Re: Gluten Intolerance and deficencies and allergies-Heidi

[Guest guest]

Heidi,

Thanks for this informative post. Are there any other supplements

that you take? Were you low on Iron, vit K etc..... any suggestions

for these?

TIA

-Vee

>

> >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 but the problem is, the books are outdated almost as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@M...

>

> 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.

[Guest guest]

>Heidi,

>Thanks for this informative post. Are there any other supplements

>that you take? Were you low on Iron, vit K etc..... any suggestions

>for these?

>TIA

>-Vee

I don't think I was low on iron. I probably was on Vit. K, I got all kinds of

strange vein problems in my legs suddenly, which are now going away

(the dreaded " spider veins " ). I don't know if you can TAKE Vit. K though,

they have creams with it ... it gets manufactured in your gut by a

certain bacteria. Once I got lots of probiotics and stopped taking

antibiotics (I was on non-stop antibiotics for years!) then the

leg issues started healing so I assume I get Vit. K.

I've been taking a regular daily supplement " just in case " but besides the B,

Calcium/mag/D, and C, I haven't looked into anything. I started taking

Vit. C to see if it would keep my nose from reacting to allergens, which

it did, and it also seems to have " tightened up " my teeth, which were

always a bit loose. If I don't get take the calcium I get muscle spasms

in 2 days, which is scary.

Ideally I think vitamins should come from your food, but I have ample

evidence I don't absorb them well! The ones I've been taking aren't

special though, just what they sell at Costco (the Kirkland brand,

which is GF). Since I get such obvious symptoms, I figure I can

tell if they are working or not!

-- Heidi