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This is a summary of replies to my Sat, May 10 2003 posting, "Persistent
Symptoms and Bacterial Overgrowth" citing the following article:

American Journal of Gastroenterology Apr 2003, Vol 98, No 4, 839-843

High prevalence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in celiac patients
with persistence of gastrointestinal symptoms after gluten withdrawal

Antonio Tursi M.D., Giovanni Brandimarte M.D. and GianMarco Giorgetti M.D.

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Nice article! I found that to be true too -- probiotics fixed me right up.
Kefir works the best, and I learned to make kimchi. Kimchi has garlic,
red pepper, and ginger too, which are good digestive aids (and help
improve stomach acid) plus it is full of enzymes.

One lady I talked to used butyrate enemas to help heal the lower gut --
I've started eating more butyrate producing foods which seems
to have a similar effect. Metamucil being the easiest! Slow-digesting
("resistant") starches and soluble fibers feed the "good" bacteria and they
create butyrate, which is the preferred fuel of the colon.
Sorghum and beans are also good sources of resistant starch.

-- Heidi

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D"Adamo, author of the Blood Type books ,suggests:  put oregano, thyme and
rosemary on your food to control bacteria.  I read that the people from
India seldom have digestive problems because the put a lot of spices on
their food.

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Thanks for sharing this information.  My reaction is that I do not think it
is at all "rare" for most celiacs to have persistent bowel problems after
going GF and being true to the GF diet.  The dysbiosis which has evolved
after years of gluten intolerance and while eating gluten constantly, leaves
the patient with a very serious intestinal imbalance which the gf diet does
not take care of automatically by itself.  There are, consequently,
potentially deadly intestinal infections to deal with, as well as systemic
candida, which can also be lethal.  This bacterial overgrowth certainly
happened to me and many, many celiacs whom I know personally.  It is also
borne out by the posts to this listserv.  I do not know how to communicate
with the authors of this study, but I think it is a big mistake to think
that celiacs just "get well" by adhering strictly to the GFD.  I was misled
into thinking it would be that simple, and it certainly was not and it
almost killed me in the process!!  Just my "two cents" but I know that I am
correct in my thinking (I also knew, long before the recent study, that the
incidence of celiac disease in the US was way, way more than one in 300
people, as was so often quoted as gospel!   Best wishes, Leslie in Atlanta

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Thanks for sharing the article re CD and bacterial overgrowth; this was my
son's situation (SIBO diagnosed through organic acid urine test from
www.greatplainslaboratory.com ) and I just wanted to let you know that my
research found that treating SIBO with antibiotics leads to rebound, and
that the best, though perhaps slower solution is probiotics and probiotic
eating. There was even a study done with rats that found that ulcerative
colitis can be "cured" with antibiotics and probiotics but using just
antibiotics lead to rebound; my ulcerative colitis seems to have responded
very well to an antibiotic treatment for Rosacea - prior to that probiotics
had been helpful, but I think getting the "clean slate" really did make a
difference, and I still think the probiotics are an important daily habit
(kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, miso, plenty of  legumes and veggies) - in fact
the legumes rank very high with resistant starch, which is needed by the
colon flora that produce butyrate, an essential fatty acid that is critical
to mucosal health. So, eat your beans!
Take Care.
Hilary

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