Article On Celliac In The Press Newspaper, Christchurch

[mushroom]

Unfortunately this article is not on line so I cannot provide a link. The article is about Dr. Rodney Ford and his allergy clinic. The author is somewhat tongue in cheek in most of the article, unfortunately. I will give you a sample of why it is hard to get our problems taken seriously:

"And now he believes he has stumbled upon an unrecognised plague, a product of the modern lifestyle--the gluten syndrome. Ford says gluten related disorders like coeliac disease were once considered to be vanishingly rare. 'When I was in training the incidence was thought to be 1 in 5000. But now, he says, coeliac affects around 1 in 100. Perhaps 1 in 80 in New Zealand and Australia, where allergy rates generally are among the highest in the world.

And Ford says if blood antibody levels are a guide--the IgG gliadin test which picks out what looks like the key gluten protein involved--then 1 in 10 may be reacting to the gluten in our diet.

We would have gluten sensitivity that can cause every kind of symptom from lethargy, runny noses, eczema and tummy problems, all the way out--now we really are sounding nuts--to autism, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, stunted grown, hyperactivity and schizophrenia...

His fellow medics--gastroenterologists, immunologists and dietitians--are careful not to openly call Ford a crank. But they make it plain enough that they think he is out there..."

The article does have some balance and goes on to discuss the paleo diet and how we have bred grains with higher gluten content, and of our penchant for pizzas, pastas, cereal, sandwiches and cakes. (And my own editorial content here, the gluten consumption is extraordinarily high with morning and afternoon teas, the kids hanging out at the mall after school scarfing hamburgers--interestingly enough, especially the Asian students--and the overall addition of all the American gluten-containing foods into our already high-gluten diet.) To continue (with the tongue-in cheek tone):

"It seems we could be looking at a whole new field of science here. Paleo-neuroimmunology or something.

Or perhaps, say others, it is all being imagined. A medical conspiracy theory."

A visiting French GI dismissed one of Ford's books as absolute garbage.

"Her guess is that if gluten is really responsible for other inflammatory diseases apart from coeliac, then, like (a patient discussed in the article) there will tend to be a zero tolerance to the protein.

People won't have a little bit of a problem with gluten, she says, they will find they have to cut it completely from their diet [editorial comment from me--Hello!! where has this lady been?]

Ford, however, is sticking to his guns. The science is gathering pace. Colleagues around he world are saying the same thing, he says.

There is a shocking truth to be told. Pursuing the cause so vocally might not make him popular with the local medical establishment, but he was right about milk and egg allergies, right about cot deaths, so why not right about gluten as well?

It will go from being crank science to common sense medicine IgG gliadin blood tests will become part of a GP's routine. Just watch."

[mommida]

Even though the author's tone is quite snarky, it's written in a way to provoke research. It has many questions in it. Brings up cot deaths and conspiracy theories which makes it a hot topic to discuss.

One more article can help one more undiagnosed Celiac. We are going to have to focus on that, even though some of these journalist's writings don't seem very respectful.

[Takala]

The article may not be online, but surely it has an author who has other things online. What is the name of the publication and who wrote it ?

There's a ton of stuff online about Dr Rodney Ford, a pediatric gastroenterologist.

[mushroom]

  mommida said:

Even though the author's tone is quite snarky, it's written in a way to provoke research. It has many questions in it. Brings up cot deaths and conspiracy theories which makes it a hot topic to discuss.

One more article can help one more undiagnosed Celiac. We are going to have to focus on that, even though some of these journalist's writings don't seem very respectful.

Dr. Ford was the first to suggest that the practice of putting babies to sleep on their stomachs was the primary cause of cot deaths. I had always thought that was pretty obvious myself.

I guess the article could arouse the interest of readers enough to check it out, though as you will gather, unless they go to Dr. Ford they are unlikely to get a very friendly reception from their doctors. And it will only harden those doctors' perceptions that we *are* all cranks.

[mushroom]

  Takala said:

The article may not be online, but surely it has an author who has other things online. What is the name of the publication and who wrote it ?

There's a ton of stuff online about Dr Rodney Ford, a pediatric gastroenterologist.

Yeah, I know he is quite famous, or perhaps "infamous" as the author would have it.

"What Ails Thee" appeared in The Press. the Christchurch daily newspaper (www.stuff.co.nz), on April 4. 2009, author John McCrone, or maybe McChrone (Dh recycled newspapers this morning and I can't find it now!!).

[Takala]

Hmmph. This one ? Purporting to be a science writer? Thinks he's quite the gift to the profession.

Open Original Shared Link

  Quote

John/McCrone returned to New Zealand in 2004 has been writing for the Mainland section since September 2007. The year has flashed past, he says.

/cut

"As a specialist writer, I think possibly the internet has even more impact. My website is so niche now

[mushroom]

  Takala said:

Hmmph. This one ? Purporting to be a science writer? Thinks he's quite the gift to the profession.

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Here is his website, "Dichotomistic.com" which makes him sound like one of those people who are just too smart for their own good.

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Hard to tell without researching Dr. Ford's work a lot whether he's crossed over into the realm of believing that everybody is to some extent gluten intolerant, as some of the other people who are gluten intolerant or celiac do. It's like there are variations on a scale, from the physicians who no matter what evidence they are presented with, just can't bring themselves to admit that there is such a thing for their patients, and the people who obviously have it but are in denial big time, to the regular gluies and celiacs who realize they may have a problem with the wheat family but that others do not, to the big conspiracy theorists that think that not only do they have gluten intolerance but that every person in the world has some aspect of it.

I'm trying to think of which is more annoying than category "A," the total denial group, or "C" the conspiracy theorists, but it's tough.

Perhaps Mr. Brilliance the science writer would like to avail himself of "the google" to learn about the neurological expression of the disease. Just because something is rare in his universe doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

I enjoyed reading your post; thank you for doing the research on this dude.

I have been living back here for 6 years and this is the first time I have seen Rodney Ford mentioned in the paper, or anything about celiac. Which is why the snarky tone upset me. Mr. Brillance sure is full of himself. When my mind is fresh and sharp tomorrow I will write a letter to the paper.

I know what you mean about finding celiacs under every bush! I see several of my friends whom I consider to be good candidates for the diagnosis; one I had lunch with just yesterday, who has already had colon cancer and thinks diarrhea is normal, who went to the bathroom just before we left her motel for lunch but wanted to make sure there was a toilet there in case she needed it. But you can't go around telling everyone they need to be tested for celiac. She has not responded well to hints I have dropped and probably thinks I am nuts. So there we have category B and C lunching together; I did notice that my friend ordered food that was pretty much gluten free (fritatta, and I gave her my french fries), but she would never admit to having a problem with it.

My current treating physicians are au fait with my self diagnosis and do not consider me nuts but they are rare around here and will probably be even rarer after this article by our Mr. Brilliance