Gluten Free Vegan Living

Gluten issues, celiac disease or even gluten intolerance can cause “female issues”.

In my life, I was a ‘late bloomer’ and later on, experienced several miscarriages.  At the time, I did not know what was happening to me, but now I know that gluten ‘poisoning’ probably had lots to do with it!

According to Jane Anderson of About.com:  Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance:

Can Celiac Disease Delay Your First Period?

… girls with undiagnosed celiac disease seem to get a late start, at least in some research reports. For example, in one study, girls who were later diagnosed with celiac disease started their periods at a significantly older age than their non-celiac peers — 13.6 years, compared to 12.7 years for a control group. Another study found an even later average age of menarche for celiac girls: 16.16 years.

Some researchers blame malnutrition from untreated celiac disease or malabsorption of important nutrients for delayed menarche, while others say that gluten itself could be having some undiscovered effect on girls’ reproductive systems.

I remember very well, when I started my first period.  I was 14 and in high school.  I think I was the last girl in my class to reach that point in my development.  To further add to my discomfort, I did not start ‘developing’ until just a few months before that time.  Being the smallest girl in my class, at least until I started jr. high (7th grade), made me even more subconscious!

Obviously, I made it through those years and developed fine from that point on.

It wasn’t until my child bearing years, that more ‘female issues’ began to surface.  I had three miscarriages.  All, I was told, were unrelated!  The doctors really had no explanation for the causes any of them.  First time, I miscarried for unknown reasons;  Second time, the cord tore or detached from the baby;  Third time, I was using a IUD, but conceived and miscarried before I even knew I was pregnant.

Once I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity and did some research, I realized that the gluten issues may have been problems.

Jane Anderson further reports on this issue:

Miscarriage More Common Among Women with Celiac Disease

In a large study looking at the reproductive life cycle of Italian celiac women, the researchers found nearly twice as many miscarriages in women with celiac disease as they did in women without the condition. Other studies have conformed that finding, with one team of medical researchers reporting the rate of “spontaneous abortion” (i.e., miscarriage) among untreated celiac women is nearly nine times higher.

Now, I don’t have full blown Celiac disease, but it appears that the gluten ‘poisoning’ may have caused or at least added to my miscarriage problems.

NOTE:  I had four healthy pregnancies, and four children, so the gluten problem did not affect all my pregnancies!

How about you?  Did you experience any unusual ‘female problems’ that may have been caused by unknown gluten issues?

Good information from Canada for folks wanting to understand more about celiac disease and living gluten free.

Mississauga – February 2, 2012 – The gluten–free diet is not only for people with Celiac disease, but also for people looking to lose weight. As many as 300000 Canadians could have Celiac’s disease, however, many remain undiagnosed, said Health Canada.

READ FULL STORY

If you are interested in more information about celiac disease/gluten intolerance and how to deal with it, check out The Gluten Free Bible

Click here to visit the original source of this post

More and more awareness about gluten intolerances and celiac disease more impose government regulations on restaurants serving gluten free food option.

On January 29, 2012 Dr. Siegal and Dr. Samadi discussed gluten free foods, celiac disease and gluten intolerance on Fox News. During the broadcast Dr. Siegal stated that what is needed is that customers should go to restaurants and let the restaurants know that they “have to have” a menu and options or alternatives for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. With the growing trend toward governmental control of restaurant food ingredients from fats to salt, this poses the question: Is it time for governmental regulations controlling gluten in the restaurant kitchen?

READ FULL STORY

What do you think? Should the government get involved with this?

Click here to visit the original source of this post

Celiac Awareness tour is coming to towns in eastern US. Along with the tour, which starts in Pittsburg, this article talks about the many companies whose products are now targeting the fast growing gluten free group. Jules Shephard, who runs JulesGlutenFree.com and Naomi Poe of Better Batter (betterbatter.org)are two of the speakers at the event.

The Celiac Awareness Tour is put on by a company with the same name, working with gluten-free food companies and vendors across the nation. Pittsburgh is the tour’s first stop; the rest are:

Louisville, Ky., Feb. 25; Indianapolis, March 24; Philadelphia, April 28; Columbus, May 26; Cincinnati, Sept. 22; Chicago, Oct. 13; and Cleveland, Nov. 17.Search “Celiac Awareness Tour” on Facebook for additional information about Pittsburgh and some of the other upcoming stops.Make sure to check out the great recipes at the bottom of the article! Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12026/1205878-34.stm#ixzz1l4A76S8w  .

Click here to visit the original source of this post

If you have followed the gluten intolerance or celiac disease controversy, you probably know that doctors and nutritionist are not in agreement about this issue. Often, if there is not a concrete test or positive proof of a disease, doctors often dismiss the symptoms as psychosomatic … or something worse!

I was lucky to have a couple of tests that ‘proved’ I had damage in my system from gluten and a smart doctor (naturopathic) who read the signs correctly. Otherwise, I would probably be in a nursing home with most of my memory seriously impaired!

An Australian study published last year in the American Journal of Gastroenterology showed for the first time that gluten could trigger symptoms of fatigue in people without coeliac disease – making the argument for what doctors call non-coeliac gluten intolerance. But the mechanism remained unexplained.

”Gluten intolerance in individuals without coeliac disease is a controversial issue and has recently been described as the ‘no man’s land of gluten sensitivity’,” the authors wrote.

‘The evidence base for such claims is unfortunately very thin, with no randomised controlled trials demonstrating that the entity does actually exist.”

READ THE FULL STORY

After reading the article, what are your thoughts? Obviously my opinion is very clear!!

For more information on the difference between gluten intolerance, wheat allergy and celiac disease, check out the Gluten Free Bible

Click here to visit the original source of this post