This may surprise some people.
I'll let you read this article: all I know is going gluten free after being diagnosed with a celiac related skin disorder, has massively improved labs in a very short time and explained years worth of severe skin problems, food allergies, digestive problems, and vitamin deficiencies my recent doctors have discovered despite food intake. I do not know if this will take any more weight off-it has taken some off, it seems to have absolutely killed cravings for carbohydrates and waking up everyday, not worrying about itching to death is a nice change. It is not an easy or cheap diet to follow but the difference in how I feel is night and day. Read on about the celiac link to autoimmune disease and much more.
Another disorder commonly associated with celiac disease is malabsorption, which can also lead to malnutrition. When someone with celiac disease eats foods that contain gluten it results in damage to the surface of the small intestine and destruction of their nutrient-absorbing villi. This can lead to leaky gut and an inability for them to absorb vital nutrients from their food. By continuing to eat foods containing gluten, eventually vital organs including the brain, thyroid, liver, kidneys—essentially any organ that depends heavily on nutrients—will be starved, which will leave them susceptible to other diseases and conditions. I personally experienced brain malfunctions, gall bladder problems, and was diagnosed numerous times with an under-active thyroid. Naturally treatments for this proposed thyroid condition didnt work because their true cause had not yet been found. At one point a doctor asked me to consider the idea that my obesity was the result of my bodys attempt to cope with malnourishment4. This phenomenon is similar to yo-yo dieting, where dieters who have deprived themselves or proper nutrition for too long gain weight at faster rates than non-dieters after they resume eating normally. I always thought that I had fallen victim to yo-yo dieting, and that I had dieted myself into a permanent state of obesity. I now understand that it was because I had undiagnosed celiac disease, and my body was actually malnourished.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteYour article is great! I recently found out (by myself, through an elimination diet) that I have either celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
Here's my story in case anyone finds it interesting:
I've been overweight all my life. I never really had any common celiac symptoms, but I have always over-eaten. I've never been a typical junk food eater though. I never crave crisps or fatty foods. Only bread, cakes and cookies, they are like drugs to me. I've always been a good eater, all kinds of veggies, fruits, cereals... everything... and I eat a lot! I've been told I'm actually thin considering the amount of food I eat.
About 4 years ago I started having some type of mild hemorroids (at the age of 23!). I also started to have problems digesting milk and some types of cheese. I would get very bloated and my stomach would just shut down for hours. Inspite of this I didn't stop eating dairy products entirely. At around the same time I also started to have excessive burping. It hasn't stopped yet but it is getting much better. Then about 1 year ago I developed an itchy rash in my fingers. I looked it up on the internet and found it very similar to a type of eczema called "Pompholyx" or "Dyshidrotic eczema". I kept doing my own internet research and found that eczema can be related to lactose intolerance. I didn't believe it at first but one night I had a big pot of yogurt and after a few minutes I had the most horrible eczema attack I had ever had. It wasn't even itchy, it was a very painful rash that made my skin feel extremely sensitive. I stopped yogurt and milk completely after that (I still eat goat's cheese occasionally).
Then my flatmates and I went on the famous Dukan diet (Zero carbs except for 1 oat bran pancake a day). I realised I had so much more energy but, I also realised that the oat bran pancake would give me terrible rotten-smelling flatulence (not something I enjoy sharing btw).
I also started having pain in one knee that went away by taking chondroitin. I used to work at a restaurant and had to be standing up for long hours so I was always in so much pain from my feet and anckles. At the begining I thought it was normal, considering... but what I couldn't understand was, why my co-workers (some of them as overweight as me or even more) didn't have that problem.
Another scary symptom (more celiac-related I think) is gallbladder pain. It has been a while since I can't really digest fatty foods. Now it's impossible cause the minute I eat something greasy I get a pain on my right upper quadrant of the abdomen. I've been getting better with a strict diet and detox.
I have officially been completely gluten-free for about a month, even though I had known about my problem for a few months. I had been underestimating it so some days I would be gluten free and others I would succumb to a gluten product (such as a slice of pizza or some wheat bread) but I decided to stop the gluten completely because I noticed the difference when I was following the GF diet and when I wasn't. My hemorroids are cured. My skin rash is cured. I am slimmer (I think I was mostly bloated). Now I have to make sure my gallbladder recovers.