To learn about diagnosing and symptoms: http://www.csaceliacs.org/celiac_defined.php

Who can be celiac: (from above site. WBRO: wheat, barley, rye, oats):

***A genetic disposition: being born with the necessary genes. The Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes specifically linked to celiac disease are DR3, DQ2 and DQ8.

***A trigger: some environmental, emotional or physical event in one’s life. While triggering factors are not fully understood, possibilities include, but are not limited to adding solids to a baby’s diet, going through puberty, enduring a surgery or pregnancy, experiencing a stressful situation, catching a virus, increasing WBRO products in the diet, or developing a bacterial infection to which the immune system responds inappropriately.

***A diet: containing WBRO, or any of their derivatives.

Untreated Celiac Disease can result in Type 1 Diabetes, Thyroid Disease, Lupus, Liver Disease, Infertility and Cancer.

*I think I misquoted this % in my previous post. It’s 3%, not 1%.

I found out last year I had celiac disease; an autoimmune disease from eating gluten proteins in wheat, rye, barley and contaminated commercial oats (had symptoms my whole life, but since it’s such a little known disease to doctors in the U.S., 97% of us are undiagnosed, even into their 70s!).

In some regards it was like I was addicted to bread – whole grain or otherwise. And I never felt full (a mini Prader-Willi?). Since I gave up gluten cold turkey the day I was diagnosed, I have felt normal. So my satiety totally changed. And now I have to redo my life since I’ve been reborn.

My brain fog, depression, anxiety, CHRONIC FATIGUE, fibro symptoms, and a whole host of other problems are GONE since giving up the gluten. I don’t know your medical history, but maybe you might want to read about it (there was a good intro story in Dr. Groopman’s new book, “How Doctors Think” about a celiac who went from doctor to doctor. They thought she was messed in the head/hypocondriac/anorexic …)

The reason I bring all this up is that I’ve read there can be misdiagnosed anorexia or bulimia associated with celiac … autoimmune diseases can run in clusters; type Is are at risk for celiac also.

And when I look at obese people eating at McDonalds all I can think is how they don’t know about gluten. Giving up gluten didn’t make me lose weight, though. I gained 20 lbs cause I was absorbing nutrients/calories even better. Food is now a science for me; I taught my nutritionist about celiac. And she charged ME $138/hr.

Too bad our food chain contains so much gluten, dairy, corn, soy … and the medical establishment pushes medicine/pharma, not health – is there money in celiac research when the Rx is not eating wheat?

I’ve written Dr. Oz numerous times to bring up celiac on Oprah – you think Oprah wants the Grain Industry on her door? Anyone read The China Study? Politics inside the Beltway runs our healthcare. And we’re not gaining anything but weight. (China Study: good book, but vegetarians might want to look to take out grains rather than meat. I did the vegetarian thing — yeah, a fat vegetarian.)

One in 4,700 have been diagnosed celiac. One in 100-133 have been undiagnosed (per random blood samplings). Doctors associate this disease with diarrhea and rapid weight loss (that’s end stage celiac when doctors finally don’t think you’re complaining and SEE the results).

I was constipated and fat. I kept trying to eat “balanced” per the USDA food pyramid. D’oh! If doctors don’t know about this disease, then why should regular Joes/Janes?

Go easy on fatties you all. It took me a year of daily research to become this wise. Joe/Jane are at McDonalds and trying to pay the bills.

http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com
http://www.glutenreactivity.net
http://www.celiac.com
http://www.healthranger.com

But the more you ramble on about type 2s bringing this disease on themselves, the less compassion I feel for the type 1s. I think you’d serve the cause best by keeping your thoughts private.

“Scientists have identified a gene that appears to play a crucial role in controlling the way the body breaks down sugar and maintains a healthy blood pressure.
They believe the breakthrough could eventually lead to the development of new drugs to treat patients suffering from some forms of high blood pressure (hypertension).

Stephen O¿Rahilly, Professor of Metabolic Medicine, and Krishna Chatterjee, Professor of Endocrinology, at the University of Cambridge, made their discovery by studying families who suffer from a rare form of diabetes.

Diabetics often suffer from obesity and hypertension caused by a failure to control levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Blood sugar levels are usually controlled by the hormone insulin.

The researchers found that families with the disease carry two mutated versions of a gene called PPAR gamma.”

Also, in most cases, weight will return to normal when the underlying disease is treated. It is not a free for all to remain obese.

The truth is, all we know is that Leptin plays *some* role in obesity. The real kicker is that we don’t know which came first, the chicken or the egg. What if low Leptin levels are a RESULT of poor diet/obesity? Also, Leptin controls appetite. Once again, who has control over what they eat? You may still be hungry after 2 plates of food, but you’d be a fool to eat more. Even the most uneducated people usually have SOME idea of portion sizes and how much is too much. If we have gotten to the point where the average citizen thinks that a whole POT of mac and cheese is a “serving”, we seemingly have intelligence issues as well as obesity issues.

People need to get back their common sense, before Type 2 diabetes wipes out the population.

My point was (and you can read what I wrote again) was that I am talking about the PREVENTABLE cases of Type 2 diabetes. Just like we have made progress reducing non-genetic lung cancer cases by reducing smoking rates.

The fact is, there will never be a true “cure” for the preventable forms of Type 2 diabetes if it is mainly lifestyle related. The “cure” will need to be a change in lifestyle. No matter how you slice it, that’s reality.

I know I am not “lucky” because I don’t have Type 2 diabetes (Type 1′s can also develop insulin resistance). Yes, I have a healthy metabolism, but I also eat VERY healthy and exercise regularily. Just as many who have Type 2 in their family do as well, to prevent it.

Luck only applies to genetics, not lifestyle. Genetics have not changed in the past 50 years (when Type 2 was rare and “diabetes” usually meant Type 1), but lifestyle HAS.

The fact remains, as every article splashed on the news says, that we “must stop the diabetes crisis”. That means preventing and “reversing” Type 2 diabetes (possible for some with weight loss, diet, and exericse).

It’s survival of the fittest, right? If people resfuse to change their habits, they will suffer and die an early death. In many cases, it doesn’t have to be that way. Are you saying we should let people eat themselves to death and wipe themselves out? We should ignore facts and say (incorrectly) that the majority of Type 2 diabetes cases are due to genetics only, so nothing can be done?

All I know is that if we teach our children to not take action, they are doomed to repeat this past generation’s mistakes. Obesity levels and junk food consumption is rising, not lowering. So perhaps your post was right. We should just chalk it up to “luck”, and let society crumble.

We already heard the horror stories of diabetics during the New Orleans flood. Are you healthy enough to survive a disaster? Survival of the fittest, right? Why would anyone WANT to make themselves so unhealthy that they need medication to live, if they didn’t HAVE to? Again, I speak for the 80% of Type 2 cases that again, did NOT have to happen.

Without some change, I am scared to see how weak and sick of a species we will have become.

While I support people with Type 2 diabetes who are making healthy choices, I find it hard to think about the many who are not.