Re: Re: Gluten Intolerance and deficencies and allergies

September 28, 2003

>Can you suggest a good book on Gluten intolerance?

>

>Thanks for the information

>

>Sheryl

" Dangerous Grains " is the best so far. It is somewhat more

moderate than I am :-) They don't make any claims

beyond the current research. There are some others too,

but the problem is, the books are outdated almost as

soon as they are published.

As far as " how does it feel to be gluten intolerant " (more

right-brain stuff and stories) there are a lot of websites

and autobiographies out there. I'm on the listserver at

CELIAC@...

And they have good archives there, though it's not

as friendly as this group (they mainly post summaries),

but you get a good idea of the scope of things. Some people

also post good research notes. There is another group

at Delphi that is supposed to be very good, but you have to

log in to get mail (and my modem is sooooo slow!).

Your set of deficiencies pretty much matches what

a lot of people post. If you search the archives you'll

find recommendations for what supplements work...

part of the problem being that some supplements

contain *gluten* ... I ended up on a calcium/magnesium CITRATE

capsule with gave me diarrhea. The citrates typically " loosen

things up " so maybe that would be better if most calcium

has the opposite effect. Or something like Calmax.

The problem is, none of them get absorbed well until

the villi heal, which can take months (up to 2 years -- about

15% of people don't heal, which might indicate another allergy

or other problems).

Heartburn is often from LOW stomach acid, the sphincter doesn't

close completely, but it is also common in gluten intolerance.

A person almost needs a coach to figure this all out -- I'm

quoting my nurse-friend again on her take on heartburn. Someone

I'm sure will be irritated because here I am quoting the SCD, and

it's a long and complicated post, but this lady has worked REALLY

HARD at getting her health back and makes it her mission to

get information out to people (I've asked her about reposting).

Anyway, the story is different

for everyone: I was reasonably lucky I just gave up gluten and most

casein and take some vitamins and I'm doing better and better.

Others have to do more work. If you can find a good doctor or naturopath

to help, that is very good!

BTW this lady did follow the SCD and had good results with it.

But when the quote below says " and add foods back to your diet "

she does NOT mean gluten. IgE and IgG allergies DO go away

sometimes, and they change, as they are likely caused by

leaky gut. Gluten IgA allergy does NOT go away, though a person

can heal enough so they get few if any overt symptoms (like I said,

most of the " symptoms " are really side effects: bacterial overgrowth,

deficiencies, autoimmune disorders -- the reaction itself might cause

nausea, or not, but that's about it).

===========

Listmates, I certainly did open a can of worms with this post. I told of

my recovery from candida & horrid GI problems using stomach acid

replacement to lend support & credibility to Ron's position about the

relationship between low stomach acid and food allergies. I ended up

receiving a flood of inquiries about the many details of my treatment,

recovery, product information, dosage, etc. I'd like to refer you to

many of my past posts on this topic. I'll bridfly summarize here:

I mentioned that I developed many food allergies in recent years because

I had also developed hypochlorhydria or low stomach production, a

condition very common to celiacs & others who have GI disease. I told

that I use Thorne BIO-GEST. Thorne BIO-GEST contains HCl (hydrochloric

acid) to replace stomach acid and a complete combination of digestive

enzymes. IT'S VERY STRONG MEDICINE & MUST BE TAKEN WITH CARE. If not

done correctly, it can cause more problems than it solves. I strongly

encourage all who have troubling GI symptoms such as heartburn, bloating,

indigestion, food allergies, irritable bowel, etc. to approach this

treatment with care and be armed with information. Please read WHY

STOMACH ACID IS GOOD FOR YOU by MD. He explains the

protocol much better than I can. If you can, see a naturopath or

holistic physician to help guide you through this. Below is a summary of

my recovery:

(1) Specific carbohydrate diet. This is a difficult to follow, starch

free, sugar free diet. It was essential, though, during the first six

months of my recovery. My gut was very inflammed & I could hardly

tolerate any but the mildest foods. It's initiated with very soft cooked

foods then gradually advances to " normal " cooked & raw foods. I no

longer need to follow this diet to exactness. But I still avoid sugars

except for my once a week brownie splurge. ( I recently posted my recipe

-- EZ One-pan brownies.)

(2) Get allergy tested (I got IgE RAST and IgG ELISA blood test. There's

a newer one out there now. I think it's called ALCAT or something like

that.) Diligently eliminate EVERY reactive food from your diet for the

first six months. After that you can slowly begin to re-introduce one

food at a time to see if you are still reactive.

Don't skip this step. You can not get well as long as you're eating

foods that irritate the gut. Food allergies often cause the insides of

the esophagus and stomach to be raw & excoriated. Food allergies also

cause the stomach contents to reflux into the esophagus causing painful

heartburn. This is contrary to what we've been taught by the

manufacturers of antacids. We've all be taught that heartburn is caused

by greasy spicey foods cause over production of stomach acid leading to

heartburn and that acid reduction is the cure. But this is not true.

Acid reduction only creates more problems. Dr. has proven in his

clinic that those with chronic heartburn actually produce below normal

levels of stomach acid and only fully recover when they replace stomach

acid. I know this to be true based upon my personal experience. I can

eat greasy, spicey meals without heartburn as long as that meal does not

contain any of my reactive foods. But if I eat so much as ONE raspberry

or banana, I get heartburn for the next 24 hours. Raspberries & bananas

are not spicey or greasy, but I am allergic to both and both give me

heartburn.

As part of this step, you must also make a few lifestyle changes and

eliminate or reducing coffee, alcohol, irritating foods and any drugs

that irritate the stomach (such as aspirin, anti-inflammatories,

ibuprophen, ketoprophen, corticosteroids, prednisone, etc. You'll have

to work with your doctor on this.) Please refer to Dr. 's book for

various lifestyle changes that may be necessary to reduce reflux (GERD).

(3) Take good quality probiotics as found in unsweetened yogurt, kimchee,

raw saurkraut, raw pickles, kifer. (Exclude yogurt & kefir if you're

allergic to milk.) If none of these foods are available, you can use a

commercially prepared product that's found in the refrigerator section of

your local health food store. There's some pretty good ones out there, I

like Primadophilis and Megadophilus.

(4) NOW you are ready for the final step -- replacing the stomach acid &

digestive enzymes. There are many stomach acid replacement products out

there. Most are called HCl w/ pepsin. They contain hydrochloric acid

(in the form of betaine hydrochloride or glutamic acid hydrochloride)

plus pepsin to breaks down proteins. But, if you are like me, you'll

need more than these two ingredients. I take Thorne BIO-GEST. It

contains the acids, pepsin plus other digestive enzymes to break down

fats & starches as well. Another thing, capsules are better tolerated

than tablets.

START ACID REPLACEMENT VERY SLOWLY. Your tummy is not used to normal

acidity & it will take it a while to readjust. I started with one

capsule at each meal. I was so excited with the results (no gas, slept

better at night, no indigestion, less constipation, etc), I quickly

increased my dose to two capsules per meal. After a few days, I felt

like my insides were burning up. I had to stop for a week, then start

again, very slowly. I took one capsule in the middle of my dinner, then

added a second capsule to lunch. After another few days, I added a third

capsule to breakfast. I continued to gradually increase my dose. Now

I'm up to four capsules per meal. As long as I take my BIO-GEST, I have

no gas or bloating and rarely indigestion or heartburn. I only have

trouble if I miss taking it a few meals or cheat on my diet too often. I

can cheat about once or twice a week without problems. The starch

digesting enzymes in BIO-GEST are very effective. I can enjoy a large

baked potato without bloating now. I used to have to avoid all starches.

To take these capsules, first take a few bites of your meal. Swallow a

capsule. Eat a little more, then swallow another capsule. NEVER take

the capsules on an empty stomach or at the end of the meal. The acid

capsules must be well surrounded by food or it can irritate the inside of

the stomach.

I will probably have to use acid replacement for the rest of my life.

Once stomach acid production is disturbed by disease (and age) it rarely

returns in adults. Children with GI problems and asthma frequently

benefit from allergy elimination & acid replacement, too. But, unlike

adults, chldren usually " out grow " the need & eventually recover normal

stomach acid production.

WHERE TO GET BIO-GEST: It is available at some pharmacies & naturopathic

dispensaries as well as on-line. You'll have to search your local area

for a pharmacy that carries Thorne products or you can go on-line. Here

are a few where it can be purchased on-line:

http://www.drz.org/asp/store/DetailPage.asp?ProductID=379

http://www.pslchiro.com/index.asp?Google=Thorne

http://www.bayho.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD & Product_Code=89400

7

http://www.illnessisoptional.com/shop/brands/thorne-research/thorne-a.asp

You can learn about the specific carbohydrate diet by searching on line,

or from the book, BREAKING THE VICIOUS CYCLE by Elaine Gottshall. This

book and Dr. 's book are available at http://www.Amazon.com and

other book stores.

September 28, 2003

In a message dated 9/28/03 2:21:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

karenr@... writes:

> I wonder if the glutamic acid hydrochloride is related to free glutamic

> acid or glutamate, that darned neurotoxin. Also I often see the amino acid

> L-glutamine recommended for healing the gut, but Blaylock's work

on

> neurotoxins would advise against that.

Free glutamic acid, free glutamate, and free glutamine, are all related.

Glutamate is glutamine with the nitrogen knocked off, and glutamic acid with the

hydrogen knocked off.

Glutamate is absolutely necessary to the nervous system and in fact is the

body's way of disposing with excess ammonia, which is highly neurotoxic, by

forming glutamine. That said, glutamate *is* excitatory in the nervous system,

but it would be very simplistic to call it a neurotoxin.

Free glutamine is absolutely abundant in the food chain and in the human

body, so while it has the potential under certain conditions to have the

possibility of acting as an excitotoxin in certain forms, it would be impossible

to

avoid it. Your body synthesizes free glutamine, and lack of it is more a

problem

than excess of it.

I thought the study finding that fasting/feasting cycle improved the

resistance to excitotoxosis in mice was interesting. Perhaps the key isn't

avoiding

potential excitotoxins (unless they are man-made chemicals that don't belong in

the food chain...) but is actually concentrating on excitoxosis as a function

of the vulnerability of the nerve cells.

> Several nutritional MD's I know have said that magnesium aspartate isn't

> related to the neurotoxic aspartic acid, so now I'm confused about how to

> recognize the neurotoxic forms of glutamate and aspartate.

That makes no sense whatsoever. Magnesium aspartate would quickly dissociate

and form aspartic acid, to some degree, in an aqueous solution.

Chris

____

" What can one say of a soul, of a heart, filled with compassion? It is a

heart which burns with love for every creature: for human beings, birds, and

animals, for serpents and for demons. The thought of them and the sight of them

make the tears of the saint flow. And this immense and intense compassion,

which flows from the heart of the saints, makes them unable to bear the sight of

the smallest, most insignificant wound in any creature. Thus they pray

ceaselessly, with tears, even for animals, for enemies of the truth, and for

those

who do them wrong. "

--Saint Isaac the Syrian

September 28, 2003

Heidi,

Thanks for reposting the message from the St 's celiac listserv. I

looked up the ingredients for Bio-Gest:

Betaine Hydrochloride 240 mg., Glutamic Acid Hydrochloride 240 mg., Ox Bile

Concentrate 40 mg., Pure Pancreatin 70 mg., Pure Pepsin (1 :16,000 minimum)

35 mg.

I wonder if the glutamic acid hydrochloride is related to free glutamic

acid or glutamate, that darned neurotoxin. Also I often see the amino acid

L-glutamine recommended for healing the gut, but Blaylock's work on

neurotoxins would advise against that.

Several nutritional MD's I know have said that magnesium aspartate isn't

related to the neurotoxic aspartic acid, so now I'm confused about how to

recognize the neurotoxic forms of glutamate and aspartate.

-

September 28, 2003

Heidi,

Thanks so much for all the information. I will have to read her article tonight

as we are having an open house today (trying to sell our home) and time is

short. I have 55 minutes left to get the place ready. Luckily my husband and

daughter are helping.

Thanks again

Sheryl

Heidi Schuppenhauer <heidis@...> wrote: