RE: Re: NT and movement disorders/Dystonia

[Guest guest]

>Hi Heidi,

>

>Thanks. That was interesting what you said about gluten. That

>thought sticks in the back of my mind if that's my problem just

>100x's over! Isn't there a new test for gluten intolerance: to check

>the IgA or something like that? i know I read it somewhere; perhaps

>here, I don't know. If someone knows can you repeat it?

Thanks Heidi - LiSaC

LiSa --

There are several tests, but getting one is difficult (you have to

convince your doctor, and most of them are NOT familiar with the

problem, even though the AMA recognizes it as a real issue). And

the tests give a lot of false negatives. The IgA antigliadin test is

the blood test that is most used, but not everyone produces enough IgA

to give a positive reading, and the IgA is mainly in the gut, not the

blood. Dr. Fine (www.finerhealth.com) has his own test you can get,

but it is $200 or so. There is a new one, not available in the States,

involving putting gluten on the lower gut and watching for a reaction,

which is pretty accurate. None of the tests are accurate if you

aren't eating gluten though, and a lot of people try giving up gluten,

feel better, THEN try to get tested and can't, which was sort of my

case. I did get Dr. Fine's gene test though, and I have the gene,

and I get sick if I eat the stuff, so I figure that's enough of

a test. I also tested fairly high for IgA to gluten and casein on his

test.

There is a cheap blood test coming out, and my guess is that will

become something of a standard soon, kind of like they test blood

sugar every so often now. About 1 in 100 people have major high antibodies

to gluten, and about 1 in 5 have moderately high antibodies to it.

The antibodies are actually what cause the damage, more than the gluten

itself. However, most people who have antibodies to gluten ALSO have

other food allergies -- the other allergies may go away after awhile,

but the gluten one won't. The IgA antibodies go away though, and then

the body can heal itself. Besides the anti-gliadin antibodies, people

who react to gluten also produce antibodies that attack the pancreas

and liver (and thyroid, I think), so there are a lot of related issues.

The book Dangerous Grains gives a good run-down of the current research.

There are still more questions than answers, but the research is pointing

more and more to gluten being probably THE worst public health issue

in America. I wouldn't have believed it myself, a couple of years ago!

Heidi S

[Guest guest]

>>>>Besides the anti-gliadin antibodies, people

who react to gluten also produce antibodies that attack the pancreas

and liver (and thyroid, I think), so there are a lot of related issues.

----->heidi,

you've probably already read this, but here's an interesting article on

lectins, which implicates *wheat lectin*-a component of gliadin, in the

genesis of autoimmune reactions, especially in the pancreas and thyroid:

Do dietary lectins cause disease?

http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7190/1023

just something to add to the mix. one thing i found interesting is that

simple sugars and oligosaccharides can prevent 'lectin poisoning' by binding

to sites that lectins would bind to. i wonder if that has any practical

application? interesting too, that potatoes and other tubers have lectins,

yet those lectins don't seem as problematic as *wheat* lectins.

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg/

mailto:s.fisher22@...

[Guest guest]

>just something to add to the mix. one thing i found interesting is that

>simple sugars and oligosaccharides can prevent 'lectin poisoning' by binding

>to sites that lectins would bind to. i wonder if that has any practical

>application? interesting too, that potatoes and other tubers have lectins,

>yet those lectins don't seem as problematic as *wheat* lectins.

Actually there IS an interesting side note on that. Each lectin has

an oligosaccharide that bonds to it, rendering it harmless. Well, more

or less harmless -- like I said if you have an IgA reaction all bets

are off. But people WITHOUT the IgA reaction can still be

harmed by the lectin side of things, and then, taking the oligosaccaride

should help with the lectin side effects, the notable one being arthritis.

If the lectin bonds to the nerves etc. around joints, then gets attacked

by the immune system, this is thought to contribute to arthritis.

Well, guess what -- the lectin that bonds to gliadin just happens to be

glucosamine, which just happens to help arthritis a lot. Hmmm.

That's a great article, BTW. It is rather interesting that our favorite

foods -- tomatoes, potatoes, grains -- are all high lectin. But like we

went through awhile back, lectins are all over the place, and some of

them are downright healthy (beta glucan) while some of them

are REALLY toxic (ricin!).

Heidi S