Celiac disease has become much more common in the last 50 years…

by Vic Shayne, PhD

More than ever people are asking whether this food or that contains gluten. The reason? Gluten intolerance may be on the rise according to scientific reports, but it is my opinion that more and more people are merely discovering that gluten injures their health. Symptoms that people have merely lived with, such as strange rashes and intestinal cramps, are now being linked to gluten intolerance. I wonder whether the incidences of gluten intolerance are rising or just the numbers of people having realizations about what gluten does to them.

The only way to know for certain is to stop eating all gluten products (wheat, rolls, bread, cake, cookies, breaded chicken, etc.; you have to read labels closely).

A recent report from Mayo Clinic states that celiac disease is four times as prevalent as it was fifty years ago. Is this because people are eating more refined foods and wheat, or does it suggest an evolutionary problem? I doubt it’s the latter. We just don’t evolve that quickly.

“Celiac disease has become much more common in the last 50 years, and we don’t know why,” says Joseph Murray, M.D., the Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist who led the study. “It now affects about one in a hundred people. We also have shown that undiagnosed or ‘silent’ celiac disease may have a significant impact on survival. The increasing prevalence, combined with the mortality impact, suggests celiac disease could be a significant public health issue.”

“In patients with celiac disease, the presence of a protein called gluten from wheat, barley or rye triggers an immune system attack, damaging the villi in the small intestine. Villi are fingerlike projections that increase the intestine’s surface area for nutrient absorption. Celiac disease symptoms may include diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, weight loss, anemia, unexplained infertility, loss of teeth or even premature or severe osteoporosis.”

Remember, though, that you don’t have to be diagnosed with celiac disease to be gluten intolerance. There is a wide range of reactions to gluten, ranging from debilitating bowel problems to a mild chronic itch.

If you have a gluten intolerance it can, and often does, lead to allergies that may seem unrelated to what you’re eating. But in this case, what’s happening is that gluten is hampering your immune system.

The best solution is to avoid gluten completely. You can’t just eat a little here and there. It has to be a complete withdrawal in the same way that an alcoholic can’t touch ANY alcohol again. It may take a year for your intestines to recover from the assault of gluten, so if you eat it here and there, your body will not be able to recover and you’ll forever wonder where your symptoms are coming from.

In the meanwhile, good supplements to take include: Immune Support, Fish Oils, CalMag Balance and Cell Power.

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