By Kaitlin Fleming

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, digestive problems can be really detrimental to your well-being. Whatever your symptoms might be, digestive health is vital to the body’s overall well-being.

Make it your new year goal to figure out the cause of your discomfort and to find a solution that works for you. (more…)

By Tiffany Janes

We are very lucky to have Dr. Cynthia Rudert, MD practicing in Atlanta. She is the only nationally recognized celiac specialist in the Southeast.

Recently I was fortunate enough to interview the very busy Dr. Rudert about celiac and her thoughtful answers were so informative that the interview will be posted in several parts. Unlike many doctors I've encountered, Dr. Rudert is always learning as much as she can about celiac so can help her many patients with the condition, as well as those with severe gluten-intolerance. I boldfaced some of the most crucial comments in Dr. Rudert's reply below.

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Dr. Rudert, you have been treating people with celiac for many years now, but it seems that many doctors still think the condition is rare. Since we now know the condition affects almost 1 out of every 100 Americans, it is far from rare. What do you consider the main problem is, in getting the word out to the medical community about this greatly under diagnosed disease?

"Celiac Disease is the most common autoimmune illness of humankind. If one were to take all the patients with Crohn's Disease and all the patients with Ulcerative Colitis and add in all those with Cystic Fibrosis and then triple the numbers that would be equal to the number of individuals with Celiac Disease. For my Math friends: 3X (Crohn's +Ulcerative Colitis +Cystic Fibrosis ) = Celiac Disease. Approximately 98% of those with Celiac are not diagnosed or misdiagnosed. (more…)

By Anne Steib

There are 3 weeks until the free Celiac testing event at the University of Chicago, Saturday, October 10. For complete details please read here.

Please call to set up an appointment as the event is expected to fill up fast..

For more info: Call The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center at 773.702.7593.

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Author Information: Anne Steib, Chicago, IL
Anne Steib
gfreegurl@yahoo.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-13312-Chicago-GlutenFree-Food-Examiner

by Anne Steib

With Celiac awareness on the rise, more and more people are getting tested and properly diagnosed. Many people have lived with troubling symptoms for years before getting a doctor to order the correct tests and give a formal diagnosis. Once people receive their diagnosis, they can cut gluten from their lives, allow their bodies to heal and feel better than they have in years.

Current studies predict that 1 out of 100 Americans have celiac, that is over 3 million Americans, and of those, 97% are undiagnosed. The longer an individual goes with undiagnosed celiac, the greater their risk to develop other serious illnesses.

On average, a child will visit 8 pediatricians before being correctly diagnosed with celiac disease.

As a result The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center offers a free blood screening every October. This year, it will be held October 10, 2009. Pre-registration is required, and opens September 1, 2009. Please call 773.702.7593 to register. The free blood screening will take place on the 4th floor of The University of Chicago Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine. (more…)

New guidelines for the treatment of IBS published by the American College of Gastroenterology include screening for celiac disease…

New IBS Guidelines Offer Treatment Ideas

American College of Gastroenterology Updates Recommendations for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
By Bill Hendrick

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDDec. 19, 2008 — New guidelines have been issued by the nation's gastroenterologists that are aimed at easing the abdominal pain, diarrhea, and other symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which afflicts millions of Americans.

The guidelines, issued by the American College of Gastroenterology, also offer hope to patients who've struggled with the condition and found satisfactory treatments lacking.

IBS is diagnosed in people whose symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation, or a combination of these symptoms. Though sometimes confused with inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, IBS is a separate condition.

IBS care uses up more than $20 billion a year in direct and indirect expenditures, according to William Chey, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Gastrointestinal Physiology Laboratory at the University of Michigan Health System. He developed the guidelines in conjunction with Philip Schoenfeld, MD.

"The last time the American College of Gastroenterology published guidelines for the management of IBS was in 2002, and the College recognized that in the span of five to six years there has been a remarkable explosion in knowledge that's become available that's helped us to understand the cause and management of IBS," Chey says in a news release.

Tests and Treatments for IBS
According to the new guidelines:

Patients with symptoms typical for IBS — and without alarm features like rectal bleeding, low blood count due to iron deficiency, weight loss, or a family history of colon cancer, IBD, or celiac disease — do not need extensive testing before being diagnosed.
IBS patients with diarrhea, or a combination of constipation and diarrhea, should be screened with blood tests for celiac disease, a disorder in which patients can't tolerate the gluten protein found in wheat or other grains.
When IBS patients have alarm features or are over 50 years old, they should have further tests (such as colonoscopy) to rule out other bowel disease such as IBD and colon cancer.
IBS patients and their doctors should consider treatments involving antidepressants, which have been shown to offer relief.

The drug Amitiza helps with women who have IBS with constipation; the non-absorbable antibiotic rifaximin can ease IBS and bloating as a short-term treatment. And Lotronex, a drug that affects serotonin receptors, can be considered for patients with severe IBS with diarrhea.

Certain anti-spasm treatments may offer short-term help with abdominal pain from IBS. These include hyoscine, cimetropium, and peppermint oil.

A probiotic called Bifidobacteria may help some IBS patients.

According to the guidelines, women are twice as likely as men to suffer from IBS, which often begins in young adulthood. Gastroenterologists have found that dietary changes have proved helpful, including the addition of dietary fiber supplements such as psyllium.

Chey says IBS can be managed in most patients with counseling, dietary and lifestyle interventions, and use of both over-the-counter and prescription medications.

The guidelines suggest many treatments might be tried, though the authors concede no single magical answer has yet been found to eliminate symptoms in IBS patients. But the guidelines offer hope for people with IBS that their doctors can try a number of methods to reduce discomfort, and that some of the steps that can be taken seem to work.

ARTICLE SOURCE: http://www.webmd.com:80/ibs/news/20081219/new-ibs-guidelines-offer-tre atment-ideas

Photo © ADAM

Dentistry Blog

By Tammy Davenport, About.com Guide to Dentistry since 2005

Celiac disease causes the body's immune system to damage and attack the small intestine upon consumption of proteins in barley, rye, wheat and possibly oats. Since there are no specific blood tests to determine if someone has Celiac disease, doctors use blood tests to look for certain autoantibodies and biopsy the small intestine to look for traits of Celiac disease.Nancy Lapid, our Guide to Celiac Disease, points out that certain dental conditions are more common in people with this disease, which puts dentists in a good position to help notice when a patient might have Celiac disease.

Some examples of dental related problems in a patient with Celiac disease are tooth enamel defects, canker sores and delayed eruption in the teeth.

Source: http://dentistry.about.com/b/2008/05/14/dentists-can-help-to-recognize -celiac-disease.htm

The below article by Nadine Grzeskowiak is a good explanation of why the gluten-free diet can work for anyone and everyone and pitfalls of the celiac tests.  Medical experts speak of the gluten-free diet as if it is something strange, yet most unprocessed foods you cook yourself are naturally gluten free.  All meats, seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, dairy (unless gluten was added to them), corn, rice and other grains,(besides wheat, barley, rye or oats), naturally do not contain harmful gluten.  Wheat, barley, rye and oats don't contain any nutrients you cannot get in other foods, so what is the big deal with not eating them?Nadine's article is excellent.  The only thing I would add is if you do eliminate the gluten grains of wheat, barley, rye and oats and feel better within two weeks, get yourself tested for celiac disease.  A positive diagnosis makes dealing with healthcare providers much easier.  That said, if it comes back negative but you feel better being gluten-free then eliminate gluten from your diet and be healthy.You can find Nadine's blog article at http://glutenfreern.com:80/everyone-on-a-gluten-free-diet/-John Libonati, Editor Glutenfreeworks.com
john.libonati@glutenfreeworks.com

Discussion | | Nadine Grzeskowiak | May 13, 2008

I have thought for a long time about this very question.  Who would suggest such a thing?  I would.  The main reason I would dare to make such a statement is because we have been so negligent in recognizing and treating people with celiac disease.  Not a day goes by that I don’t hear about or speak to someone directly who has suffered needlessly for years.  The other main point I want to make is that NONE of the currently available testing is 100%.  The blood tests and endoscopic biopsies are great tools if they are positive.  If they are negative, I have heard of too many people tell me ‘I don’t have celiac disease, my blood test/biopsy was negative’.  This is a major cause for concern to me.  Both of these tests do not confirm you don’t have, or will never develop celiac disease.  First, neither test is 100% reliable.  Second, both tests are simply a snapshot of right now.  I have also seen test results that are clearly positive for celiac disease, but read as negative by a medical provider that does not understand what the results mean.  The genetic testing is great and it is my first choice when testing people.  The test is a cheek swab, I get results in one week and it is covered by most insurances.  I utilize Kimball Genetics in Denver, Colorado,  www.kimballgenetics.com.  I have run into this scenerio in the past week: a 12 year old on a gluten free diet for several months, a remarkable recovery from many symptoms while on the gluten free diet, and yet, she tests negative for DQ2 and DQ8.  Is she at risk for celiac disease if she eats gluten?  Are there other genes that could be looked at?  I am gathering more data on this because nothing is black and white with gluten intolerance, there are many grey areas.  Other than, of course, the need to be on a strict gluten free diet for the rest of your life if you have celiac disease.  Not much grey there. 

So, this leads me back to the original question: everyone on a gluten free diet?  In my perfect world, the answer would be a resounding YES!  If people would simply try the gluten free diet for a month, most, if not all of those people will feel better.  It remains simply a diet change.  Change your diet and feel better, doesn’t that sound appealing.  To some yes, and to others, not really. Not without the proof that they need to change their long held diet and lifestyle habits.  It also sounds quite un-American to say ‘I can’t eat wheat, barley, rye and oats’, by extension, bread, pies, cakes, beer and pizza.  My most recent convert to a gluten free diet, said to me, “You know I don’t even miss the bread anymore, it doesn’t even appeal to me, I feel so much better on the gluten free food”.  This is a woman who has had symptoms for most of her 76 years and I had a hard time convincing her to try the gluten free diet for a month.  She is convinced now.  I can tell many stories with the same happy ending.  I can also tell you that most men have a harder time changing anything, let alone their diet, than women.  Trust me, I am a nurse and I have no reason to lie to you.  Try it.  Go gluten free for a month and contact me with your results.  GO!

6 March 2008

Mayo Clinic researchers in the US have found that endoscopy using a pill-sized capsule can help physicians detect and diagnose celiac disease, as well as measure intestinal healing following treatment. The findings are published in this month's issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

The capsule is approximately the size of a large vitamin, and it includes a miniature colour video camera, light, battery and transmitter. The patient swallows the capsule, which takes approximately eight hours to move through the small intestine.

As the capsule moves through the digestive tract, images recorded by the video camera are transmitted to a number of sensors attached to the patient's torso and recorded digitally on a device worn around the patient's waist. Then, the recording device is removed and its contents are downloaded to a computer for examination.

Approximately three million Americans, or about one in 100 people, are affected by celiac disease. Individuals who have celiac disease are intolerant to proteins (collectively called gluten) found in wheat, barley and rye grains. In these people, gluten stimulates an immune reaction in the small intestine, which causes intestinal damage and the subsequent inability to absorb certain nutrients from food.

Treatment is to avoid foods containing gluten (the so-called gluten-free diet). Untreated, celiac disease can cause many medical complications and increase the risk of death. However, when a medically supervised diet plan is implemented, patients can experience almost complete reversal of symptoms and complications from the disease.

"Capsule endoscopy allows us to look at the entire 30 feet of the small intestine, not just the first one to two feet that can be visualized with other types of endoscopy," says Joseph Murray, MD, the study's lead author and a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic.

This study, the first of its kind, used capsule endoscopy to view intestinal damage in 37 patients with untreated, biopsy-proven celiac disease.

Ninety-two percent had visible damage detected by capsule endoscopy. Twenty-two patients had extensive damage in the duodenum (first portion of the small intestine) and patchy damage throughout the jejunum (the small intestine's middle portion). Twelve patients had damage limited to the duodenum, and one patient had only patchy damage throughout the jejunum. However, no association was shown between the extent of intestinal damage and the patients' symptoms. Six months after a gluten-free diet was implemented, capsule endoscopy showed improvement, or decreased intestinal damage, in most patients.

"This study confirmed our suspicions that the most extensive intestinal damage in celiac disease patients is primarily to the duodenum. However, we were surprised to discover no correlation between extent of intestine damage and patient symptoms," says Dr Murray. "Capsule endoscopy will now be another tool to diagnose celiac disease and detect intestinal damage both prior to and following treatment."

Source: http://www.mtbeurope.info/news/2008/803002.htm