Mini-Article: Having strange symptoms and have no idea why?

[Guest guest]

My mother-in-law has long suffered from what we've always just

called " her sickness " . She just generally felt sick, drained of

energy, and did not want to move or really do anything. This has

been a fairly constant condition of hers since she was about 25yrs

old, and maybe even before that (she is now in her early 50's).

Along with " her sickness " , has always been her search for what the

problem is. She tried doctor after doctor with no luck. She looked

at food alergies with no luck. But about 1.5 years ago, a friend

sent her an article about a condition called " Celiac " .

Celiac disease is an immune system disorder that results in damage

to the lining of the small intestine when foods with gluten are

eaten. Glutens are a form of protein found in some grains—notably

wheat, barley, and rye. The damage to the intestine makes it hard

for the body to absorb nutrients, especially fat, calcium, iron, and

folate.

So she stopped eating ALL gluten. Within 1 week she saw a noticable

difference. Within 2 weeks, she was a completely different person.

It was a miracle! After almost 30 years, her sickness was healed

just by not eating gluten.

Basically, her body was in a constant state of starvation because

she was not able to absorb the nutrients from her food. The gluten

intolorance, if abused over time, can lead to the Celiac condition.

But Celiac manifests extremely different symptoms in different

people. Many people can experience rashes, fatigue & weakness,

intestinal problems, and vomiting, but there is actually very little

still known about the symptoms of Celiac. Symptoms can even include

mental and psychological changes like depression or worse.

There is a gene (or a group of genes) that can be tested to see if

you are suceptible to it, but the best way to really know if you

have the disease is to stop eating gluten and see what the results

are. Not eating gluten, by the way, is an EXTREMELY difficult thing

to accomplish as it's in everything!

My wife was recently tested for the gluten intolorance, and she has

the gene, AND it's active (whatever that means). She does not have

any symptoms yet, as she probably has not damaged her intestines

badly enough yet to really feel anything. But she has gone off of

gluten none the less.

My wife has, however, noticed that when she does eat gluten for 1-2

days in a row, she gets tummy-aches and headaches (we've

experimented a bit).

Anyway, gluten is in everything... and I mean EVERYTHING! Not just

bread! It's in everything from soy sauce to katsup to seasonings.

My mother-in-law (and my wife too, for that matter) cannot really

eat out anymore as most places do not have a gluten-free menu. And

even the ones that do cook gluten-free, they'll accidentally cook

her food in the same pan that someone else's food was cooked in or

something, so she'll get sick from that.

Now that my mother-in-law has not been eating gluten for a year or

so, she can't even touch the stuff. Like, if she touches flour,

she'll break out into a rash.

 

Ok... so the point of this whole thing is: If you're having strange

symptoms, and you have no idea why... try going off of gluten for a

while and see what happens. It might be Celiac.

 

Namaste,

Matt Phillips ;-}