Here’s an important warning for anyone who has been diagnosed with celiac disease, and perhaps even for those who have never officially been diagnosed as celiac but who still think they may be: stick to your gluten-free diet.
According to a small study (17 people) presented at a recent meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, celiac disease may be becoming refractory in some people. Meaning that, for a few people, even if they are on a gluten-free diet, their symptoms do not abate and they require medical therapy (drugs to alleviate the symptoms and to reduce the inflammation).
So why this advice to stick to a gluten-free diet, you may well ask , seeing as it doesn’t work for these refractory cases.
Because the researchers believe that it’s much more likely that the disease becomes refractory in people who don’t stick to a gluten-free diet in the first place.
In other words, if you’re a celiac, the more you cheat on your diet (which is pretty easy to do by people who have few or minimal symptoms), the more likely it is that the disease will become refractory.
So, if you don’t want to battle with a condition that ends up controlling you rather than you controlling it, stick to a gluten-free diet from the moment you think you may be a celiac.
Besides, there are so many great gluten-free recipes and foods available these days.
This is a really timely article because I was just reading about the rise of wheat intolerance that is fast growing in parts of India and that more people are embracing a gluten free diet. One blogger said it was beneficial for her thyroid disease and it cleared up the side effects: http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com. I have also read of more families that have children with Autism are doing a SCD/Gluten free diet with noticeable results. There is a local gluten free teen blogger at zscupoftea.com who started by making gluten free friendly recipes for her youngest brother with Autism and the whole family did it, too and noticed a change in their energy and health. I have been flirting with going 100% because of my health issues and it has been a godsend to find so many easy and fast recipes and someone who has done it successfully, plus she is really helpful.