Gluten free diet gives celiacs relief
FOR as long as she can remember, Jenny Breckon suffered from gastric problems.
“Awful stomach pains – a lot of stomach pains. Bloating.”
Breckon first saw a medical specialist when she was in her late teens but relief was elusive. “I was labelled irritable bowel, colitis. . . . I was on different medications and the things they (doctors) gave me never worked.
Breckon, now 38, continued to suffer through her 20s and early 30s. Then, in 2006, Breckon’s mother, who was battling a life-threatening illness, was admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for medical tests and returned with a diagnosis of celiac disease. Breckon had her answer.
“I don’t have a formal diagnosis but I live a gluten free lifestyle because I know 100 per cent that I am a celiac. It just never got diagnosed. It got missed.”
Celiac disease is a genetic, digestive disorder that affects children and adults. People with celiac disease are unable to consume foods that contain gluten, a sticky protein found in wheat, barely, rye and other grains. For these people, gluten sets off an autoimmune reaction that damages the small intestine, preventing nutrients from being absorbed.
The Canadian Celiac Association estimates that one in 133 persons in Canada is affected by celiac disease. An undetermined number of Canadians suffer from gluten sensitivity.
Gluten sensitivity is not the same as celiac disease.
Naturopathic physician Natalie Groenewoud, of North Shore Naturopathic Clinic, explains that people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity suffer a delayed allergic response, with no damage to the intestine. “It’s more of a stressor on your system,” she notes. Celiac disease is an autoimmune intestinal disorder. “When a person (with celiac disease) eats gluten, it actually destroys their small intestine microvilli.” The villi are the microscopic finger-like projections that line the inside of the small intestine, through which nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. If the villi are damaged, the person can become malnourished and suffer from other symptoms.
Those symptoms vary, making it difficult for a person with gluten intolerance or sensitivity to become aware of their condition. “It could be achy joints. It could be generalized fatigue. Headaches. Gas and bloating,” says Groenewoud.
Gluten sensitivity can be picked up in a food allergy test. Celiac disease can be detected through blood screening and confirmed by a small bowel biopsy. There is no known cure for celiac disease. For those suffering from the disease, the only current treatment is to maintain a strict gluten-free diet.
Breckon says her doctors were unable to confirm celiac disease, even after four separate examinations of her digestive tract. However, her health improved dramatically after eliminating gluten from her diet.
“Within two weeks my life changed,” says the North Vancouver resident, who is a cake decorator and baker by trade. In November, she opened The Sweet Tooth Cakery in North Vancouver’s Maplewood neighbourhood. The bakery, at 2055 Old Dollarton Hwy., is 100 per cent gluten free, which Breckon says is important to avoid cross-contamination.
Gluten free Recipes with Bill & Sheila
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