are composed mainly of calcium oxalate, also uric acid, and cystine.
Q: How big are kidney stones?
A: Stones can vary in size from microscopic crystals to several centimeters in diameter.
Some stones that are able to enter a ureter can cause excruciating pain while small stones can pass out with urine unnoticeed. A ureter is a tube that connects a kidney to the bladder for the purpose of removing urine. There are two ureters, one for each kidney.
What Are Kidney Stones In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
What Are Gastro-Intestinal Complications Of Type 1 Diabetes?
[dropcap]G[/dropcap]astrointestinal complications of type I diabetes mellitus are functional or organic changes that result from diabetes affecting every organ of the gastrointestinal tract.
Q: How do gastrointestinal tract complications affect diabetes?
A: Impaired function of individual digestive organs in diabetes can significantly influence level of diabetes compensation and vice versa. On the other side, unsatisfactory diabetes compensation can result in manifestation of digestive problems.
The most frequent (55 to 75%) and the most serious clinical complication is diabetic gastroparesis characterized by impaired evacuation and motility of the stomach and small intestine. Gastroparesis results in nausea, vomiting, early fullness after eating and constipation.
Treatment is with prokinetics. These oral medicines help motility and transport of food in the esophagus, stomach and intestines and improve sphincter function to keep food from going backwards.
Gastroesophageal reflux and heartburn are other complications in diabetes. These are treated with antacids and acid reducing medications.
Various autoimmune disease interfere with digestion. One connection between diabetes mellitus and the gastrointestinal tract can be celiac disease.1
What Are Gastro-Intestinal Complications Of Diabetes In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:
Perusicova J. Gastrointestinal complications in diabetes mellitus. Vnitri Lekarstvi. May 2004;50(5):338-43. [↩]
