Food Allergies And Celiac

[roxie]

Hey! I have a few questions. I have celiac disease and I am lactose intolerant. I have heard that some people can add dairy back in their diet after getting healthy. I have been on a gluten free diet (as best I can) for about a month and a half. When can I try to add dairy back in safely, or should I just try to stay away from it all together?

Also, why do people with celiac disease seem to have so many other issues with food allergies as well? So many people who have it also have issues with dairy, soy, nuts, and eggs. I don't know if I should automatically try to avoid all those things listed or just mainly concern myself with the gluten and dairy. I was so excited to think that I could actually have ice cream again by eating the soy ice cream, but that seems to be a no no for me as well. Why is soy also a common food people have problems with? I just bought the Rice Dreams ice cream to try, and it says that it is gluten and dairy free. Haven't tried it yet.

Also, I went to dinner last night at Outback, and I was so excited when they handed me the gluten free menu. I was very careful, and only had the chicken and barbecue sauce, and vegetables without butter or seasoning. Oh, and I had a drink that was marked as gluten free also. I wanted the flourless brownie so bad, but didn't want to risk it because I didn't know if it was dairy free as well. Anyway, I came home, and had gas for about 2 hours. What's up with that? Confused. Roxie

[dandelionmom]

I had been lactose intolerant for 5 years and after 6 months of being gluten-free I added dairy back in a little at a time and found I can tolerate it just fine. I'm having a lot of fun eating cheese and ice cream again. I haven't gotten brave enough to have a whole glass of milk though!

I think a lot of those foods you listed can be hard to digest so might agree better with you when you've had a chance to heal. That's the situation I've found. On St. Paddy's Day, I was delighted to find that cabbage no longer gives me trouble.

Eating out can be hard. We've found that no matter how carefully we order and how seriously we talk to the waitstaff, sometimes my daughter and I just get glutened from cross contamination in the kitchen. That may have been what happened with you.

[LakotaLegend15]

Hi. I have been lactose intolerant my entire life.

Just thought i would let you know about Lactaid pills. You can buy them anywhere. CVS, grocery store, you name it.

You take them right as you are having dairy, and you can have as much dairy as you would like. They have worked for everyone I personaly know who has the same problems we do. And it could have been from the butter. some lactose- intolerants can handle it, some can't. I can only sometimes handle butter.

[Tim-n-VA]

The short, non-technical answer to the original question is that when you have an allergy, intolerance, immune disorder, etc., disease, it is more likely that other diseases of that "system" will occur. This is why some people think it important to get a definitive diagnosis to determine which body "system" is reacting to the gluten. The treatment is the same (avoid gluten) but the related diseases to watch for are different.

[megsylvan2]

The short, non-technical answer to the original question is that when you have an allergy, intolerance, immune disorder, etc., disease, it is more likely that other diseases of that "system" will occur. This is why some people think it important to get a definitive diagnosis to determine which body "system" is reacting to the gluten. The treatment is the same (avoid gluten) but the related diseases to watch for are different.

Hi Tim-n-VA

I was wondering what you mean by getting a definitive diagnosis to determine which body "system" is reacting to the gluten? This is something new to me.

Thanks,

Meg

[Tim-n-VA]

I meant that the standard celiac test of blood test and biopsy in combination gets the definitive auto-immune/celiac diagnosis. A traditional allergy test (looking for different anti-bodies) would identify allergies.

You'll frequently see posts here where people don't want to be on gluten to have the tests. They are happy knowing that they had a dietary response and know they can't eat gluten.

The problem is that the human body is complex and there are lots of variation from person to person. The medical diagnosis involves finding the diseases that can cause the symptoms and applying tests to differentiate. While getting sick when you eat gluten might be enough to tell you not to eat it, it isn't enough to have a definitive diagnosis of celiac. My opinion is that both doctors and the general public confuse the concept of a disease/condition and a definitive diagnosis for that same disease/condition. I had celiac before the doctor did the lab tests. I would have still had celiac if the lab tech had made a mistake with my sample. Depending on who you want to believe you and what level of proof they need, the definitive test might be important.

[AliB]

People who are gluten intolerant and who have been consuming gluten for most of their life will have damage to the intestines. Typically the gut issues tend not to show up until the damage has reached a particular level.

Dairy is often an issue because the enzymes needed to break down the lactose which is a di-saccharide (double molecule) are emitted from the ends of the villi in the small intestine and it is these that tend to become damaged first. If we continue to eat foods that are continuing to damage the gut, it won't ever heal properly. Intolerances to other foods often show up as we start to consume large amounts of these different carbohydrates simply because many of us actually cannot process carbohydrates properly.

Whilst we generally are able to deal with mono-saccharide (single molecule) carbohydrates such as those found in honey, fruits, vegetables and nuts which can pass easily through into the blood stream and be utilised by the body, because of the gluten-damage the enzymes needed to break down the di-saccharide (sugar and lactose) and poly-saccharide (multiple molecule) carbohydrates such as grains and starches are often lacking or even missing. There may also be enzyme deficiency for other foods such as eggs.

If we continue to consume these foods, not only are we exacerbating the damage but we are prolonging the healing process. Only by removing these foods from our diets for a while can we give the digestive system the room to recover. The trick is to keep the diet as simple as possible. Eat plain foods - pure unprocessed meat, fish and poultry, fresh fruits and vegetables, honey, nuts if they can be tolerated. Some are able to cope with well-cultured yogurt, but it depends on the individual.

The damage in the gut can also lead to bacterial overgrowth (especially encouraged by sugar and carbohydrate consumption) and Leaky Gut Syndrome where microscopic holes form in the gut wall allowing undigested food particles through into the blood stream. These are treated as invaders, the immune system sets up antibodies and allergies start to follow.

When my digestion finally collapsed in January, I immediately dropped gluten, dairy, most carbs and sugars. I have been following this Paleo type diet for 2 months now and am beginning to see the benefit. I can now tolerate a few foods that I couldn't a few weeks ago, like eggs. I have also been able to have a little cheese. I will not start to consume dairy per se for a while yet and when I do, like also the carbohydrates and the sugar I will keep it restricted to just occasional treats rather than the all-day, every-day consumption that is doing everyone so much damage.

Those who have been diagnosed and are able to get to grips with it all and get better are very very fortunate. It is all those poor souls out there who are oblivious to the fact that it is the very food they are putting in their mouths that is making them sick and even killing them! Both my parents died from health problems I now know to have been due to Celiac and gluten intolerance damage.

Our 'Western' diet consists of high consumptions of high-carb, high-sugar and high-dairy foods which is why there is such a huge prevalence of 'Western' diseases that are unheard of amongst the non or low sugar, carbohydrate and dairy consuming sections of the population!