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Can Gluten Be Toxic?

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Q. I heard a woman call in to your radio show and say that her allergies went away when she maintained a gluten-free diet. I have had a similar experience.

I had battled allergies for most of my life. I was also diagnosed with lupus about 10 years ago. Since eating a gluten-free diet for the last two years, I have been essentially allergy free. In the last 9 months I have had NO lupus symptoms and have completely eliminated any prescription medicines.

I feel that gluten is toxic for me and will eat gluten free for the rest of my life.

As a side note, my teenage son was just diagnosed as having celiac disease. I am hoping that his new gluten-free diet will eliminate his allergies as well.

A. Celiac disease is an inability to tolerate gluten, a protein found in barley, wheat and rye. The body reacts to gluten in the diet by attacking part of the lining of the intestine. Celiac disease is very serious. It is not usually linked to allergies, but may be associated with lupus.

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The inability to digest glutens is not an allergy. It is a disease. If someone feels that he/she has an allergy to glutens, they need to find a gastrologist and have blood work and an endoscopy done. This shows if the ciali are deformed and unable to utilize glutens. My son was diagnosed with this disease when it was in the orphan stage and called "gluten entrophia," now celiac sprue. He was an infant and it was very dangerous for him. Dehydration, extended abdom, stench smell and cramps were constant until he was diagnosed at 16 months. As an adult he knows that consuming products that have rye, oats, barley or wheat will results in discomforts of the disease. Diet is the control, it will never be gone.

Give me an example of a gluten-free diet. I can't imagine a diet without cereal or sandwiches. I had heard that thyroid disease in some improved with a gluten-free diet also? Weight loss was easier with this diet and other claims of feeling better. Is there a web site for this diet information with some sample diets?

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The above article may have answered some questions regarding one of my sister's health that no doctor has looked for. LUPUS. She has been diagnosed with celiac but may also have LUPUS. Very tired eyes almost impossible to hold open, hair falling out etc. I will pass this info on to her and she can speak to her physician.

I have another sister who was diagnosed with LUPUS and has lots and lots of stomach problems but not celiac. I will let her know about gluten diet and maybe this will help her.

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It has been my experience that a diet of fruit, meat and vegetables has greatly diminished my arthritis pain. Avoiding sugar, alcohol and wheat products really helps!

17 years ago I got so sick with so many symptoms that it would be difficult to list them all here. After a year of exhaustive tests and specialists my dr. admitted to me that although he did not believe there was a dx called CFIDS, he could not come up with another explantion for my illness. I have never accepted the dx and have searched for years to find my own cause. I accidentally ran across the term Celiac Dx on your website about 6 wks ago. My life has changed. Most of my sx have either gone away or are showing dramatic improvement. I don't have a dx from my dr. yet because I have an appt on 10-16 to discuss this with her. No matter what, I am now gluten free. Some of the same sx I have had for years, I am seeing in my daughter and 5 yr old granddaughter. My mother has a lot of my sx, my grandmother had them and 2 of my 3 sisters. Have you ever had a show on Celiac Dx? I am now reading a book titled Gluten Free for Dummies.

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Dr. Alessio Fasano at the Univ of Maryland has published his research (now on PubMed) regarding how gliadin/gluten causes us to produce more of a protein called Zonulin, which causes more space between our cells ("tight junction dysfunction"), which can trigger any number of autoimmune diseases. Gluten does not just cause celiac disease! Celiac is only one of many autoimmune diseases caused by gluten. A blood test for Antigliadin IgG antibodies will show you whether your body is having an autoimmmune reaction to gluten/gliadin -- but your doctor will NOT know this. PubMed 11082037 and PubMed 16635908 will explain this in greater detail.

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