Could this be me?

Hello everyone!

Sorry I have already skipped a couple days in between posts! I am going to work on getting better at that! So now that I have given my story, I want to start out by educating you on what Celiac Disease and Leaky Gut Syndrome exactly is.

Celiac Disease affects 1 out of 133 people in the United States. Unfortunately, 97% of those people are either misdiagnosed or go undiagnosed. So what is Celiac Disease exactly? It is a lifelong, genetically based disorder that occurs when gluten- a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley- triggers an abnormal immune response that damages the lining of the small intestine interfering with the absorption of nutrients. Because this is a genetic disorder, it can be triggered at any age in life. Many people think that it only affects children, but in all reality it can be triggered by pregnancy, surgery, gastrointestinal infection, or STRESS! If you have a wide range of symptoms including diarrhea, constipation, bloating, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, or skin issues... this could be you! It is often misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue syndrome, anemia, stress, fibromyalgia, etc. And just a side note: children with autism or ADD/ADHD can be affected and benefit from their parents knowledge on food (mostly gluten)! I am waiting on the results of a genetic test that I had done about 2 weeks ago so we can see if I hold the genetic disposition for this disease.. I will let everyone know the results!

In my last blog, I also mentioned "Leaky Gut Syndrome." This is something that is not as well known, and not recognized by some medical doctors. Here is the thing. It exists! It is mostly recognized by the naturopathic/homeopathic community, but it is becoming something that is being talked about to doctors by their patients. Basically, Leaky Gut Syndrome means that you have a damaged stomach. It makes sense that it would go hand in hand with Celiac Disease, but it can also be caused by more things than gluten. People who have a sensitivity or an intolerance to wheat, corn, soy, eggs, and milk or those that have a Candida Albican (yeast) overgrowth in their stomachs are also among those who suffer from this. So to break it down, your intestines kind of look like a row of bricks with shag carpeting on top. Once damage occurs, your shag carpeting turns into outdoor carpeting and your bricks are broken down and the mortar breaks and they become separated. (I know this is a horrible attempt at a demonstration, but just follow along). Once there is separation and damage, it allows unprocessed proteins from your food to leak into your bloodstream. This throws your immune system into a frenzy! It builds an immune response to what it thinks is foreign, when it's really just food, and your body is having a battle with itself.

So now the question remains... What do I do to fix this? Well to fix Celiac Disease is "simple." You have to be gluten-free for life. It doesn't sound that bad, but you don't realize what all contains gluten until you can't have it. It then becomes a hassle and it's not so fun UNTIL you get it figured out! :) I have been doing quite of bit of research on things that I will be able to eat and things that I wont so I want to share them with you! Things TO eat: fresh (preferably organic) fruits, vegetables, and juices; coffee and tea; UNPROCESSED meats, fish, and poultry (no lunch meat); eggs, milk, and aged cheese; beans, nuts, and seeds; corn, rice, potatoes, tapioca and flours made from them. Things NOT TO eat: bread, pastas, pizza, cookies, beer, etc. (you will have to read the labels for these) hydrolyzed vegetable protein, flour or cereal products, vegetable protein, malt or malt flavoring, modified starch or modified food starch, vegetable gum, soy sauce or soy sauce solids, stabilizer, starch, flavoring, emulsifier, hydrolyzed, plant protein. Ok so now that I have bored you with long lists, there are a few other things to beware of that are a little more common and are probably in your home! This includes stamps, envelopes, stickers, and lipstick!! Crazy I know! I was so shocked to find this out. Also take precautions and if you know or suspect that you have another allergy or intolerance to something that is listed above, cut that out of your diet too. You can never be too careful.

That point brings me to telling you how you cure Leaky Gut Syndrome. This is something that will need testing and assistance from your doctor. You have to figure out what is causing your unhealthy stomach and stay completely away from it and any other foods that can cause a reaction. The best way to have these things tested is through a stool sample. It is more telling than a blood test. Also, these things cannot be found by going to an allergist and getting an allergy test done. It may or may not show some food related items that cause a reaction, but if it were an ALLERGY you would know it! An intolerance or sensitivity is completely different than an allergy!

The best way to test for any suspected intolerance or sensitivity on your own is to take whatever it is (gluten, soy, dairy, etc) completely out of your diet and see if things improve. If improvements occur and you introduce whatever it is back into your diet and you start to have symptoms again, you know you are on the right track! I know that this isn't the most exciting stuff to talk about, but I wanted to start by informing my readers about what these things are before I start talking about other, very interesting things! Stay tuned and get excited for the things to come! Hopefully you are asking yourself... Could this be me? :)

Besos,

Courtney