Celiac Disease Alternative Medicine

Excellent info. Dialog is so beneficial. Celiacs, like Hypothyroidism, will get more manageable as we share the details of what works for each of us. With both conditions, it seems there is quite a bit we can do for ourselves that most mainstream docs are either ignorant of or unwilling to explore. Read, research and share. Patient heal thyself? Certainly not in every case, but arm yourself with as much info as possible when talking to a doc. And if you aren't getting relief, find another one.

I am just learning how to eat gluten free.

I just found out I have celiac disease. I have no symptoms, feel great and I am extremely healthy and lead a very healthy lifestyle. How can I have this disease and feel this good!!!

Excellent info!

Some notes on the herbs and supplements from someone who has studied and used 'alternatives' for the last 15y:

 

The part of the above 'Roberts Formula' that helps recovery is the Slippery Elm and Marshmallow, which are used to sooth inflamed tissues; commonly in sore throat preparations. Licorice is another good one, but not if you have high blood pressure, and only take it for a short time. Another good gut soother is enteric coated peppermint.

 

However Echinacea is a T-cell 'booster' and contraindicated for anyone with an auto-immune disorder. Celiacs, therefore should steer clear of it. Goldenseal is an all around anti viral/bacterial/parasitic and is hard on your liver, which is why you should not take it for very long, however still a very useful cold remedy. Like any other anti-bacterial, you should follow your treatment with a beneficial bacterial preparation. You can do this with either a pill, or a good quality yogurt or kefir. Read the labels; the more species listed the better, and of course avoid the Modified Food Starch. For Americans, LifeWay kefir or Horizon yogurt are good choices. These good bacteria are also helpful to form that healing 'slime' spoken of. If you have been experiencing any kind of bowel troubles, whether it is '24 hour stomach flu' or celiac-sprue, those bacteria have been depleted from that condidion. Also maintaining a healthy colony of beneficial bacteria in your gut acts as a barrier for any harmful organisms to take hold, including candida (Yeast infection). A daily dose of your favorite fruit flavored Kefir will do the body; especially the celiac one; a lot of good. If you are lactose intolerant, you should still be able to take this; the bacteria will happily oblige you in digesting all the lactose.

 

The purpose of the medicinal clay is to absorb toxins, but it doesn't discriminate against vitamins, so if you use the clay, use it for a week or so at a time, and do not supplement, otherwise you are wasting your money.

 

Also if you intend on taking the 5000 mg of Vit C, work up to it slowly, 500mg/day increase each day from either a starting amount of 500mg, or whatever you currently take. Large doses can be a shock and may give you diarrhea. Everone has a different tolerance for this, but if you don't know yours, it won't hurt to take it slow.

 

Vit A is indeed the most toxic of the vitamins, but the average person can safely take 5000 IU of activated A (retinyl palmitate) per day. A therapeutic dose is more like 10,000 to 20,000 IU /day UNLESS YOU ARE PREGNANT OR AT RISK OF PREGNANCY then stick to the 5,000 max. Beta Carotene is the un-activated version of Vit. A. There is no upper dose of that, and can be found in great abundance in any colored vegetable/fruit, so don't waste your money on a pill; just go to the produce dept. You store Beta Carotene in your skin, and the liver retreives it and turns it into active Vit A 'as needed'. Part of the reason why Vit A is toxic, is that it is fat soluable so your body stores it instead of passing it like it will water-soluable B vitamins. That means to be safe, you should not engage in a therapeutic dose past the time you need the therapy.

 

Vit E is used in building the cell walls of every cell in the body, and is our most basic defense against 'free radicals'. 400 IU/day is the dose recommended for a healthy adult. For healing and tissue repair, you can easily double that. Although fat soluable, there is no known upper limit for toxicity; just tolerance, so if your waste becomes oily, back off a little, or break it up into smaller more frequent doses.

 

Celiacs are notoriously Magnesium deficient, so I would say more than the 400mg is recommended. Yes, too much AT ONCE can cause diarrhea, so avoid liquid preparations (which taste hideous anyway). Go with a chelated preparation. Almost all Calcium pills will have Magnesium as well in a roughly 2:1 ratio, as well as 200 IU Vit D. The problem with this for celiacs is that calcium and magnesium compete for the same ion channels in the cell. So, take additional magnesium (chelation increases the number of absorption pathways available to a nutrient). 200-400 mg 1/day. You can even split this up so that you take the Calcium supplement in the am, and the magnesium in the pm; it might just help you sleep too.

 

You don't really need much more D if at all from the above; the liver makes it in storage form and you store it in the skin. Sunlight activates it, so 20 min/day of just arms & face exposure is adequate. So if you are very sick, calcium deficient and it is winter in a cold climate, Vit D supplementation above that 200 may be needed, but not much. Darker skinned folks are at a bigger risk of needing D than caucasions.

Any source of EFAs is good. Flax oil is probably the best generic one, and easily available. You can also by flax meal, and add to your home gluten-free baked goods.

 

All your vitamin pills should be in a capsule form. This is the powder encased in a clear capsule. Liqui-gels are even better if you can find them. Avoid tablets; they are hardest to digest, and if you are a celiac, you might as well eat your money! Also avoid liquids (drinkable preps); they are highly absorbable, but if you gut is 'handicapped' it won't be able to react fast enough to utilize them. Also all vitamins should be taken with food; even if it is just a swig of milk, for best utilization. The papain however should be taken on an empty stomach unless you want it to help you digest your food.

 

Also don't waste your money on any 'dry' or 'water soluble' A, D or E vitamins. The logic of chemistry is that if they are made this way, they are no longer the vitamin you need. The plain old oil caps are the best and cheapest.

Great information, thank you. Just a comment to those who are doing this reading to try and figure out what is wrong with their health, I came down with 3 nasty viruses (Ross River, then strep throat which caused rheumatic fever). After this I was very sick and it is now 3 years after and I have just started feeling energy on a gluten-free diet. I have read that viruses, illness or increased stress can make this disease become active in you. I believe that this is what has happened to me because very gradually I have started to feel that this diet is helping. Please try it for yourself, even if you have a negative blood test. Doctors have not suggested that this is wrong and keep going back to a diagnosis that I have chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. I say that these are symptoms and not an illness. Keep trying to work it out and give the gluten-free a SERIOUS effort. I.e. don't eat any at all for at least three months to test if it makes you feel better.

This article is terrific but what about older celiacs who have been on the diet for 50 years? How about vitamin deficiencies in us? I have dry eyes, which nothing helps except ribloflavin for now and hopefully forever, as it is very annoying, unpleasant and painful. There should be more articles for us older celiacs.

Some notes on the herbs and supplements from someone who has studied and used 'alternatives' for the last 15y:

 

The part of the above 'Roberts Formula' that helps recovery is the Slippery Elm and Marshmallow, which are used to sooth inflamed tissues; commonly in sore throat preparations. Licorice is another good one, but not if you have high blood pressure, and only take it for a short time. Another good gut soother is enteric coated peppermint.

 

However Echinacea is a T-cell 'booster' and contraindicated for anyone with an auto-immune disorder. Celiacs, therefore should steer clear of it. Goldenseal is an all around anti viral/bacterial/parasitic and is hard on your liver, which is why you should not take it for very long, however still a very useful cold remedy. Like any other anti-bacterial, you should follow your treatment with a beneficial bacterial preparation. You can do this with either a pill, or a good quality yogurt or kefir. Read the labels; the more species listed the better, and of course avoid the Modified Food Starch. For Americans, LifeWay kefir or Horizon yogurt are good choices. These good bacteria are also helpful to form that healing 'slime' spoken of. If you have been experiencing any kind of bowel troubles, whether it is '24 hour stomach flu' or celiac-sprue, those bacteria have been depleted from that condidion. Also maintaining a healthy colony of beneficial bacteria in your gut acts as a barrier for any harmful organisms to take hold, including candida (Yeast infection). A daily dose of your favorite fruit flavored Kefir will do the body; especially the celiac one; a lot of good. If you are lactose intolerant, you should still be able to take this; the bacteria will happily oblige you in digesting all the lactose.

 

The purpose of the medicinal clay is to absorb toxins, but it doesn't discriminate against vitamins, so if you use the clay, use it for a week or so at a time, and do not supplement, otherwise you are wasting your money.

 

Also if you intend on taking the 5000 mg of Vit C, work up to it slowly, 500mg/day increase each day from either a starting amount of 500mg, or whatever you currently take. Large doses can be a shock and may give you diarrhea. Everone has a different tolerance for this, but if you don't know yours, it won't hurt to take it slow.

 

Vit A is indeed the most toxic of the vitamins, but the average person can safely take 5000 IU of activated A (retinyl palmitate) per day. A therapeutic dose is more like 10,000 to 20,000 IU /day UNLESS YOU ARE PREGNANT OR AT RISK OF PREGNANCY then stick to the 5,000 max. Beta Carotene is the un-activated version of Vit. A. There is no upper dose of that, and can be found in great abundance in any colored vegetable/fruit, so don't waste your money on a pill; just go to the produce dept. You store Beta Carotene in your skin, and the liver retreives it and turns it into active Vit A 'as needed'. Part of the reason why Vit A is toxic, is that it is fat soluable so your body stores it instead of passing it like it will water-soluable B vitamins. That means to be safe, you should not engage in a therapeutic dose past the time you need the therapy.

 

Vit E is used in building the cell walls of every cell in the body, and is our most basic defense against 'free radicals'. 400 IU/day is the dose recommended for a healthy adult. For healing and tissue repair, you can easily double that. Although fat soluable, there is no known upper limit for toxicity; just tolerance, so if your waste becomes oily, back off a little, or break it up into smaller more frequent doses.

 

Celiacs are notoriously Magnesium deficient, so I would say more than the 400mg is recommended. Yes, too much AT ONCE can cause diarrhea, so avoid liquid preparations (which taste hideous anyway). Go with a chelated preparation. Almost all Calcium pills will have Magnesium as well in a roughly 2:1 ratio, as well as 200 IU Vit D. The problem with this for celiacs is that calcium and magnesium compete for the same ion channels in the cell. So, take additional magnesium (chelation increases the number of absorption pathways available to a nutrient). 200-400 mg 1/day. You can even split this up so that you take the Calcium supplement in the am, and the magnesium in the pm; it might just help you sleep too.

 

You don't really need much more D if at all from the above; the liver makes it in storage form and you store it in the skin. Sunlight activates it, so 20 min/day of just arms & face exposure is adequate. So if you are very sick, calcium deficient and it is winter in a cold climate, Vit D supplementation above that 200 may be needed, but not much. Darker skinned folks are at a bigger risk of needing D than caucasions.

Any source of EFAs is good. Flax oil is probably the best generic one, and easily available. You can also by flax meal, and add to your home gluten-free baked goods.

 

All your vitamin pills should be in a capsule form. This is the powder encased in a clear capsule. Liqui-gels are even better if you can find them. Avoid tablets; they are hardest to digest, and if you are a celiac, you might as well eat your money! Also avoid liquids (drinkable preps); they are highly absorbable, but if you gut is 'handicapped' it won't be able to react fast enough to utilize them. Also all vitamins should be taken with food; even if it is just a swig of milk, for best utilization. The papain however should be taken on an empty stomach unless you want it to help you digest your food.

 

Also don't waste your money on any 'dry' or 'water soluble' A, D or E vitamins. The logic of chemistry is that if they are made this way, they are no longer the vitamin you need. The plain old oil caps are the best and cheapest.

I am a celiac and your information is great help! Thank you!

Thank you

The specific carbohydrate Diet and GAPS diet books are a must-read for anyone with celiac, allergies, auto-immune or digestive issues. It is the only hope I have come across for reversing the condition so that gluten, etc. is tolerable again (takes at least one year). There are lots of resources out there to make it easier to follow the SCD/GAPS diet. Done properly, it is very nourishing. Many cognitive, psychiatric issues also stand to improve dramatically.

Very interesting. I have been eating gluten-free for 4 months and feel no benefit yet. I'm struggling with fatigue, depression and boring food. Will definitely look into more vitamins as I have also suffered 30 years with Crohn's disease and now FODMAPS. Sadly, through all these years I have continued to be grossly obese, so I am rarely taken seriously by doctors when describing constant diarrhea and pains and zero energy. Thanks for the info.

Isabel, my wife, has MS and is on a no gluten, dairy or sugar diet. I understand that your food can be boring, but there are alternatives. Check out Chef Chloe's website. My wife loves her cookbooks; she now gets excited about cooking again.

Celiac disease is not an intolerance, it's an autoimmune disease and is genetic. This info needs to be updated desperately!