Tag Archives: pregnancy

Listen To Your Body… Before Gluten Does You In!

I’ve taken a long hiatus from blogging and with good reason. The last week in August I tripped over a stone in a parking lot that should have been removed years ago and wound up in the hospital for two days with a moderately severe concussion and five staples in my head. I had no recollection of the ambulance, the emergency room, or the concern on the faces of my family as I repeatedly told the doctor how good-looking he was and that he seemed too young to be a doctor.

All the family were around as the next day our kids were planning a big surprise 50th for my husband and me. Needless to say, “I didn’t make it.” I hear it was a great party.

I knew how important it was to have little to no visual stimulation so I spent 3 ½ weeks on the coach with no TV, videos, or books and wore sunglasses and a cap to keep the light down. After a week, books-on-tape and friends got me through the next 2 ½ weeks. My husband was a peach tending to my needs.

After 3 ½ weeks I slowly got back to using my mac and some reading. Fortunately, the neurologist found nothing out of the ordinary on all the tests and I was given the ok to venture to the Far East on a trip we had planned. I managed to keep up with the group fairly well, but opted out of a few adventures that would have been too taxing. My balance was still somewhat off, but manageable.

We arrived home just prior to Thanksgiving and I had to put extra holiday time into the Clever Hand Gallery, an artisans’ co-op in Wellesley that I belong to. Then there was shopping, cleaning, and decorating for our own Christmas holiday party with the whole extended family that we have hosted for close to 50 years. It was taxing, but I got through it. We wound up going out for New Year’s Eve for a quiet dinner with great friends.

On New Year’s Day my youngest daughter who is a captain called and asked if I’d like to join her on a trip to see the northern lights. When she’s not working she’s apt to be flying somewhere in the world. I felt as if I’d been on a rollercoaster for some time and that I needed to rest. Listening to my body, I reluctantly refused this lovely invitation to spend time with my daughter to stay home to rest and recoup by the wood-stove. Of course, my husband doesn’t let an opportunity slip by so he went and they had a lovely father/daughter connection even though it was overcast and they didn’t see the lights. I feel that my balance improved over this quieting stretch.

This story may seem unrelated to my topic of gluten, but it isn’t. First, I expect that being gluten-free may have played a huge roll in the health of my brain and neurons and in my quite successful recuperation. Aside from a balance issue I didn’t seem to have any other serious symptoms that can be associated with a moderately severe concussion. Gluten is a sticky protein in wheat and is linked to many cerebral and neurological disorders. Not having a body full of this hazardous protein destroying the intestinal villi that absorb nutrients to keep the brain/body healthy undoubtedly helped with healing.

Second, I finally listened to my body that was screaming at me to rest. Many of you reading this blog may manifest subtle to more troublesome symptoms and maladies/diseases linked to gluten that can affect any part of the body. There comes a time when you need to stop ignoring and start listening to your body before life gets worse, especially if you want to avoid the slippery slope of aging. You need to realize that your ailments, no matter how seemingly subtle or problematic could very likely be linked to gluten.

The following are just a few symptoms that you may think are a normal part of life (they are not; something is causing them): dry skin, chicken elbows, mouth sores, reflux, rashes and other skin conditions, brain fog, headaches, migraines, joint pain, dull flat hair, hair loss, splitting/weak fingernails, nail striations and white dings, irritability, moodiness, paleness, red face, weight-loss or weight-gain, fatigue, depression, sickly, allergies, asthma, bleeding gums, most any gastrointestinal ailment, etc.

For many more gluten-related issues see the Toxic Staple Table of Contents at: http://toxicstaple.com/wp-content/uploads/TS-TableOfContents.pdf and sign up for the blog notification top right at http://www.toxicstaple.com for a free report and a list of 50 gluten-related symptoms and maladies. You will know people whose lives could drastically change if they address what’s making them so sick and tired.

There are many very serious complications of celiac disease and gluten intolerance that you might avoid or ameliorate including cancer, autoimmune diseases, organ and glandular issues, blood and bone problems, pregnancy/fertility issues, and numerous neurological and cerebral ailments, all supported by easy-to-read research in the book.

What may seem like a simple irritating symptom may be a sign of underlying mal-absorption or antibody activity that is slowly eating away at your body and your health. It would be important to address the matter before it gets worse, but you need to get educated and become your own advocate in working with your doctor. You need to request certain tests. Mainstream medicine is still in the early stages of awareness (mostly unaware) of the devastating issues linked to gluten and how to detect intolerance.

Listen to your body if you have any chronic symptom or disease. Do not delay in getting tested for celiac or gluten intolerance. This intolerance is too serious to just “try” the GF diet. You need to know if you are intolerant then pay close attention to the GF diet. Get educated so you can advocate for yourself. It is a must! Unfortunately, mainstream medicine blood testing is not that reliable that’s why I wrote Toxic Staple. I spell out four blood tests and very sensitive stool testing that will nearly 100% get an answer if you are intolerant to gluten.

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

Problematic Pregnancies and Gluten

Did you know “the prevalence of celiac disease is estimated to be 4 to 8 times higher in women with fertility problems than in the general population?” (1)

Many women having pregnancy or women’s issues are undiagnosed and therefore untreated celiacs. This opens the door for any number of problematic pregnancy issues.

It is a no-brainer that women should be screened for celiac disease before they even think of becoming pregnant, yet this is not even one of the required tests  if pregnant, and it would be important to know if they were gluten intolerant too. Testing for gluten intolerance is practically nonexistent and often the celiac testing is false negative. (Testing is well covered in Toxic Staple.)

There remains huge unawareness among OB/GYN professionals about the numerous hazards of gluten and how it affects the mother and the fetus. Many of these issues will resolve or not evolve if gluten is addressed with an absolute gluten-free diet.

Celiac is a malabsorption issue. When you can’t absorb your vitamins and minerals that keep the body and a fetus healthy a vast array of nasty outcomes may develop including infertility (and sterility), miscarriage, light birthweight, premature births, developmental and learning disabilities, and many more (discussed in Chapter 12: Our Children Are Our Future).

Send your GF success story to share anon. on the Toxic Staple Blog to Anne at:  http://toxicstaple.com/contact/

http://www.drschaer/institute.com/smartedit/documents/content/_published/Forum_02.2016%20US.pdf?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email_

Disclaimer

Pregnancy Problems and Gluten

Not a day goes by that I don’t have an opportunity to write about gluten in response to some newspaper article, radio program, or fact talking about health. Below are two such instances within 24 hours. Neither mentioned the hazards of gluten:

  1. The New York Times, 11/8/16 under Global Health by Donald G. McNeil, Jr., D6 talks about new guidelines for pregnancy released by the W.H.O. Nowhere in this article does it mention testing for celiac disease or thyroid issues with the mother, yet numerous pregnancy and fetal issues can evolve, along with miscarriages and infertility, and many more if the mother is malabsorbing due to celiac or dealing with undiagnosed thyroid problems (can be linked to gluten too). It does mention iron and folic acid supplements “to prevent anemia, sepsis, and premature birth.” Yet if the mother is malabsorbing those supplements may not be absorbed. Unaddressed celiac disease can lead to a very poor outcome in pregnancy.
  2. The New Hampshire Union Leader, 11/9/16, Sec. B under USA Snapshots announces that the “preterm birthrate is up for the first time in 8 years in the USA.” The rate increased from 9.50% to 9.63% (in 2015) premature births. Granted this is just factual, but provides an opportunity to bring awareness to the public on the hazards of gluten if one should be experiencing preterm birth or most any other symptom or condition.

“Our Children Are Our Future” is the title of Chapter 12 in my award-winning, life-enhancing book, Toxic Staple. In it I cover many women’s, men’s, and pregnancy issues linked to celiac disease, supported by major world research.

Read my Table of Contents for more gluten-related pregnancy/female/male issues and many other diseases and associated conditions linked to gluten at: http://toxicstaple.com/wp-content/uploads/TS-TableOfContents.pdf. Check out my Endorsements at http://toxicstaple.com/endorsements/ suggesting doctors read Toxic Staple along with the public.

So much ill health throughout pregnancy and so many early childhood developmental problems could be avoided by addressing gluten before the health of the mother and/or fetus became so compromised. It is pitiful that little is being done to educate our OB/GYN doctors on the numerous issues associated with the malabsorption of celiac disease. You need to become your own advocate by reading up on the hazards of gluten.

Toxic Staple can lead you toward a path of self-discovery in finding wellness. Don’t ignore any chronic issue of any sort.

Please get back to me at http://toxicstaple.com/contact/ if you have a story to share or have a question I might help with. As always, try to find a doctor up on gluten to work with in solving your health issues.

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