Showing posts with label coeliac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coeliac. Show all posts

Monday, May 13, 2013

Allergies and Gluten

I woke up this morning with a terrible headache.  This is not uncommon for me.  I have had seasonal allergies for most of my adult life.  I didn't know that if you have headaches more than 3 times per month, you should see a doctor (at least that's the recommendation from many professionals).  At the high point of my celiac symptoms last year, I was experiencing 4-6 headaches a week.  I was taking ibuprofen like candy.  However, I had no reason to think my headaches were caused by anything other than my allergies and chronic sinusitis.

According to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness:  A 2012 survey found that 35% of people at risk for celiac disease had no reason to suspect that the symptoms they were experiencing were due to undiagnosed celiac disease.

In my case, this was very true.  Tiredness can be blamed on poor sleep and respiratory allergies.  The poor sleep can be blamed on lack of exercise and work stress.  Tingling in my fingers can be blamed on previous nerve damage and scoliosis.  Joint pain can be blamed on lack of exercise.  Bloating can be blamed on too much salt, not enough water, etc.  The skin rash can be blamed on dermatitis from soaps.  It goes on and on.  I even have another autoimmune disorder, and an aunt with multiple sclerosis.  Until I experienced considerably inconvenient IBS symptoms, I was not able to piece it together.

This first spring of being gluten free, my allergies symptoms have improved.  Even my husband noticed a difference in my symptoms.  I don't know if my headache was legitimately due to high pollen counts, or was caused by something I ate.  Last night I made a bean soup, which came with a seasoning packet.  I opened the innocuous looking spice packet and dumped it into the pot.  After I took a bite to test the level of seasoning, a wild thought appeared:  "I should read the label because I have no idea what was in the packet."  

Now here's where it gets tricky.  The spice packet contained both maltodextrin and modified food starch, neither of which specified wheat.  If the item was FDA regulated (a bag of beans should be), companies are supposed to identify if these two came from wheat sources and place an allergen warning at the bottom.   


If the item is a meat, poultry, or egg product, it falls under USDA regulations, which does not require labeling to specify the source and just saying modified food starch or maltodextrin is allowed.  These should be avoided like the plague.  There are sources that will tell you maltodextrin is safe, even if it is from wheat, but I don't buy that (I'm no scientist or doctor, just a cautious celiac).  Just like companies can label their reduced gluten beer as "gluten free", 5 ppm might be teeny tiny, but it isn't gluten free.

Well, I might have a few bites to see if I can handle it.  I have heard stories of other celiac people who have bad reactions to maltodextrin and modified food starch, even when it specifies the source.  I am becoming increasingly convinced that I need to cut out all processed foods, even the ones geared toward a gluten free diet...

If my gluten free buddies out there have any additional comments or stories, please chime in.  I'd love to hear other experiences!




Friday, May 3, 2013

May is Celiac Awareness Month!

May is the "real" Celiac disease awareness month.  It used to be October, which is why I posted information back in October about the disease and my own difficulties with it.  I'm going to post some relevant information this month, again, because I know it's important to increase awareness and understanding. 

Did you know:  An estimated 1 in 141 Americans has Celiac disease, yet 83% of those who have it are either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.  That's an awful lot of people.  But even with the large numbers of people who are undiagnosed, the numbers of diagnosed individuals has been steadily increasing....and it's not just because of more accurate diagnostics.



The availability and popularity of gluten free (GF) food has increased, but many people have mixed feelings.  Like many trendy, fad diets, the public exposure can trivialize the real need.  I've been exposed to people on the internet who have very negative opinions when someone goes into a restaurant and asked for gluten free items.  Some restaurant workers have shared anecdotes of customers who insisted they were gluten free but ordered a beer to drink.  Behavior like this does have an impact on public perception of the whole gluten free movement. After 9 months of gluten free living, eating out is still the most difficult part for me.  I've learned to specify that I have Celiac disease when at a restaurant.  And even then, I've had salads served to me with croutons, when I specifically asked for no croutons.  I've had to send back sandwiches that came to me on a bun, after asking for no bun...and I had to emphasize that I can't just pull food off the bread.  Celiacs can get sick from the crumbs left over if they try to pick the croutons off.  I don't want to know what goes on behind the scenes in the kitchens, and I'm thankful I have only been visibly sick from eating out a handful of times.  But lack of symptoms does not equal lack of internal damage.

Let me start with the fact that I'm extremely thankful to have figured out what was going on with my body.  I'm thankful that Celiac isn't a more serious disease where I have to take daily drugs, or need to cope with physical deterioration.  However, Celiac disease does have serious consequences on the body, mostly when individuals continue to eat gluten, but sometimes even when an individual sticks to a gluten free diet.

Some of these complications include:
  • Malnutrition
  • Infertility
  • Rickets, Osteoporosis, and other bone density related issues
  • Lactose intolerance
  • Cancer:  increased risk of bowel cancers and lymphoma
  • Nerve issues:  including seizures and peripheral neuropathy.  
It's important for me, and other Celiac individuals to stick to the gluten free diet, minimize cross contamination, and work on healing our body systemically to minimize the risks of other complications.

In addition, if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with one of those more vague conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome or irritable bowel syndrome, encourage testing for food allergies and food related disorders like Celiac.  It gives new meaning to the old saying "You are what you eat."

"America's health care system is in crisis precisely because we systematically neglect wellness and prevention."  ~Tom Harkin