Monthly Archives: November 2015

Thanks at Thanksgiving…and All Year

As we approach this Thanksgiving Day and holiday season many of us think a little more about giving thanks for all that we cherish: our family and friends, our freedom, and our good health, among many others. I especially am thankful everyday for the excellent health my family and I enjoy. Had we not discovered we were all quite intolerant to gluten we would not have been such happy campers these last 12 years.

Knowing what I know about the devastating and degenerative hazards of gluten from having poured a decade into research and writing my award-winning book, “Toxic Staple” I can’t imagine what shape my family and I would be in if we hadn’t figured this monster out. I am fortunate to only be on one med for a hypothyroid that was very likely damaged due to gluten (autoimmune diseases are highly linked to gluten) before I even knew what gluten was, and I never get sick, and have great energy.

Many of you, however, do not bask in the sunlight of good health and great energy and may not realize that much of your poor state of health lies in your own hands. Most of you really can do something about your allergies, asthma, fatigue, autoimmune diseases, skin issues, neurological maladies, and on and on, if you want to. Naturally everything is not linked to gluten, but truly, it is incredible what gets better when you address this “toxic staple” that pervades our everyday lives and destroys your gut and other parts of the body.

Going downhill at the rate I was traveling prior to “the gluten-free lifestyle” in my early sixties, I can only assume that my longevity has been extended vastly, along with greater health, and rejuvenated energy and vitality.

I encourage you to look at your health and that of your children and other family members and friends. Many of you think it is normal to have intestinal issues, fatigue, allergies, asthma, arthritis, organ issues, migraines, depression, and on and on for more than over 300 maladies linked to gluten, but it is not. Older age does not necessarily have to mean degenerative, failing health. Your health and life can become so much more enhanced and transformed that you would not believe it. I am in better shape in my seventies than when I was in my forties. No kidding! All I did was remove the “monster” gluten (dairy also bothers many who are gluten intolerant). By the end of the first year I was only going for health checkups instead of sick calls.

But let me warn you that the vast majority of our traditionally trained doctors are not giving enough testing to track down celiac disease or gluten intolerance, nor are they aware of the numerous symptoms and illnesses linked to gluten. It’s not really their fault. Little is being done to educate every health care professional in every facet of medicine, since gluten can affect any part of the body, and many think celiac and gluten issues are rare. They are epidemic!

If you are plagued with chronic symptoms and illness please…do your body and brain a favor… you must become your own advocate in conjunction with your doctor. Get educated, get tested (you will need to request certain tests), and if positive follow a 100% gluten-free lifestyle. No cheating!

 And give mega thanks you have discovered the root of your health problems.

Please read the disclaimer above.

Please get back to me with your success story at anne(@sign)toxicstaple.com and kindly share this info with all your sick and tired friends who may be misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or overdosed! Even some of those who have rare and incurable diseases may find life can improve without gluten.

Need a speaker? anne(@)toxicstaple.com

Testing Children And Adults For Celiac Disease And Gluten Intolerance

After a short talk on my journey in writing my book, TOXIC STAPLE, within 10 minutes of each other, two different people told me of their friend whose child had been diagnosed with celiac disease. I took a minute to explain that sometimes doctors neglect to inform them that other siblings and the parents should also be tested due to the genetic component of celiac disease. The general answer I get is “Oh, the child (or other children or themselves) was negative.” In which case I inform them that quite often not enough testing is given to detect an intolerance.

I can vouch for this myself with just about everyone in my family except for the grandchild that was very compromised and was off the charts positive for celiac. The rest of us all tested negative on the blood tests, and I had read enough to even request 3 tests. I hadn’t discovered the specialized stool test until a few months later. We were all positive on those. If we hadn’t done Dr. Fine’s stool testing I shutter to think how much more our health might have slipped down the tubes.

It seems mainstream medicine is setting the bar too high and too often they give only one test and by the time someone tests positive for celiac they have a full-blown case or near to it with very damaged villi (hairs that absorb nutrients)…..and quite compromised health.

Testing negative on blood testing to celiac disease or if positive on blood testing, but  negative on the endoscopy does not negate gluten intolerance which can also have devastating and degenerative consequences.

Be thankful you or your other children did not test positive for celiac disease (yet), but that is not the end of it until you make sure you have received enough testing to detect intolerance to gluten. It’s kind of like preventative medicine.

You will need to become your own advocate as few doctors are giving a panel of 4 blood tests, few are recognizing they should also be looking at the lower antibody numbers, and most of them are unaware of a very sensitive stool test that will pick up intolerance in nearly 100% of the cases.

If you can catch gluten intolerance before your body becomes so compromised, you are ahead of the game of life.

As always, please share my information with your doctor.

I spell it out in TOXIC STAPLE with research to back it up. The real story is not just about celiac disease, it’s also, and more so, about whether one is intolerant to gluten. It seems to be a progressively worsening continuum, according to some experts.

 

 

Commentary On: Your Grain-Free Diet Isn’t Good For You Or the Planet!

“Unless you have a serious health problem such as celiac disease (about 1 percent of the population) whole grains and good starches can and should be part of your diet.”

I take issue with the above quote from the Washington Post: Your Grain-Free Diet Isn’t Good For You Or the Planet by Marie Speck, Oct 30, 2015.

I would like to bring to light that in addition to the apx 1% of the population that has celiac disease about 30% may be intolerant to gluten, which means they should not consume this toxic, difficult to digest protein. That’s nearly 1/3 of our population!

Tens of millions of Americans are suffering from hundreds of symptoms, diseases, and associated conditions linked to gluten substantiated by thousands of studies from around the world. Many of them are “trying” the gluten-free diet and find they lose weight, gain energy, headaches and tummy aches disappear, skin, joint, and intestinal issues resolve, and a raft of other ailments get better when off gluten. Many think this is just another fad diet, but it isn’t.  If health issues resolve with a gluten-free lifestyle that tells me they shouldn’t be eating this toxic staple.

It’s important to get tested for celiac and gluten intolerance, but that’s another whole can of worms since too often not enough testing is given to detect the problem and patients are told they don’t have an issue with gluten and can keep eating it as they continue to suffer.

I spell it out in my book.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/rweb/top/your-grain-free-diet-isnt-natural-good-for-you-or-good-for-the-planet/2015/10/31/50ae19fc-7db8-11e5-b575-d8dcfedb4ea1_story.html