The Gluten “Issue”

Diet and Nutrition
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I’m happy to hear that your son is doing so much better. Having a kid with arthritis pain would just be a heart breaker. Painful enough to sideline a really active and athletic kid and effect his growth. Wow. I’m glad you guys were able to figure that out.

That’s pretty amazing that you’ve had such a great winter with your training.

@ autoimmune disease. I mentioned psoriasis in my earlier post. Psoriasis often occurs with rheumatoid arthritis, both autoimmune conditions, and fairly common. A percentage of people say that going off of gluten significantly improves their symptoms. Certainly something to consider.

I’ve been researching this since a bit since my husband has recently developed some mild psoriasis on his ankles, along with some joint pain so we suspect that he may have some arthritis as well. This diet is pretty restrictive, so it’s hard to want to just try it. It’s a major life change.

For anyone interested. I found this from psoriasis.org.

A number of studies suggest that psoriasis and celiac disease share common genetic and inflammatory pathways. Research further suggests that having psoriasis about doubles your chance of being diagnosed with celiac disease.

There is no published evidence that going on a gluten-free diet can improve psoriasis in people who do not have celiac disease – but there is anecdotal evidence from people who have tried the gluten-free diet and swear by it.

If you suspect you may have celiac disease or cannot tolerate gluten, you may be tempted to eliminate gluten from your diet on your own. But experts advise that you first schedule a blood test to check for the allergy. Talk to your doctor and/or a registered dietitian on how to start a gluten-free regimen.

It’s a little bit daunting to go down the road of elimination diets. Some people eliminate night shades (tomatoes, potatoes and peppers), fatty meats, dairy, processed foods, alcohol, gluten, sometimes certain citrus fruits.

@Evolv, I hope you don’t mind if I tag you here, but I seem to remember that you tried this. Did you have testing done to see if you were allergic? Could you please let me know how you did the elimination diet? Did you jump into it all at once?

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You’re really bringing me down here, mert. Ha. Seriously. Physicians will often tell people that a daily dose of psyllium is an easy way to up their fiber intake. I thought that was a healthy habit. Maybe it’s not an issue for most of us? I used to put psyllium in a protein shake every morning with flax, berries, and spinach or kale. No problems, but I finally got tired of making shakes. They’re unappealing in the winter, and I switched to breakfast omelettes with mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes and rice.

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The link between wheat and autoimmune disease is pretty strong, and the most likely mechanism of developing autoimmune diseases is probably through antigens, allergens or enteroviruses through the gut lining. I will grant that even some paleo proponents recommend psyllium, but only occasionally. The main benefit of fiber seems to now be that gut bacteria turns fiber into short chain fatty acids that protect the gut lining. Lignins and lectins in grains may account for most of the immunological vulnerability, but gut bacteria makes short chain fatty acids just fine from resistant starch, cellulose and pectin. I prefer naturally fermented veggies which already have active cultures, along with cellulose and pectin from fruits and veggies and some resistant starch from potatoes and banana flour. I actually think that a round of high psyllium dosing may be good every 4-6 months to possibly scrape out precancerous polyps. If they don’t make you shit your pants then go for it. Even then…

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@anon71262119, I have never had an allergy test done. However, certainly something I should probably do.

I slowly started eliminating things from my diet. Took me about 2 years to do it. Today, I experiment with certain foods to see if I can add them back in, but have found that a very strict diet is the only way to go for very good results. It is an incredibly difficult diet to follow, but I’ve learned to embrace it as it has changed my life.

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There is also evidence that both type I and type II diabetes, and thyroid disease, and adrenal dysfuntion (including hypothyroidism and hyper cortisol levels) may all be triggered by gluten or other antigen in wheat (and or possibly dairy).

Pancreatic, thyroid and adrenal autoimmunity and celiac are highly linked. Type I diabetics get assessed for celiac and thyroid autoimmunity usually every year and there is strong emerging evidence that type II diabetes is also autoimmune mediated-there may be antibodies to insulin that keep it from working fast enough, resulting in over secretion, and then the insulin works its way free of the antibodies when it is not needed. There also may be antibodies that damage or gum up insulin receptors on cells.

Oh and Alzheimer;s and some other brain diseases may be a similar autoimmune response where antibodies effectively kill some brain cells.

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