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The discussion on this mailing list about Gluten Intolerance diagnosis got
me thinking (which doesn't happen often, so everybody duck :)
The earth is still very very flat, at least as far as the medical
community's understanding of gluten intolerance goes. And it is going to
remain remarkably flat as long as the AMA continues to be driven by the
forces that drive it.
My Gastroenterologist told me nothing more than to avoid gluten. Bye. See
ya! She admitted that it is because she doesn't know much about
it. Why? There are bigger fish to fry for the medical community (ie more
money to make elsewhere, and people walking in with worse problems to
solve). Dietary problem - go home and change your diet!
Research follows the money.
Please try out the following questions:
1) If my insurance covers it, it must be medically sound. Yes or No?
2) If my insurance doesn't cover it, it must be quackery. Yes or No?
3) Everything my doctor says is true. Yes or No?
How we answer those 3 questions probably decides how each of us feels about
the rest of this email.
My read is that every person has an opinion; and each opinion should be
questioned.
The question is, who knows the truth? My insurance company? My doctor? Me?
Have you noticed, like I have, that doctor's charge us 100's of dollars an
hour to tell us that they *don't know*? Don't you wish that *your* job
worked that way? I know that if I don't produce results in my job, I don't
get paid.
Until the reliability of medicine improves, the Celiac community should
applaud the work of MDs like Kenneth Fine who have found a way to
contribute to the science, research and study of gluten intolerance, and
step away from the belief that the human body only functions because the
AMA allows it to :) I, for one, as a scientist, give him credit for
finding a way to fund that research; from us, the very people he hopes to,
and does, help. And I am amused by people on this list who shun his work
as "not mainstream", and "quackery".
Dr. Fine's Enterolab provides a test for gluten intolerance that is not
mainstream to the AMA. Instead of looking for antibodies to gluten in the
blood, he looks for them in the effluent of the intestine. Novel idea: the
antibodies are created there, and nowhere else - so why look in the blood,
like the rest of the AMA - the stool is potentially way more
sensitive. Bravo! (if his test is accurate, he can catch celiac disease
looong before it becomes a problem for someone.)
And if I can find out if I happen to be blessed with the predominant gene
for gluten-intolerance, wouldn't that be useful for me in assessing the
veracity of a biopsy? After all, the same "positive" biopsy that so many
of you "believe to be the truth" could be sourced from antibodies to other
proteins, like, say casein; see:
The idea that the medical community (and some of you on this list) would
call him a quack is no more surprising than hundreds of other historical
human events. For example:
---> For many centuries, blood-letting was considered a tried and true
remedy for certain conditions by the medical community. It was recommended
for fevers, inflammations, a variety of disease conditions and, ironically,
for hemorrhage. Although it fell in and out of favor, it persisted into the
20th century and was even recommended by Sir William Osler in the 1923
edition his Principles and Practice of Medicine. See:
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/biomed/his/blood/clutterbuck.html
---> In 1616, a committee of advisors to the Inquisition declares that
holding the view that the Sun is the center of the universe or the earth
moves is absurd and formally heretical. In 1633 the Catholic Church
imprisoned Galileo as a heretic; he lived out his days in prison, blind
even in his last years. It wasn't until 1992 that the Catholic Church
formally admitted that Galileo's views on the solar system were correct.
I don't mean to pick on Catholics; I mean to pick on lofty human's who
think they know it all. PhD's and M.D.'s NEED to believe in their theories.
---> In 399 BC, a 500 person greek jury sentenced Socrates to death, for
nothing more (as far as anyone can tell) than not liking his way of
teaching, the Socratic Method; which, today, of course, is studied and
used widely throughout art and the sciences. Go figure! See
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/socrates/socratesaccount.html
for an interesting read.
---> Have you read about the geophysicist J. Marvin Herndon. He has
disagreed with all of the geophysicists on the planet for decades. They
have shunned his ideas for years; he had to leave the university (to
continue his research) because his research was considered quackish by his
peers. This month he is featured on the cover of Discovery Magazine
because his theory has new evidence that is very hard for university
professors in the field to explain or refute. He contends that the center
5 miles of the earth is a nuclear fission reactor. Scientists for at least
50 years have contended that the earth's core is composed of
nickel-iron. While the "real evidence" for this was weak, at best,
scientists in the field have based all of their theories around it. Now
they may well be proved wrong. See http://www.nuclearplanet.com/
for more info.
---> Apparently there are still those who actually believe the earth is
flat - for a fun read, try http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flatearth.html
---> Even more curious is the myth that *anyone* in history actually
believed that the earth was flat. This itself may have been a myth
perpetrated to defend Darwinism. How funny! See
http://www.id.ucsb.edu/fscf/library/RUSSELL/FlatEarth.html
---> Just today I noticed that scientists in Australia have discovered
evidence that Albert Einstein's e=mc2 may be flawed. But look at what
we've learned out of having a theory of relativity. If Albert's theories
are improved upon, standing on his shoulders, he will be smiling from the
grave (and curious, I'm sure).
---> Of course, statistically Dr Fine is likely missing some piece of the
puzzle - at least he knows it (that is why he is doing research. His
knowledge and understanding improves with every participant that uses his
tests.).
How wonderful for us! The closer we get to the truth about the human
condition, the more likely it will improve.
I dream of a day when I will be able to find out what I need to know about
"my" body to treat it right. Genetic tests will play a huge part in this
vision, no mistake here. To get there will take an immense amount of time
and energy from researchers who know their stuff, and aren't thwarted by
back-seat drivers like the AMA and the pharmaceutical industry.
The truth is out here.
Gary (diagnosed a celiac by a quack - well, actually an M.D. with a
marvelous training in modern flat-earth medicine.)
* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *
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