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Why and How Pellagra is (often) Confused with Celiac Disease and/or Digestive Problems ; The Science of Pellagra a Hidden Epidemic in the 21st Century presenting/revealing as Celiac Disease.
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When I was gluten intolerant following a Gluten Free diet religiously and newly diagnosed as a Celiac I began studying to see if there was a “cure” for this disease.
About 3 years into my study of Celiac disease I begin to match up/cross reference symptoms of Low Stomach acid – Hypochlorhydria. It seemed obvious my symptoms were the same.
See the link by Dr. Dana Myatt “What’s Burning You” that explains why this is so.
Open Original Shared Link
It was on that day the seed was planted that if I could begin to digest my food again then gluten would be cut up into harmless peptides.
It would take another year before I had the courage of my conviction to actually try gluten again knowing the five alarm bathroom visit I would set off if I was wrong …
but the research was clear the doctor’s had the wrong disease.
I had become/was low in Stomach Acid.
This post/thread on Celiac.com talks about the effects of leaky gut when your stomach acid is not strong enough to digest proteins – it is known as hydrolysis – to cleave by water
and it explains why a healthy baby burps at 6 months of age and a healthy adult should too.
(I didn’t know this at the time) but Celiac.com reported on this finding that Proton Pump Inhibitors can contribute to a Celiac Diagnosis.
See this link
Where the researchers concluded “Patients prescribed both proton pump inhibitors and histamine-2 receptor antagonists had an even higher risk for celiac disease .. .
The data clearly show that patients who use anti-secretory medications are at much greater risk for developing celiac disease following the use of these medicines.
The fact that this connection persisted even after the team excluded prescriptions for anti-secretory medicines in the year preceding the Celiac disease diagnosis suggests a causal relationship.”
So this confirmed my hunch and over 3+ years of research.
So with faith in myself and God that He had led me to this wisdom (2 Timothy 2:7) I began my journey back to peace with Gluten and health I had not known in over three decades.
And after a year of being able to put my cross contamination issues in remission (no accident poisoning’s when dining out) – defeating my mortal enemy gluten
I began to write about my opus /journey back to peace with gluten. “I Know World Peace is Easier”.
Someone who I was explaining this too (or trying to explain this to) asked me but “why does this happen” and I didn’t have an answer for them.
So that set me off again. If I could figure out by God’s Grace why this was happening then imagine all the suffering that could be avoided by people?
Well after much study and the Grace of God – I did. STRESS!
What happens when we are stressed – we burn energy and a lot of it? Fight or Flight right?
All this fighting takes energy and lots of it to survive the body takes our energy reserves from other parts’ of the body when it does this too much or too often over a 3 to 4 month period
our body becomes STRESSED out.
This is the same amount of time our body can store B Vitamins usually in the Liver. Is there anything we can do to help with this STRESS we are experiencing or is it hopeless.
No it/we are not helpless or hopeless if we will supplement (or feed our cravings) of the missing ingredient/nutrient then we can meet our need and remission from too much stress is obtained.
Hence the Niacinamide Challenge I have mentioned elsewhere in this blog.
Prousky talks about this in his seminal work “Is Vitamin B3 Dependency a Causal Factor in the Development of Hypochlorhydria and Achlorydia” linked here
Open Original Shared Link where he theorizes (note this is research 15+years old) and still we don’t know/understand this
connection or it is not widely talked about enough that Niacinamide supplementation can help digestive problems and that quoting prousky “The primary somatic complaints of individuals
with vitamin B3 dependency are be gastrointestinal disturbances with hypochlorhydria presenting as one of the early clinical signs of the vitamin dependency.
The only way to confirm a clinical suspicion of a vitamin B3 dependency is to provide optimal doses of the vitamin, and see if the clinical problems improve or resolve.”
Or be tested for Pellagra. Which the Doctor’ are not looking for today. Like the doctor’s did not look for Celiac disease 15 or 20 years ago neither is Pellagra looked for today
because they don’t know to look for it anymore.
See this blog post by Dr. Heaney of Creighton University that talks about why this is so today.
Open Original Shared Link
where he (Dr. Heaney) says correctly that “In the United States, at least, pellagra is a disease of the past – fortunately – and it is doubtful today that most health professionals
would recognize it if a case happened to come to their attention.” And that is unfortunate for GI patients of all stripes and kinds (IBS, Heartburn aka GERD, Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity etc.)
because doctor’s today don’t know to look for Pellagra anymore as a GI disease.
How do we know this? We can’t for sure unless we are willing to take the missing nutrient according to Prousky “a vitamin B3 deficiency occurs when the intake of the vitamin
is below a known minimal amount that guards against pellagra. A vitamin B3 dependency occurs when there is an increased metabolic need for the vitamin requiring treatment
with megadose amounts”. Or have our doctor’s test us for a Niacin deficiency.
A deficiency is why we enrich/fortify are bread with Niacin our milk with Vitamin D and our salt with Iodine. A dependency is when are bodies don’t function properly due to
high stress levels requiring high or increased metabolic need as quoted by Prousky above.
What does this look like in human beings?
If one is critically low in Niacin the 3 D’s of Pellagra (Dementias, Dermatitis’s, and Digestive Issues) show up.
As cited in the International Journal of Celia Disease Open Original Shared Link from the article “Two Exceptional Complications Revealing Celiac Pellagra
and Ischemic Cardiomyopathy … “pellagra is essentially affecting tissues with a high rate of cell turnover, such as the digestive tract and the skin,
and tissues with high energy needs, such as the brain”.
Now if the symptoms’ are similar it is easy to confuse one disease for the other and if not well understood they might be considered “exceptional” or, i.e., not well understood.
How do we know this? The same Journal of Celiac in another issue entitled Celiac Disease Intestinal Heart and
Skin Interconnections Open Original Shared Link when listing common aspects of both diseases’ says and I quote
“The two diseases can be connected in two aspects. 58% of pellagra patients were shown to have malabsorption and many had intestinal pathology on biopsies [36, 37].
Alternatively, Pellagra was described in celiac disease.”
Not only did/does the Journal of Celiac cite common symptom’s 58 percent of the time in Celiac and Pellagra but they also cite that Pellagra has been described in a Celiac Disease diagnosis.
I would argue that it should be the other way around if the majority (58 Percent) of the time Pellagra symptoms are described in a Celiac diagnosis
it stands to reason that medical science is identifying the wrong disease.
Quoting the Celiac Posterboy “Pathology presumably would qualify the Pellagra patient as a Celiac Patient if the Pellgarin was first diagnosed as a Celiac first as often is the case TODAY!”
I ask if you have the wrong disease would you get better Or Is Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity and/or Celiac Disease really Pellagra in disguise in the 21st Century?
Suffering by another name hurts just as much???? Does it not?
Pellagra being confused for Celiac disease in the Majority of those being diagnosed as Celiacs’ today -- hurt’s as much Does it not . ..
and probably worse because then/now you have ruled out a valid differential diagnosis.
Why is this? Or how is this possible?
The International Journal of Celiac Disease muses on this point too? when discussing the “exceptional” (not well understood) reason why Pellagra
shows up in a Celiac Diagnosis. They say “Little progress has been made in our knowledge of pellagra …
since Goldberger discovered that nicotinamide was a preventive factor in 1926” of Pellagra.
Continuing the citation “Proof of this is that there have been no changes’ in treatment or diagnostic criteria in the last 90 years” for Pellagra.
As the International Journal of Celiac Disease summarizes this case of “Exceptional Complications Revealing Celiac Disease and Pellagra “illustrates …
rare (I would say common) complication revealing celiac disease”.
Because it is not YET well understood that 58 percent of Celiac patients are Co-Morbid with Pellagra. Common enough I believe to declare Pellagra
as the Parent disease and the subsequent Celiac patient the child meaning every one (95 plus percent probably) of those diagnosed with Celiac disease
has symptoms derived from Pellagra though it is not now commonly understood in the medical community.
If we follow most normal paths’ for adoption it will take another 15 or 20 years (a generation) for the medical community to accept Pellagra as the proper diagnosis.
Don’t suffer in the meantime! If the International Journal of Celiac Disease is right and Pellagra is Co-Morbid revealing as Celiac disease the majority of the time?
Then take the “Niacinamide Challenge” for yourself and see if you don’t begin burping in 6 months or less depending on how many times a day you take it
and potentially put your IBS/GERD/NCGS and possibly ??? dare I say it Celiac in remission along with your Co-Morbid Pellagra symptoms
aka (the 3 D’s) 75+ years ago if one is being diagnosed as the other.
It will take one more test to make a valid determination or else we can’t know for sure which disease we really have since they are eerily similar
in their clinical presentations.
The Mdguidelines website outlines why this is so see their link
Open Original Shared Link
Where they (Mdguidlines) say quoting
“The diagnosis of pellagra is straightforward when the classic rash is present but may be (more/my word) elusive if there are only gastrointestinal and/or neurological manifestations.”
The LTO website gives an good overview of the B-Complex test than be performed to confirm if Pellagra is presenting as Celiac disease.
See this link
Open Original Shared Link
As I have said before in this blog. A healthy child burps at 6 months of age and you can too in six months by taking the Niacinamide putting your
Co-Morbid Pellagra (digestive) symptom’s into remission if indeed we can believe the International Journal of Celiac Disease and your Celiac Disease
is presenting as Pellagra the majority of the time.
See this article feature on Celiac.com that explains in more details why this is so.
Keep in mind the more times a day you take it (Niacinamide) the quicker the desired effect.
You will begin burping and your stool will sink if does not already.
See my other blog post where I say I was a Pellagra patient diagnosed as a Celiac patient to learn more about how to take Niacinamide properly and what signs too look for
when it is working and the natural order of things has been restored and you are now digesting your food again.
Remember **** This is not medical advice and should not be considered such. Results may vary. Always consult your doctor before making any changes to your regimen.
This will not work if are already taking a PPI (proton pump inhibitor) like Prilosec, Nexium or one of their generics or other acid reducers for hearburn/GERD but if you
are only taking antacid’s like Rolaids or Tums then burping will occur where it is most likely not occurring now.
You will need to take stomach acid to get you over rebound wall that comes on when you stop taking your acid reducers. See prousky link about how to do this or
check with Dr. Google where there are websites that explain how to do this.
But new research by Washington University strongly suggest that you need to work with your doctor to get off you PPI’s and do it as quickly as possible where
they say the “ Popular heartburn drugs (PPIs are) linked to gradual yet 'silent' kidney damage Most patients don't experience acute kidney problems beforehand”
Open Original Shared Link
This is only the latest bad news for Proton Pump Inhibitors. So if you are taking them for gastric support they may be doing more harm than good in the long run.
But I prefer to talk about Vitamins because they are safer to take and are at the root cause for most diseases and yes Pellagra being diagnosed as Celiac’s today.
What have you got to loose there is better than a 50/50 chance your doctor will find Pellagra is the correct disease or at least you will eliminate the contributing concomitant
Pellagra symptom’s greatly controlling your Pellagra flare up’s (the 3 D’s – dementia(s), digestive issue(s) dermatitis issue(s)) being confused/revealing as your Celiac disease by mistake.
If you have never heard of Pellagra you are not alone. Many doctors have not either and that is why they don’t find it. You only find what you are looking for!
Perhaps with this education/awareness you now have the doctor’s/patients will be more aware now that the presenting symptoms of Celiac disease and Pellagra
are eerily familiar and one disease is being confused for the other. Or at least they were in my case.
As I am fond of saying “To Educate is to Truly Free”. YOU don’t have to have all 3 D’s to have Pellagra any one of the D’s like C and D is enough to confirm Pellagra
in the absence of Dermatitis issues etc. See md guideline quote above.
Quoted again here for easy reference Where they (Mdguidlines) say quoting
“The diagnosis of pellagra is straightforward when the classic rash is present but may be (more/my word) elusive if there are only gastrointestinal and/or neurological manifestations.”
I couldn’t agree more. Your path to the knowledge of a Celiac diagnosis as we know is a long one for most people. It doesn’t have to be a long path back if you know the way.
Knowledge of Pellagra is fairly poor (elusive) today the way Celiac disease was 15 or 20 years but the path to a valid/correct diagnosis of Pellagra
doesn’t have to be a long one if you will have your doctor test you for It (Pellagra) to see if your Pellagra is like the 58% of Celiac’s according to
the Journal of Celiac Disease is masking/presenting as Celiac disease today.
Let’s take the mask of Celiac disease off and reveal the true diagnosis if you will and get tested for a Niacin deficiency proving that Pellagra is contributing to your poor
patient experience i.e. super sensitivity etc.
The gluten free works website covers this topic well. A niacin deficiency in Celiac’s.
Open Original Shared Link
Where they quote old research (again this is not new information) but the awareness is low that a “niacin deficiency itself sensitizes the intestinal
mucosa of rats to gluten in wheat, barley, rye, oats and corn and induces susceptibility to gluten toxicity by means of cellular dysfunction.3”
This research is 30+ years old. How much longer will we suffer in ignorance of this fact?
They say and I couldn’t agree more! “Human research needs to investigate this effect of niacin deficiency in human celiac disease”
or at least it is high time that Celiac’s are also tested to see if co-morbid Pellagra is contributing to their Celiac Diagnosis.
And Prousky did 15+ years ago (did human research on Niacin and digestive issues) but people still suffer today because it still not
well known (understood) today that Pellagra a Niacin deficiency treats digestive problems.
This blog post is about awareness of this fact that medical doctor’s today are not looking for Pellagra in Celiac’s and therefore people continue to suffer because of it.
Good luck to those who are still on our journey who come across this blog post and find it helpful. I hope it helps you on your journey to find at least
one was able to find (their way back)/help himself /herself/themselves of their GI problems by taking a Vitamin for a rarely diagnosed disease today --
Pellagra but is eerily similar to the way Celiac disease presents/is diagnosed today.
If you still have questions after reading this blog post about my journey of how I learned Pellagra is being diagnosed as Celiac Disease today
then visit the website in my profile to read more about why doctors are ignorant of this fact today but there is only so much you can put in one blog post.
But I hope this is enough to pique your curiosity. Or search for the posterboy on celiac.com to read all my posts or comment threads about why Pellagra
is being diagnosed as Celiac Disease today. Knitty Kitty also comments a lot about how Niacin helped her DH symptoms. It is my hope it will help you too
to know that there is an alternative diagnosis.
It is said ignorance is bliss. Well in this case it is dangerous. If you had cancer wouldn’t you want to know . . . of course you would!
If you have Pellagra the ignorance of this fact can kill as surely as Cancer. The 4th D of Pellagra is death. So please have yourself tested to see if Pellagra
is contributing to your Celiac disease symptom’s is my advice to you and maybe just maybe you too like me will have a good/favorable
response and your cross contamination issues will go into remission.
Praise bee to God! To those who will hear and listen!
I am just trying to help those who are still suffering.
I am that boy walking along the shore throwing starfish back or trying too!
The Starfish Story Original Story by: Loren Eisley
“One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean (world wide web) …
Son, the man said, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can’t make a difference!
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man,
he said I made a difference for that one.” . . . I hope that one is you reader -- fellow sufferer from a former Pellagra sufferer diagnosed as Celiac disease.
2 Corinthians (KJV) 1:3,4 3) “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4) who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (starfish), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
2 Timothy 2: 7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” this included.
posterboy by the Grace of God,
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