Category Archives: Toxic Staple

Something Stupid!

I have to admit I did something quite stupid recently, and I paid for it. Mind you, I would never knowingly touch a crumb of gluten. Yes, it’s that nasty for probably about 30% of the population according to some experts. Whether you have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant you should never consume this troublesome protein.

We were out for a bite of dinner and I ordered a gluten-free vegetarian pizza. When it arrived I realized I’d forgotten to ask for no dairy. The waitress was happy to get me another pizza without cheese, but I said, against my better judgement, not to bother. I managed to foolishly consume most of it.

At the gym the next morning I would say I was about 20% off my usual self. I could feel my lower back around my spine, my leg muscles talked to me, my energy wasn’t quite there, and my balance and rhythm were a bit off. I was also a bit stuffy. You might think this isn’t so bad, but with repeated indulgence of foods our body recognizes as “the bad guy” along with the # 1 “bad boy, gluten” that many of you are in sheer denial about, the inflammation that is generated may be wearing away at numerous levels of your health.

If I had intestinal ramifications from dairy I never would have let this slip. But I never should have anyway because the immune system recognizes dairy as a foreign invader, in my case, and creates antibodies to fight these antigens off. Dairy can act just like gluten in destroying the villi. (1)

Gluten can affect any part of your body in a degenerative manner, and dairy seems to be affecting about 50% of those on a GF diet that I talk to.

Do you have aches and pains, fatigue, general ill health, brain fog, skin or gastro issues? Download the Free Report on the Home page upper right corner for a list of 50 symptoms and disorders linked to gluten at http://toxicstaple.com. Gluten and dairy may be at the root of what’s ailing you or someone you love. Dig your head out of the sand before your health spirals down any further.

There is no end to the research on a lengthy list of over 300 symptoms and diseases linked to gluten. It appears through copious reading since 2004 that there’s not much illness that’s not linked to gluten and often dairy, as many of my storytellers report. Add in heavy metals, dirty water and air, chemicals and plastics, and you have a toxic soup of degenerative disease and numerous ailments. At least clean up the toxins in your environment you can control before they control you!

Become your own advocate to rise above your ailments and live a longer, stronger, healthier life. Do it now before your health issues become much worse. You can do this!

  1. Watt, J., J. R. Pincott, and J. T. Harries. “Combined Cow’s Milk Protein and Gluten-induced Enteropathy: Common or Rare?” Gut 24 (1983): 165–70.

 

 

Is Hepatopulmonary Syndrome (HPS) Linked to Gluten? Do you have shortness of breath or a low level of oxygen? What shape is your liver in?

While looking for something else I ran across a website on hepatopulmonary syndrome. Hepato has to do with your liver, and pulmonary has to do with your lungs. When your liver is compromised your lungs may also become damaged and not function up to capacity causing shortness of breath and lower oxygen levels in your blood, among other issues.

It appears the only “cure” for HPS is a liver transplant.

In steps gluten. A number of lung and liver diseases are linked to celiac disease and gluten toxicity. Many of them will reverse or resolve when gluten is removed from the diet. Neither of the sites I peeked at mentioned a word about gluten intolerance or celiac disease.

“At a gluten-related conference I heard the story of a man who needed a liver transplant who was diagnosed with CD. When his doctors put him on a GFD his liver began to mend; ultimately, he no longer needed the transplant. This story was undocumented, but there is a formal study proclaiming that patients with critical liver dysfunction who adopt a strict GFD may preclude liver failure, even when a liver transplant is being contemplated. Of the four patients in this study who had acute liver disease, ‘hepatic dysfunction reversed in all cases when a gluten-free diet was adopted.’ (1) Seems to me this should be headline news, but I wonder how many folks with severe or even mild liver ailments have ever heard the words gluten or celiac disease uttered by their doctors.” (2)

“Some of the liver diseases associated with CD are autoimmune hepatitis, nonspecific reactive hepatitis (‘the most common’), primary biliary cirrhosis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis.(3) Liver disease can occur in people of any age, including children. A 2009 Swedish study of children with CD concluded that ‘severe hepatic damage or failure’ could evolve and that children with CD should be assessed for ‘liver function and vice versa, children with severe liver damage should be investigated for untreated celiac disease.’(4) The link is obvious! Nearly 40 percent of children and adults with ‘fatty liver transaminitis or hepatitis’ who have barely any symptoms have liver issues that improve or resolve themselves on a GFD.”(5)(6)

Many lung diseases and ailments are linked to gluten. The research is sparse, but there is some linked to various ailmets that cleared up with my storytellers in Toxic Staple. A woman was told she had lung cancer with a short time to live. It turned out to be sarcoidosis which cleared up with a gluten-free lifestyle…even the pain from the scar tissue disappeared; asthma and reactive-airway disappeared on the GFD; a chronic dry cough vanished on the GFD; lung function crashed and returned (see Holly’s story on page 135).

Research exists on idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis and fibrosing lung disease as linked to gluten. Some patients with dermatomyosistis (DM) may have lung cancer among other cancers and it is recommended that those with DM be screened for celiac disease.

If you should have unrecognized and therefore untreated celiac disease or gluten intolerance and your body is not absorbing vital nutrients needed for optimal health how can you expect to have healthy lungs, liver, blood or even a healthy brain?

If you have most any serious disease, especially autoimmune, or any chronic symptom, I urge you to get educated and get tested. I spell it out in Toxic Staple as only an irritated grandmother could. You can make a copy of the testing, both blood and stool to discuss with your doctor. It is life-enhancing information.

See Disclaimer: http://toxicstaple.com/disclaimer/

 Your future health may depend on addressing gluten. To order your personalized copy now visit: http://toxicstaple.com/buy-the-book/ or visit https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Staple-Gluten-Wrecking-Health/dp/0989239217 or check in at your favorite book store.

http://hpscare.com/for-patients/ This site provoked my interest in writing this blog.

  1. Kaukinen, K. et al., “Celiac Disease in Patients with Severe Liver Disease: Gluten-free Diet May Reverse Hepatic Failure.” Gastroenterology 122, no. 4 (2002): 881–88.
  2. Quote from Toxic Staple
  3. Barbero Villares, A. et al.,. [Hepatic Involvement in Celiac Disease.] [In Spanish.] Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 31, no. 1 (2008): 25–28.
  4. Casswall, T. H., et al., “Severe Liver Damage Associated with Celiac Disease: Findings in Six Toddler-aged Girls.” European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 21, no. 4 (2009): 452–59.
  5. Duggan, J. M. “Coeliac Disease: The Great Imitator.” Medical Journal of Australia 180, no. 10 (2004): 524–26.
  6. Quote from Toxic Staple

Tom Brokaw’s Journey With Multiple Myeloma: Are Celiac Disease And Multiple Myeloma Linked?

I recently watched Dateline featuring Tom Brokaw and his journey with multiple myeloma (MM). Although there is little research linking MM to gluten and celiac disease some does exist. One study that I write about in my chapter, Gluten Indicted: “An Enhancer to Cancer,” questions whether MM is a “more severe form of gluten intolerance than celiac [disease].”*

As I have researched since 2004 I have found such cancer-related terminology as lymphoma, lymphatic, leukemia, leukemic, myeloproliferative, malignant, and more linked to gluten and celiac disease. Many blood and bone disorders are linked to gluten, and some of the cancers associated with celiac disease are throat/esophageal, stomach/ intestinal/colon, and many more.

I couldn’t believe the information on autoimmune hepatic liver and sclerosing cholangitis. These two diseases can resolve with a gluten-free lifestyle. My father died of liver cancer and it was thought by his doctor, much later after reading the stunning research, that he had these two disorders before they turned cancerous.

If you have cancer or know someone who does (doesn’t everyone?) it might be important to determine if they are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease. There is a catch 22, however! The test results for celiac disease (CD) might be affected by chemo and other heavy-duty drugs so the results might not be a true reading: if you tested negative you might really be positive. You need to request a panel of blood tests (the typical one may not be enough to detect intolerance), and if negative on the blood tests do your body a favor and do the specialized stool testing (Chapters 16 & 17).

If you have undetected celiac disease or gluten intolerance or don’t address a gluten issue with an absolute gluten-free lifestyle your body can become quite compromised over time. CD can affect any part of the body and can hugely affect your immune system. How can your immune system even begin to fight any cancer cells if it is drastically compromised? And where do those cancer cells come from anyway? Might it have something to do with all the inflammation from celiac disease or antibody reactivity? I strongly expect so!

If you have most any chronic health issue lingering for 2-3 months it would be important to detect whether or not you are gluten sensitive. Over 300 symptoms and maladies are linked to gluten….that doesn’t leave much to your imagination!

Some of the latest webinars** and presenting forward-thinking doctors are saying if you have a healthy gut you’ll never develop cancer or autoimmune diseases. You don’t have a healthy gut if you have undetected or unaddressed CD.

Many folks are diagnosed with a miserable, life-altering cancer without manifesting any symptoms. “But I’ve been healthy my whole life,” they say. Don’t wait for this most serious diagnosis to hit your family. Especially if you do have health issues. It could be time to look your symptoms and diseases/maladies square in the face. You may be able to turn your health around before something really traumatic consumes your life.

I’ve tried hard to reach out to some folks who have gone through cancer treatment or who have other serious life-threatening diseases, but most of them go to the best doctors (who never mention celiac or gluten) and they expect their doctors would know this vital information. But there is little being done to present conferences to educate all our doctors in all facets of medicine. It’s like banging your head against the wall. It will need to become a grassroots movement much deeper than the faddish movement folks are trying now. And it will take decades for all doctors to begin to understand the full implications of what gluten is doing to much of the human race, but the research is there.

Kindly share http://www.toxicstaple.com and this blog with your ailing family and friends.

*Juranić et al., “Antibodies Contained in “M” Component.”

**The Truth About Cancer, and The Autoimmune Summit

 

 

 

 

 

Type 1 Diabetes and Gluten: Exciting Research!

This most compelling study, “Remission without insulin therapy on gluten-free diet in a 6-year old boy with type 1 diabetes mellitus” was published in the British Medical Journal in 2012*. The boy did not have celiac disease, but nevertheless was put on a gluten-free diet after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He was able to survive nicely without insulin for 20 months while in the study.

Although he was negative for celiac disease I wonder what his test scores were, as too often the bar is set too high and the patient may not test positive for CD, but may be gluten intolerant and on the road to CD. According to some experts it is important to pay attention to the lower numbers on test results, as this could be a sign of things to come. Perhaps the pancreatic islet cells can be damaged the same way the villi can— without having celiac disease, but being intolerant to gluten.

It’s most interesting that the child responded to the GF diet. Numerous autoimmune diseases, as discussed in my book, Toxic Staple are linked to gluten, and patients sometimes manage their disease by removing this noxious protein with some amazing results.

The wife of one of my storytellers who had type 2 diabetes adhered to the GF diet along with her husband. Her diabetes normalized and she was able to get off her meds with the approval of her doctor (never stop taking your meds without consulting your doctor).

Do you suppose that detecting gluten sensitivity and adhering to the GF diet would be preventative medicine from developing T1D or any other autoimmune disease? I expect it would!

Don’t you think this info is headline news? I do, but it will take decades to be featured as such. Did you know it is recommended that those with type 1 diabetes be tested for celiac disease? Maybe they should be tested for gluten intolerance too.

The bottom line of this study suggests that more research is needed on the effectiveness of a gluten-free diet in aiding remission of T1D.

If you know someone with type 1 diabetes, especially if they are newly diagnosed, please introduce them to my book, Toxic Staple, and my web site http://www.toxicstaple.com and blog.

Refer to chapters 16 and 17 on traditional and cutting-edge testing to detect whether or not you are gluten sensitive. If positive pay strong attention to the GF lifestyle.

*Sildorf et al., BMJ Case Rep. 2012; 2012: bcr0220125878 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3387460/

 

Denial About the Ravages of Gluten

I can’t tell you how many people I run into who are in strong denial about the hazards of gluten. “Oh, we don’t have that!” But signs of intolerance are written all over their face: paleness or flaming red cheeks, sallow color, puffy eyes, sickly looking, drab, thinning hair, weight loss/weight gain, dry skin and lips, skin issues, etc.

I often ask folks who are in denial and resistant to testing who have a lot of health issues, “Do you like living?” It’s difficult to comprehend the severity of how gluten can affect the body over time. That’s why I poured a decade into researching and writing Toxic Staple. By the time you get to the end of the book hopefully you’ll get it.

Whether it’s celiac disease (CD damaged villi) or non-celiac gluten intolerance (GI damage to many parts of the body, but not to the villi) one’s life and health can improve immeasurably when gluten is removed from the diet—perhaps even return to normal, though you may have forgotten what that feels like. It’s surprising how well you may come to feel and only then, looking back, recognize a list of symptoms that you took as part of the aging process or part of a kid-being-a-kid. I encourage you to keep track of these symptoms no matter how seemingly trivial as your body heals – you will be surprised.

If you are experiencing borderline suboptimal health, gluten may be the issue. No one in his or her right mind wants to know that wheat, the staff of life, has become a toxic staple for millions, but ignoring the effects of gluten can lead to disastrous health issues over time. Throughout TOXIC STAPLE you will be bombarded with numerous degenerative and serious health issues that seem to only worsen if a gluten-free lifestyle is ignored or get better if it is addressed.

Disease is caused by something! Time to get your head out of the sand. Discover if you have intolerance to gluten. Then embrace your new way of life and be thankful you know what’s ailing you. Or you may need to prepare for a degenerative decline over the years ahead, a road you may already be traveling.

Only you can turn your health around! Toxic Staple paves the way for you to dramatically change your health and life if gluten intolerant. I originally wrote it for people who are “sick and tired of being sick and tired,” but it is being recommended for health care professionals by those-in-the-know.

Please note: The patient may respond better to a GF lifestyle if diagnosed earlier rather than years to decades later when the body may be very compromised on many levels. And of course, numerous other toxins can add to the mix of a sick body. Your turnaround in health may depend on how sick you are, how well you adhere to an absolutely GF diet, and other factors affecting your health.

 

 

Depression and Gluten

What sad news about the talented and respected actor and comedian, Robin Williams, who has brought so much entertainment and so many laughs to the American public.

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear some awful news on TV, radio, or among friends and acquaintances that could be the result of gluten ingestion. Having read over two thousand abstracts and studies on the hazards of gluten consumption, I wonder if he and many others with debilitating illness might have been tested for gluten sensitivity.

Did you know that depression is a common symptom in those diagnosed with celiac disease. Many other neuro/cerebral symptoms/diseases and associated conditions, some of them very degenerative, are linked to gluten through numerous studies from around the world.

Celiac disease slowly destroys the ability of the intestinal wall to absorb the nutrients vital for good health. It stands to reason that if one is mal-absorbing due to damaged villi it could affect your brain and neurons. After all, in order to be healthy the brain and neurons need certain vitamins and minerals.

The longest chapter in my new book, TOXIC STAPLE: How GLUTEN may be wrecking your health – and what you can do about it! is entitled Neurological Dilemmas: The Mind-blowing Hazards of Gluten. If you or your child are suffering from ANY neurological health issues (or any other chronic health issues) please checkout more info above on this website for the lowdown on my book. It offers health and life-transforming information.

Neurological maladies are nothing to play with and often get worse over time. PLEASE get tested for gluten sensitivity, and if positive take the gluten-free lifestyle very seriously. You will need to request certain tests or it’s very likely you won’t get adequate testing to detect an intolerance.

 

Who is Educating Our Doctors? You MUST Become Your Own Advocate

Thousands of significant research studies from around the globe exist on the hazards of gluten consumption, but this vital information, much of it found in Toxic Staple, is not reaching mainstream medicine at anything beyond a snail’s pace even ten years after the NIH Consensus Conference on Celiac Disease in 2004. That’s why you must become your own advocate in maximizing your health.

Slowly, most gastroenterologists are finally recognizing celiac disease (CD), but there is still huge unawareness among mainstream medicine as to the symptoms and serious, degenerative, life threatening ailments linked to gluten whether it’s celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

I am amazed, as I go about life, how many people with gastrointestinal issues are never offered testing to track down a sensitivity to gluten. And too often, if they are tested, only one test is given. It may be negative and they are told they don’t have a problem with gluten. And gastrointestinal symptoms and maladies are only a small part of the picture.

Since gluten can affect ANY part of the body it is imperative that doctors in all facets of medicine be educated on its insidiously destructive effects.

But who is educating our doctors and healthcare practitioners on this crucial malabsorption/immune reactive issue? Many patients have had “every test in the book” except the right ones. It seems that testing for celiac disease or gluten intolerance is the last of the tests to be offered, if at all. They should be the first line of defense since so many ailments clear up when gluten sensitivity is detected and the nasty protein is removed with a gluten-free diet.

Serious Health Conditions Linked to Gluten – Over 300

Your doctor might think to test you for celiac disease (CD) if you have gastrointestinal issues, but some still think it’s a rare condition. Far from it! It’s very common. Sadly, many of the more serious conditions (cardio, thyroid, liver, neurological, autoimmune, blood, muscular, cancer, infertility, and skin, to name a few) linked to gluten and the associated malabsorption and immune reactions are not on many doctors’ radar screens across our country. That’s why I wrote TOXIC STAPLE. Too many folks are too “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Let’s take 100 folks with atrial fib, liver disease, or memory issues and ask how many of them were offered testing for celiac disease or gluten intolerance (GI). And if they were tested (doubtful), were they offered more than the one typical blood test (doubtful – I hear from too many people they were only given one test – a panel of four tests has a better chance to detect the gluten issue and even then the patient may be negative on all four tests and still be gluten intolerant).

In TOXIC STAPLE you will find such stories on atrial fib, liver disease, and memory issues getting better or disappearing on a gluten-free diet, all supported with significant research. And chapters 16 and 17 will help to clarify testing that hopefully will get an answer if you are gluten sensitive, so you can begin a campaign to transform your health and practice preventative medicine.

If you are burdened with chronic or degenerative illness, no matter what kind, it would behoove you to get tested for gluten sensitivity (CD and GI). Naturally, the sicker you are and the longer you put off trying to determine the cause of your ailments the longer it may take to rejuvenate your health, but most people can find some to a great measure of success with a gluten-free lifestyle if sensitive to gluten. So many success stories are spelled out in TOXIC STAPLE. You may be able to relate to many of them.

If you are gluten sensitive and you ignore this degenerative condition you may be paving the road to an earlier demise. I know that by living a gluten-free lifestyle I have totally enhanced my health and extended my life. You have the power to transform your health! But don’t wait too long. The sicker and more compromised your body becomes the more difficult it may be to totally turn your health around.

 

Are You Suffering from Disease and Chronic Ailments?

Disease and chronic ailments don’t just happen; they are caused. What is causing your decline in health, energy, and zest for life? Could GLUTEN be the culprit?

Over 300 symptoms and maladies are linked to gluten from significant international research. This does not leave much to the imagination! It appears that just about everything (not quite) gets better when the noxious gluten protein is removed from the diet. Life seems to get worse over time if gluten sensitivity is not addressed. Of course, many other toxins add to the mix, but healing the gut may go a long way in handling other negative influences.

Nobody wants to think gluten is their problem, but if you or a loved one are experiencing most ANY chronic symptom or malady it may be time to get your head out of the sand and get tested before your health becomes more compromised. Gluten is toxic stuff for my family and for tens of millions of ailing folks in the U.S.

If you care about your future health take the bull by the horns; read up, get educated, and become an advocate for yourself. If I can do this I expect most anyone can. Toxic Staple makes it easy for you to comprehend lingering symptoms and chronic illness. It provides a path toward wellness.

 

Are Celiac Disease & Gluten Intolerance Epidemic?

YOU BET THEY ARE!

On my way to the gate for a flight to the 15th International Celiac Disease Conference held in Chicago I shared my business card for my new book, TOXIC STAPLE, and chatted with nine different people. I was amazed at the results. Here is the rundown:

  • Has CD and follows a GF diet
  • Has a friend with gluten issues
  • Her mother has CD and is doing the GF diet
  • Has IBS and fibromyalgia and her doctor does’t know the cause – on meds (I suggested she read my book then loan it to her doctor)
  • Knows 2 friends with CD/gluten issues
  • Said she probably needs the GF diet – has sinus/allergy issues (she’s probably right)
  • Has a friend doing the GFD
  • Has CD – her sister is an MD and is up on CD (there is still much unawareness of the serious complications of celiac disease in traditional medicine)
  • Was interested and will share my info

This is an incredible slant toward epidemic, wouldn’t you say? Eight out of nine people either had a gluten issue themselves or knew someone who did. Three to four years ago gluten and celiac were not a part of anyone’s vocabulary unless they were one of the few diagnosed. But since then nearly everyone I talk to either has gluten issues or knows someone who does. It’s exploding!

Read TOXIC STAPLE and you will come to understand the breadth of nutritional deficiencies, symptoms, diseases, and disorders being caused by a protein once thought to be healthy.