Scientifically, the links are not fully supported, but physicians who understand the causes for the signs see them all the time. Once patients go gluten-free, even if they did not have diagnosed Celiac disease, their brains begin to function better. They feel fully alive, like someone finally hit the switch on the light and brightened things up.
It was an awakening for many physicians to learn that if people have celiac or simply gluten sensitivity that they are not able to live the same life they could live if they adopted gluten-free diets. It is helpful to choose amaranth, brown rice and quinoa, since they do not have the gluten that may cause you problems.
Using Biomarkers as Signals
There is a discourse among researchers about grains and lectins and their offensive nature. By observing symptoms, physicians can learn how serious the sensitivity to gluten is for their patients. A grain free diet may be required for some patients who have intestinal permeability.
The individuals are studied in stages by their physicians. The diet has to be a manageable one, or the patient will not stay with it. The goal is to get to a point where there is no inflammation in the gut. Gluten sensitivity is still considered dangerous when you don’t show celiac in your blood work, but you do have stomach inflammation.
Once the gut is healed, the diet is as manageable as it can be for patients. As long as they do not suffer from Chrohn’s disease, colitis or inflammatory bowel disease, they may go back to non-gluten containing grains. If they still develop inflammation, then the physician may pull all the grains from their diet.
Patient Compliance is Vital
If your physician recommends that you go on a gluten-free diet, it is likely that he or she has plenty of information gathered that brings about this decision. Your physician can instruct you to pull all grains from your diet. If you don’t adhere to the diet, the symptoms will continue to trouble you.
High performance athletes and others who place their health above all else will usually do what their physicians tell them to do. A gluten-free diet may work well for them. But for everyone with gluten sensitivity to reach their full potential, the masses need to comply.
The gluten-free diet you and your physician choose must be workable. For instance, replacing bread is not something that is easily done. Bakers and brewer’s yeast have profound effects on the stomach. This is separate even from the effects of gluten.
It is important for you, as a patient, to understand that you are not giving up gluten just so you won’t have stomach problems. You are giving it up so that you will not be more vulnerable to accelerated development of diseases of the immune system.
A recent, published study has shown that if your body is making elevated levels of antibodies to fight the effects of gluten that you will likely develop Chrohn’s disease within several years. These are called predictive antibodies. So, if you eat foods with gluten and yeast, your chances of disease are greater.
Beer is also something to be eliminated with a gluten-free diet. It’s not enough to cut back on your intake of gluten. You need to cut it out entirely. Otherwise, you may face health issues in the future. This is addressed in “Predictors of Disease” by Abner Notkins at UCLA. It can be found in the March 2006 issue of Scientific American. This can be downloaded at scientificamerican.com .
This article will help you to understand that the mechanisms of disease start much earlier than the symptoms. The mechanisms can be identified and addressed now, in a field known as predictive autoimmunity. This is the issue with sensitivity to gluten.
Other Predictive Health Issue Examples
Women often have thyroid problems even when their thyroid blood tests are normal. This is frustrating, and is similar to the early predictors of celiac disease and