Celiac Disease

This week, singer Miley Cyrus became the latest celebrity to endorse a gluten-free diet, telling fans and critics she didn't have a weight disorder, but a food allergy (or two).  “For everyone calling me anorexic I have a gluten and lactose allergy. It's not about weight it's about health. Gluten is crapppp anyway!” she tweeted Sunday. Later that day she added, “everyone should try no gluten for a week! The change in your skin, phyisical and mental health is amazing!

This week, singer Miley Cyrus became the latest celebrity to endorse a gluten-free diet, telling fans and critics she didn't have a weight disorder, but a food allergy (or two).  “For everyone calling me anorexic I have a gluten and lactose allergy. It's not about weight it's about health. Gluten is crapppp anyway!” she tweeted Sunday. Later that day she added, “everyone should try no gluten for a week! The change in your skin, phyisical and mental health is amazing!

The long narrow plate arrived at her table, and, like any good food blogger, Shauna James Ahern paused to take it all in: roasted red piquillo peppers ? plump with a lentil stuffing ? alongside graceful strands of quick-pickled green beans and red onions, and emerald pools of cilantro-ginger sauce. "When people hear 'gluten-free,' the reaction can be 'poor thing,' and I just want to say, 'Look at what's on my plate ? does this look like deprivation to you?'" In the blogosphere, Ahern, 44, is best known as Gluten-Free Girl.

Given the growing amount of gluten-free foods available at the grocery store, it seems a number of people have trouble digesting the stuff. But are they truly gluten-intolerant, and is there a clear diagnosis for that? Gluten sensitivity is the topic of a paper published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine in which researchers acknowledged the seriousness of celiac disease, but also said part of the population could have nonceliac gluten sensitivity. That's characterized by having distinct symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas, bloating or headaches after eating foods containing gluten.

In a sense, the 2 million plus Americans with celiac disease are lucky. No other autoimmune disease has such a safe and effective treatment. Purging the diet of gluten -- the protein in wheat, rye and barley that triggers an immune reaction in the gut -- can reverse the disease and reduce intestinal inflammation. That's important, because studies now show that the consequences of untreated celiac disease are graver than previously thought, causing anemia, arthritis, osteoporosis, hepatitis, neurological problems and even malignancies, as well as increased general mortality.

Given the growing amount of gluten-free foods available at the grocery store, it seems a number of people have trouble digesting the stuff. But are they truly gluten-intolerant, and is there a clear diagnosis for that? Gluten sensitivity is the topic of a paper published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine in which researchers acknowledged the seriousness of celiac disease, but also said part of the population could have nonceliac gluten sensitivity. That's characterized by having distinct symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas, bloating or headaches after eating foods containing gluten.

Cases of celiac disease may be on the rise, in large part because people can develop the autoimmune disorder much later in life than previously thought, according to a study published Monday in the Annals of Medicine. The prevalence of the disease more than doubled among a group of 3,511 seemingly healthy adults between 1974 and 1989, researchers found. By retesting blood samples collected decades ago, they also determined that 15 of the 16 people who had celiac disease were not diagnosed at the time by their doctors.

Some people develop osteoporosis, the mineral loss disease that leads to brittle bones, because their bodies cannot tolerate wheat and similar grains, a study has found. Gluten intolerance, called celiac disease, can be treated, so the damage done by osteoporosis can be reversed in such patients, added the report published in the Feb. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

When his daughter was a little more than a year old, it became apparent that she was just not gaining weight, Bradley Kass said. She had nursed until about 9 months old and had done fine. But as soon as she began eating solid foods, she ceased to thrive. Sue Goldstein of Westchester County, N.Y., the mother of three, went to give blood and was found to be severely anemic, meaning she had a very low red blood cell count. Despite treatment, she remained anemic; her body wasn't absorbing the iron.

For some people the issue of refined and unrefined is moot when it comes to wheat, barley and rye. These three grains in their refined and unrefined forms contain a number of proteins called gluten, which damages the small intestine of those who carry the gene for celiac disease. Those who have celiac disease must eliminate gluten from their diet.

This post has been corrected. See note at the bottom for details. The gluten-free crowd is growing cranky. So-called prominent members of the “gluten-free community” are  gathering next month in Washington, D.C., to clamor for attention. They want the FDA to get cracking on setting label standards for gluten-free products.  Small wonder. Their condition, in which proteins in grain called “glutens” damage the small intestines, is a hard one. Known as celiac disease , the condition causes stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

What could be healthier for a baby than feeding him nothing but breast milk for the first six months of his life? Not relying exclusively on breast milk for the first six months of life, according to a small group of experts on pediatric health from the United Kingdom. Writing online this week in the British Medical Journal, they question whether it makes sense for parents in developed countries to follow the World Health Organization’s advice to provide six months of exclusive breast feeding.

The long narrow plate arrived at her table, and, like any good food blogger, Shauna James Ahern paused to take it all in: roasted red piquillo peppers ? plump with a lentil stuffing ? alongside graceful strands of quick-pickled green beans and red onions, and emerald pools of cilantro-ginger sauce. "When people hear 'gluten-free,' the reaction can be 'poor thing,' and I just want to say, 'Look at what's on my plate ? does this look like deprivation to you?'" In the blogosphere, Ahern, 44, is best known as Gluten-Free Girl.

Cases of celiac disease may be on the rise, in large part because people can develop the autoimmune disorder much later in life than previously thought, according to a study published Monday in the Annals of Medicine. The prevalence of the disease more than doubled among a group of 3,511 seemingly healthy adults between 1974 and 1989, researchers found. By retesting blood samples collected decades ago, they also determined that 15 of the 16 people who had celiac disease were not diagnosed at the time by their doctors.

Two years ago, I was getting headaches every day for several months. I visited five different doctors, but none had a clue as to the reason, and they weren't any help. I then read about a lady who had written to you. She said her headaches stopped when she stopped eating wheat, oats, barley and rye. The next day I quit, and so did the headaches. Other readers with chronic headaches should try not eating gluten and see if it helps. Migraine headaches are an often-unrecognized symptom of celiac disease.

Q: I published the original article on cranberry juice cocktail and urinary tract infections (Journal of Urology, May 1984). We also demonstrated in several nursing home studies that cranberry juice cocktail, not the plain juice, works best. Please spare your readers the tartness of the straight juice. — Anthony E. Sobota, PhD A: Thank you for investigating this old wives' tale in such a scientific manner. Investigators have confirmed your original findings and explored why it works (Urology online, April 16, 2010)

Scientists say they have pinpointed the cause of a common, debilitating disease of the gut that affects more than a million Americans, a finding that could lead to the first effective therapy for the disorder. People with celiac disease--also known as celiac sprue or gluten-sensitive enteropathy--cannot eat foods containing wheat, rye or barley. If they do, they face severe discomfort, vomiting, diarrhea, malnutrition and even death.

Many parents begin feeding their babies solid foods at four to six months to boost their iron supply. New research shows that introducing cereals during this time window could have an additional benefit -- reducing the incidence of celiac disease in infants at genetic risk for the disorder. For people with celiac disease, eating gluten -- a protein found in wheat, rye and barley -- causes inflammation in the small intestine.

In a sense, the 2 million plus Americans with celiac disease are lucky. No other autoimmune disease has such a safe and effective treatment. Purging the diet of gluten -- the protein in wheat, rye and barley that triggers an immune reaction in the gut -- can reverse the disease and reduce intestinal inflammation. That's important, because studies now show that the consequences of untreated celiac disease are graver than previously thought, causing anemia, arthritis, osteoporosis, hepatitis, neurological problems and even malignancies, as well as increased general mortality.

THE YEAR I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I wrote the following on a page of my journal: "Relafen, Famotidine/Pepcid, Lorazepam, Cyclobenzaprine, Vioxx, Vicodin, Soma, that steroid: forgot name, Celebrex, Valium, Prevacid." The analgesics were for arrows of pain shooting from the nape of my neck to my fingers. The stomach soothers were for a constant, low-level ache that doctors diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome.