This year I am so happy to be part of the Gluten Free Expo again, being held on January 17, Saturday from 10:00 AM till 4:00 PM at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa. I am scheduled to be on Channel 12, NBC News, Wednesday 6:20 AM talking about the Gluten Free EXPO and how gluten affects fibromyalgia patients
At the EXPO you can find me at the authors’ table with my book Fibromyalgia: Falsehoods, Fakers, and Facts and information concerning fibromyalgia and gluten, which is just killing people and they don’t even realize it.
Inflammation caused by gluten is a major health problem for most people but especially fibromyalgia patients. Now more published research is introducing shocking information concerning the dangers of gluten.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association involving almost 30,000 patients over almost 40 years separated gluten patients into various groups including extreme celiac disease, non-celiac disease with intestinal inflammation and latent or masquerading sensitivity to gluten.
For those with full blown celiac disease who ingest gluten, there was a 39% increase risk of death. For those with non-celiac disease but intestinal inflammation, there was a 72% increased risk. Finally, there was a 35% increased risk in those with latent or masquerading gluten sensitivity.
If you have not noticed. you do not have to be diagnosed with celiac disease as was thought in the past to have serious gluten health problems. Yet, as high as 99% of people have a problem eating gluten and they don’t even know about it. These mild forms of gluten sensitivity masquerade as dozens of other symptoms and diseases including skin diseases such as acne psoriasis and hives or neurological disorders including headaches, anxiety, depression, digestive disorders and conditions including IBS, Crohn’s disease, ulcers and celiac disease, along with undiagnosed diseases including fibromyalgia, CFS, and asthma. Actually the New England Journal of Medicine listed 55 diseases that have been found to be caused by ingesting gluten. Of course not all of the named diseases are caused by gluten. However, if you have a chronic illness such as fibromyalgia or CFS, it’s important that you look at gluten as a main cause of symptoms.
We have found that for fibromyalgia patients the complete elimination of gluten including wheat, rye, barley and malt, from our patients diet and those hidden in products such as lipstick, some vitamins, medications, stamps, salad dressing, sauces and many more for 2 to 4 weeks has brought about some dramatic improvements in their symptoms including reduced pain, increased energy along with reduced fatigue. After this 2 to 4 week period we have the patient add gluten products slowly to see if they have any symptomatic reactions such as itching, headaches, bloating sneezing sleepiness, etc. We give the patient an easy to follow chart in order to evaluate their reactions after eating gluten. We will have a free copy of this chart available to those who visit our booth at the EXPO.
If the patient has had a bad reaction, stomach, headache, hives, etc. after eating gluten, then the patient is instructed to stay off the gluten completely and to take the time reading all of the ingredients of the foods they eat and products they use.
There are a number of diagnostic tests that individuals can take to test for gluten sensitivity some of which being IgA anti-gliadin antibodies, IgA anti-gliadin antibodies and IgA anti-endomysial antibodies to name a few. The tests help identify various allergens or sensitivities to gluten. These tests can give “false positives” which can confuse the patient. Keep in mind, positive in any sense is positive because mild or latent gluten sensitivity can quickly turn into an extreme gluten condition.
Stop by and visit us at the authors booth at the EXPO.