<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Newsletter Roundup
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Compiled by Jim Lyles
This section contains excerpts from newsletters produced by other
celiac groups.
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: :
: Excerpts from _The WNY Celiac News_ :
: ----------------------------------- :
: Spring 1999 Peg Quinn, editor :
: WNY Gluten-Free Diet Support Group :
: PO Box 611 :
: East Aurora, NY 14052 :
:...................................................:
A Celiac-Friendly Country Inn: Claudia and John Ryan own a bed and
breakfast with one special amenity: A gluten-free (GF) breakfast.
Claudia, a celiac herself, offers guests the choice of GF granola,
breads, muffins, and many other delicious selections at the Windflower
Country Inn. Located in the Berkshire Mountains in southwestern
Massachusetts, the inn features 13 guest rooms and all the amenities
of a country inn including lovely gardens and a private swimming pool.
For more information, call 800-992-1993; or write to Windflower
Country Inn, 684 S. Egremont Road, Barrington, MA 01230.
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: :
: Excerpts from _Lifeline_ :
: ------------------------ :
: Winter 1999 Leon Rottmann, editor :
: CSA/USA, Inc. :
: PO Box 31700 :
: Omaha, NE 68131-0700 :
:.......................................:
Recognizing Celiac Disease: The challenge, particularly for
physicians, is to recognize celiac disease. Often parents know that
something is wrong with their child before doctors are willing to
believe it. Recognizing celiac disease is not a trivial issue.
Celiac disease does occasionally present under age nine months,
although it is certainly not common in this country. There may be
vomiting, diarrhea, failure to thrive, and abdominal distention. Or,
some symptoms may not be presented or marked in some babies. It is
not uncommon for pediatricians to feel that symptoms can be explained
by a viral infection. The challenge is to get the correct
differential diagnosis and to proceed with the appropriate testing.
At age nine to nineteen months, classic findings begin to appear: pot
belly; anger or irritability; change in body composition such as loss
of muscle bulk, loss of body fat, thinness; and other findings. In
older patients, older children as well as adults, a whole series of
other symptoms or signs may be present. We might see short stature,
often without any other complaints. The patient may have a workup for
endocrine disease which is negative, and then have screening tests for
celiac disease which come out positive. These patients are then
referred for small bowel biopsy for a conclusive diagnosis.
Other symptoms may include the following:
* unexplained anemia
* rickets due to a vitamin D deficiency
* personality problems
* depression and irritability
* deteriorating school or work performance
* amenorrhea
* delayed onset of menstrual periods in adolescent girls
* arthralgia
* infertility
* changes around the mouth that signify vitamin malabsorption
* confirmed abnormal platelet count and vitamin K status
* clinical and laboratory markers of nutritional status,
particularly measures of serum folate, B-12, and the fat soluble
vitamins A, D, and E
* low serum iron
* low levels of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium
--from Dr. Richard J. Grand. For a copy of the entire manuscript,
video, or tape, contact CSA.
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: :
: Excerpts from the Southeast Florida CS Support Group :
: ---------------------------------------------------- :
: newsletter: Nov. 1998 Renee' Culver, editor :
: 2523 Jardin Drive :
: Weston, FL 33327 :
:......................................................:
Food Allergy or Gluten? We may have other food allergies that can
cause problems with our digestive systems and be mistaken for celiac
symptoms, and vice versa. A word of caution needs to be made,
especially as we advise new celiacs, in how we classify certain
products or foods. At times we might have on authority from the
company or from the label, that a product is gluten-free (GF) and
therefore should not cause any celiac symptoms. Then upon ingesting
the product, we might have diarrhea, bloating, and/or flatulence.
Before immediately climbing on board the "But I thought this was GF!!"
train, maybe we should examine the ingredients again. Perhaps we are
having a reaction--although not a GLUTEN reaction--to one of the
ingredients in the GF product. Perhaps it is a food allergy reaction
to one of the ingredients, or perhaps we are having a typical reaction
that anyone could have. For instance, guar gum is known to have a
laxative effect on many people [which has nothing to do with gluten].
On the other hand, don't be too quick to add another food allergy to
your already long list of foods you are sensitive to, when the culprit
might be hidden gluten after all. Hidden gluten is sometimes found in
tofu, miso, and many condiments. Hidden glutens are ingredients which
are not named as coming from wheat, rye, barley, or oats, but which
originated from the offending grains or have come into contact during
processing with hidden glutens. Examples of items that might or might
not contain gluten are: HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein), rice
syrups [sometimes processed with barley enzymes], brown sugar, sour
cream (sometimes contains gluten-containing additives), and natural or
even artificial flavorings and/or colorings. With so many items like
these that we need to question carefully before ingesting, it is very
possible to consume a food, have diarrhea or discomfort afterwards, an
label it as "yet another food allergy" instead of realizing there was
a source of hidden gluten.
Also, as pointed out by CSA/USA, it is important, especially for the
newly-diagnosed celiac, to remember when having a digestive upset to
review potential lactose intolerance which can also give some trouble
to the damaged intestines of a newly-diagnosed celiac. Also, just
because we have problems initially with lactose, it doesn't mean we
will always have problems. Many times as our intestines heal on a GF
diet, we are able to partake again at a later date in dairy products.
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