Simply Gluten Free - New To Gluten Free?

Are Gluten Free Diets Dangerous?

2010-11-30T15:19:00.001-05:00

I am really easy going. Just ask anyone. Well, except my husband. Or my kids. Or...ok, let's say I am fairly easy going. It takes a lot to "get my Irish up" but a recent episode on Nightline did just that! In fact it made me hopping mad.

Journalists have a responsibility to report truth, not to slant issues one way or another. And doctors have a responsibility to get their facts straight before they start speaking out loud, especially on national television.

If you didn't see the Nightline segment I am referring to let me recap - it was about gluten-free diets. And it starts out saying "Dangerous Diet?" then goes on to state it is the hottest diet in Hollywood right now but posses the question "but do they know the dangers of going gluten-free?" It goes on to present sensationalized "information" regarding gluten-free diets.

I thought it would be a good idea to present what a leading authority in gluten intolerance has to say in response that Nightline episode. Dr. Vikki Petersen is a pioneer in the field of diagnosis and care of gluten intolerance and she is also the medical expert on this blog. Here is her response:

As a note Dr. Vikki added this after she posted the video:

I want to make note of the fact that Jenny McCarthy's son suffered from autism, not ADD as I stated. That was a misstep on my part that I wanted to clarify. It is accurate that she is quoted in the Night Line piece as crediting a gluten-free diet as a major step in the resolution of his autism. And I stand by my statement that such results are documented in the literature as is a strong correlation with gluten creating many nervous system problems. The organization Defeat Autism Now (DAN) strongly advocates a gluten-free, casein-free diet because of the strong evidence that shows a benefit to the condition.

Thank you!
To your good health,
Dr Vikki

What's The Deal With Gluten?

2010-10-02T08:54:00.000-04:00

In response to a number of emails and conversations I have had recently I decided to write a post on gluten. First of all let me just make this perfectly clear – I am not a doctor! Nor am I a scientist, a nutritionist or any kind of practitioner of any sort – except maybe some black magic in the kitchen. This is just what I have learned from research and personal experience.

First some statistics. A couple weeks ago Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause, was on the Oprah Show and stated that 1 out of every 4 women suffer from gluten intolerance. I have heard other statistics ranging from 1 in 22 people to 1 in 10 people. The problem with statistics is that it is really hard to know for sure. Many people go around suffering some effect of gluten but are totally unaware of what is going on. And there are degrees of gluten intolerance ranging from full on Celiac Disease (an auto immune disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food) to sub-clinical Celiac Disease (a milder form of Celiac which is harder to detect and may be responsible for the malfunctioning of the thyroid as well as the adrenals) and gluten sensitivity (a temporary sensitivity to gluten due to over consumption).

In any case, my guess it that LOTS of people can not tolerate gluten.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a sticky protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It is also in most oats. Not because of the oat itself but because of the way it is processed. It is what makes pizza dough so stretchy, bread rise and pasta hold together. Gluten is also the substance that can make you pretty ill if you can’t tolerate it.

To get a good a more technical explanation, click here.

How can gluten affect the body?

Remember when you were a kid and you made paste (glue!) out of flour and water? Well that gives you a clue. It gums up the works.

People who can not tolerate gluten can suffer from a wide variety of aliments including seizures, bloating, intestinal problems, compromised immune systems, depression, anxiety, ADHA, autism, adrenal exhaustion, thyroid problems just to name a few of the not so pleasant results.

What’s the cure?

Unfortunately there is no CURE for gluten intolerance or Celiac Disease. The only thing you can do is stay away from gluten. Don’t eat it! Most people will start to feel better with in days of removing gluten from their diets if they can’t tolerate it.

Where does it hide?

Now staying away from gluten sounds simple enough. OK, no more bread, pizza, pasta. Piece of cake (pardon the pun!) Oh, if only it were that simple.

Unfortunately gluten hides out in many places you would not immediately think. Like jelly beans, popsicles, processed meats, canned tomato soup, soy sauce. A huge amount of processed food contains gluten. As does some lipstick, soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, vitamins, nutritional supplements and medicine.

Some things to look out for on food labels include:

modified food starch
MSG
Lecithins
textured vegetable protein
emulsifiers
caramel color
malt

For a good list of safe products click here and unsafe products click here.

The point is beware. Read. Educate yourself. Don’t just assume that the turkey you are about to put in your mouth is safe.

So what now?

My philosophy is not to look at what you CAN’T EAT but what you CAN EAT. There is a whole big beautiful world of naturally gluten-free foods out there. Vegetables, fruit, un-processed meats, most cheeses, fish, seafood. The world of gluten-free eating is abundant.

There are also really great gluten-free alternatives for breads, cookie, pastries and cakes.

My advice is first stay away from the gluten-free alternatives until your taste buds have a chance to re-adjust. Then experiment. Find the brands you like. Buy an automatic bread maker and utilize the gluten-free bread mixes and enjoy freshly baked gluten-free bread.

Personally, I can live with out bread and pasta. What I can’t live with out is good health, vigor and energy.

Celebrate the abundance of gluten-free living and the rewards will be plentiful.

I hope this helps a little.

xo,
carol

Getting Started - The Right Mind Set

2010-10-01T08:38:00.000-04:00

New to a gluten free diet? Trust me, I know how you may be feeling at this moment; confused, overwhelmed, and reeling from the enormity of lifestyle change you are about to undertake.

After over 15 years of being gluten free, the lifestyle is second nature to me now. But I do recall vividly how I felt when I first realized that I was going to have to make major changes in my life.

I recall the sense of loss. How was I going to be able to give up the foods I loved and craved, the foods I turned to for comfort, the foods I ate every single day?

The good news is that once I implemented the changes my health and happiness improved so much that the loss was completely erased by the wins! The wins of waking up with energy in the morning, of not suffering from blinding headaches, of having a flatter tummy, of a body free of mysterious aches and pains and of being able to eat food without suffering some sort of negative consequence.

While going gluten free is not exactly easy, at least not initially, I firmly believe that any person can successfully do anything they put their mind to. So the first thing to do is figure out exactly what it is you are going to put your mind to.

This is article does not contain tips on the mechanics of going gluten free per se but more the right mind set for going gluten free. After you wrap your wits around it, the mechanics will be easier.

Acceptance – Without trying to sound like this is some 12 step program for recovering gluten eaters, acceptance of the situation really is the first thing you need to do. You are embarking on a gluten free diet for a reason. It is important to remember that.

When I first found out I was gluten intolerant I was the ultimate Queen of Denial – I am talking an Oscar worthy performance of creating an alternative reality here. I had all sorts of ways that I mentally negated the facts.

The most compelling reason to NOT believe the diagnosis was that I did not seem to notice any cause and effect. If I ate a piece of bread or a serving of pasta I did not suddenly get a tummy ache or bloated, I didn’t start sneezing or get watery eyes, I didn’t instantly get a headache and I didn’t all of a sudden have noticeable digestive issues. I did not notice one single thing. Well, gluten can be sneaky that way. I have learned that just because a direct cause and effect is not readily apparent that does not mean it is not there.

I had convinced myself that gluten intolerance was just a made up disease or a “chiropractor disease”. Back then most traditional doctors did not even look to Celiac or gluten intolerance as a root cause for symptoms. Even today, misdiagnosis of gluten intolerance is rampant in traditional medicine. As chiropractors do not treat patients with drugs and surgery and specialize in finding root causes to health issues rather than treating symptoms, many have been the front runners in bringing to light the issues of the gluten intolerant.

I also had convinced myself that if I went off of gluten for a month or two I was cured. After all, I felt better so I must be better, right? Wrong! I spent years going on and off gluten, each time I put the gluten back into my diet it was causing more and more hidden damage until I got to the point where more serious issues were not only possible but probable.

A gluten free diet is not a fad or something to dabble in or something you are doing because you have no better way to spend your time. It is the key to recovering good health and vitality.

Know thine enemy - The cold hard fact is that gluten is NOT YOUR FRIEND! Oh sure, it may look like your friend with those pretty little bakery cupcakes to celebrate birthdays, hot, fresh pizza delivered to your door when you are too tired to cook and chicken noodle soup promising to cure you of your cold. But in truth, for you, gluten is more like a deadly spy from the cold war era – the seemingly harmless middle aged housewife next door who was in reality a secret double agent that lured in people with promises of comfort, stability and friendship when in reality she was compromising the safety, health and welfare of her victims.

If you can’t tolerate gluten then the eating of it is very much like slowly eating just a tiny bit of poison every day. It won’t kill you right off the bat, but it will make you very ill eventually. So treat gluten the same way you would a treacherous “friend” – cut it out of your life swiftly and completely.

Put another way, if you discovered that your best friend had been secretly trying to seduce your spouse for years, would you remain friends with that person? No, I didn’t think so.

When that piece of pie or plate of pasta is calling out to you, tempting you, offering you culinary satisfaction just say over and over to yourself – “GLUTEN IS NOT MY FRIEND!” (It is probably a good idea to say this silently lest your dining companions start thinking you are crazy which could lead to a whole other set of issues.)

Commitment – You have most likely been told or found out by now that the only “cure” for Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance is to stop eating gluten. So this is not something you are going to do for two weeks and then go back to your old habits. You need to make a life long commitment to going gluten free.

But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Look at it this way – if you were single and met a person who could promise you a greatly improved quality (not to mention quantity) of life, safety and security, well being, improved health, a nice big dose of adventure and fun and was pretty darn good looking to boot (think about it - gluten laden foods tend to come in shades of white, beige and brown while naturally gluten free foods encompass all the colors of the rainbow) wouldn’t you be at least a little tempted to consider making a life long commitment to this person?

By saying no to gluten and yes to a gluten free diet and lifestyle you are in fact saying no to disease, pain and health issues and yes to vigor, vitality and greatly improved health. I would think this is a commitment worth making.

That commitment means no gluten – ever! Not even just a little bit. Not even on vacation or on special occasions. Seriously, would you celebrate your birthday by eating poison? I don’t think so!

Seize the power – Unlike other diseases for which there is no cure, like cancer (which often requires surgery, drugs, chemo and radiation therapies), the effects of Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance can be changed simply by what you put into your mouth. How cool is it to know that you posses the power to literally change your health and your life?

It is really pretty simple; eat the poison and undermine your health or don’t eat the poison and improve it. You have a choice to make and if you choose correctly you will get healthier.

There are so many things in life that we seem to have no control over, that we feel the effect of but gluten intolerance does not have to be one of them. We can control it. And if you look at the big picture, it is really a pretty easy way to control it.

Having Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance is like being dealt the Queen of Spades in the game of Hearts. At first look it can be viewed as a crappy card to be dealt but if you pay the game well, use the card smartly, you win!

So seize that power and start winning the game of health!

Accessibility – This is a simple thing really. Foods you can safely eat need to be accessible. You need to surround yourself with foods you can eat and frequent restaurants that serve gluten free dishes you can enjoy.

Look at it this way. If you were single and looking to find a mate would you hang around only married people? No. You would surround yourself with eligible, single people who could potentially be your partner. If you only gave yourself the opportunity to fall in love with a married person, you would be setting yourself up for certain heartbreak.

The same goes with embarking on a gluten free diet and lifestyle. In the beginning it is probably not a good idea to hang around non-gluten-free bakeries pining over the cookies, pies and muffins you can’t have. On the other hand the farmer’s market or produce isle in the grocery store is overflowing with “eligible” food. So are the butcher, the fish monger, and the dairy section. And then there is the nut isle and the chocolate section and on and on and on.

Surround yourself with foods you can fall in love with and you will. And once you discover the foods you love, have then around, accessible. This will make it so much easier to fight any cravings or temptations to go back to those forbidden gluten foods. By the same token get rid of the gluten foods if you can so they are not always there, lurking in the shadows ready to drag you back into a life of pain and ill health.

Be positive – I can never say this enough – if you stop looking at the world of food in terms of what you can’t eat and instead focus on what you can eat, you will be so much happier.

There is absolutely no reason to feel deprived on a gluten free diet. Yes, you have some things to learn and you will need to make some changes and that may take some time but there is so much glorious food out there that you can eat. In fact there is a whole lot more food you can eat than food you can’t eat.

Of course the pay off here is that it is really easy to be positive about something that improves your health. As you start to feel better, you will begin to reap the rewards of a gluten free diet more and more. And this will make it even easier to stay positive. It is a great upward spiral; the better your attitude, the easier it is to stay gluten free and the easier it is to stay gluten free the more your health will improve and the better your health, the easier it is to stay positive.

Treat going gluten free as an adventure and the rewards will be plentiful.

Gluten Free Travel - My Top 10 Tips

2010-09-22T12:03:00.002-04:00

China

France

Mexico

Traveling can be one of the greatest pleasures in life and for the gluten intolerant it can also be one the most challenging. I have traveled a lot in my life, sometime with great gluten-free success and sometimes with fairly poor results. I like to think we learn more from our failures than our successes so here are my top ten tips for traveling gluten-free.

1. Take food with you – Airports, train stations and roadside snack shops are not the best places to find gluten-free options. Delays at the airport can leave you famished, frustrated and more susceptible to poor decisions. Take enough gluten-free snacks (including some that contain some protein) to keep you well fed. Gluten-free pretzels or crackers, Sunbutter On-The-Go Snack Packs (it is never a good idea to take peanuts or peanut butter on an airplane, train, bus or boat as even if you can tolerate peanuts, others may be very allergic) pieces of fruit and vegetables, cheese cubes, gluten-free sandwiches and gluten-free nutrition bars are great items to have on hand. (At the bottom of this post is a recipe for Pistachio Fruit Bars that you can make yourself which are delicious, easy to make and will give you plenty of energy.)

If you take food which needs to be kept cold, put it inside a small insulated soft sided lunch box and tuck in a few heavy weight Ziploc bags. After you go through security go to a restaurant or fast food place and ask for some ice to fill the Ziplocs. This will keep everything chilled while on the plane. That little lunch box will come in handy on your trip and can easily be put in your suitcase when you don’t need it.

2. Plan ahead – If you are planning to travel within the United States, Triumph Dining sells this book with over 6,500 gluten-free dining options. If you don’t have the book or are traveling outside the U.S., do a little research before hand on the internet so that you arrive with some options and don’t wind up starved, exhausted and in a restaurant where you won’t be able to eat anything. Of course once you reach your destination you can do a little more digging around but it is good to arrive with a few options under your belt just in case!

3. Put it in writing - If you are traveling to a foreign country where you do not speak the language Triumph Dining makes these cards that you can give to the server in the restaurant to ensure you get a safe, gluten-free meal. I have found that sometimes the servers don’t quite get it so if they look confused or give you a glib response, make sure you get the card to chef. They will understand much better. If you don’t have the cards, ask the concierge at your hotel to write out a simple statement that you can take with you to restaurants. Make sure they include that you can not eat wheat, oats and barely.

4. Don’t cheat! As much as I personally love to explore culture through food sometimes you may need to forego the regional culinary specialty because of gluten. I have traveled in Italy and forewent pizza and pasta, France and forwent bread and pastry and China where I forewent a lot but I always found something delicious to eat. No one wants to be ill when on vacation and for some people (like me) a little gluten triggers a craving for more. Considering the long term effects of ingesting gluten when Celiac or gluten intolerant, it is just not worth it.

5. Find what you can eat – With a little Google time you can usually find some local dishes that are naturally gluten-free. It is a good idea to have an idea of some local delicacies you can enjoy, especially in a foreign country. This way you can experience local food culture and stay safe.

6. Fresh is best – No matter where you are you can usually get some simply grilled fish with vegetables and salad and not have to worry about a gluten attack. When in doubt stay away from soups, sauces and anything fried.

When time allows, I make a point of always trying to find the local markets and buying some fresh fruits, cheeses, etc to have on hand in the hotel room or when out for the day. This is another way to explore the culture and if the street food is questionable I will always have something to eat. Your little lunch box comes in handy here too.

7. Drink plenty of bottle water - No matter how careful you are, you may accidentally ingest some gluten. Drinking plenty of water will help flush it out of your system faster. Also it really helps with jet lag to stay hydrated.

8. Take probiotics – Buy the strongest probiotics you can find and take double the dose every day. This is good practice anyway for anyone with gluten intolerance but especially when traveling. This will help with digestive issues.

9. Digestive Enzymes – Many problems associated with gluten intolerance and celiac disease are digestive. Taking digestive enzymes before each meal, especially when traveling where you are not certain of getting a completely gluten-free meal will help break down the food and allow for greater absorption of nutrients and assist in normalizing the inflammatory responses to eating a little gluten by mistake. Products like Glutenease are specifically formulated for breaking down the gluten proteins. But beware – taking Glutenease or other enzymes is not a license to eat gluten! They should be viewed as a precaution, not a cure.

10. Utilize the minibar – I don’t mean drink the tiny $10.00 bottles of gin so you don’t care if you eat gluten or not, I mean use the minibar to store your own perishable gluten-free snacks in your hotel room. Better yet ask for a mini fridge to be brought the room. I always ask but am not always accommodated so the minibar stands in. I just take out the items that don’t necessarily need to be in there (bottles of water, soda cans, bottles of liquor), store them right on top of or next to the minibar and let the hotel staff know I have not used them and will return them when I check out – this way I don’t get charged for the items by mistake.

A note for people who will be camping and backpacking - You will of course have better control of the food you eat because you will be taking your own food with you. This is the good news. Tasty Bite makes a whole line of shelf stable food that requires no refrigeration and is light weight. As the name implies, they are very tasty and quick to prepare. They also are made with no preservatives and come in gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and Kosher. You can pack up whole, healthy meals that can be prepared in just a few minutes. Supplement with some fresh foods if you are taking a cooler and you will be assured of eating well. Don’t forget to take some gluten-free trail mix and jerky for hiking.

These are my gluten-free travel favorite tips – what’s yours? Leave a comment below so others can benefit from your experience.

For some delicious bars to take with you on the plane, try these Pistachio Fruit Bars. They are easy to make and will travel well for the day. For longer term storage they should be refrigerated.

Pistachios are a great source of protein with no cholesterol and are loaded with nutrients which will help you sustain energy throughout the day. Cherries are a natural source of melatonin which will help combat jet lag. Apricots help fight constipation which can always be a problem when traveling. These bars are packed with antioxidants which will help combat the effects of airplane air and strange germs. Oh, and they are absolutely delicious!

Gluten Free Pistachio Fruit Bars

(Printable)

Ingredients

2 cups roasted pistachios
2 cups raw almonds
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried tart cherries
½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
½ cup coconut oil – at room temperature
6 tablespoons agave nectar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch by 12 inch baking pan with parchment paper allowing the paper to stick up by a couple inches on two sides..

Place the almonds and sesame seeds on separate baking sheets. Toast the almonds and sesame seeds until warm, lightly browned and fragrant – about 10 minutes for the almonds and about 5 or 6 minutes for the sesame seeds. Watch carefully so they don’t burn. Let cool slightly.

Place the pistachios in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and grind until they are coarsely chopped. Add the almonds, apricots, cherries and salt and process until the nuts and fruit come together in a sticky ball. Add the coconut oil and agave and process until you have a thick cohesive dough. Add the sesame seeds and process in long pulses until they are blended into the dough.

Press the mixture into the prepared pan evenly and firmly. Refrigerate until cold and firm, about 1 hour. Pull out the parchment paper with the chilled mixture out of the pan and cut into squares or rectangles.

Makes 12 - 3 inch by 4 inch bars.

Answers from a Gluten Doctor - Part 10 Gluten Intolerance and Exhaustion

2010-08-02T11:43:00.000-04:00

(photo source)

The above photo depicts exactly how I felt when I first went to Dr. Vikki. Despite being young and having seen numerous doctors who all said I was perfectly well, I was tired. All the time! I was in fact, sick and tired of being sick and tired. Fortunately for me, Dr. Vikki took the time to really get to the bottom of what was going on. It was then we discovered I am gluten intolerant and that the continual eating of gluten based foods was at the root of my health issues.

Here is the next question addressed by Dr. Vikki.

Q - I discovered I was gluten intolerant because I was severely exhausted and as it turned out had Stage 4 Adrenal Exhaustion. Can you tell us if this is a common situation and why you thought to check for gluten intolerance because of exhaustion?

Thank you for this excellent question as it addresses one of the many systems of the body that gluten affects. The adrenal glands are the stress glands. You have two of them and they are located above your kidneys. They are responsible for many different aspects of health. When they are fatigued or exhausted, one can expect such symptoms as:

Fatigue
Weakened immune system
Weight gain (esp. around the mid-section)
Sugar cravings
Unstable blood sugar / Hypoglycemia
Sleep trouble
Hormonal imbalance
Depression, irritability, anxiety
Thyroid problems
Joint and organ inflammation
Allergy and asthma symptoms
Light headedness

As you can see by the diversity of the symptoms, the adrenal glands are responsible for the functioning of many systems of the body.

When evaluating why someone would be suffering from such symptoms, it is critical to evaluate the most issues that stress the adrenal glands themselves. In addition to extreme lifestyle stress, the most common source of stress is poor absorption of nutrients. It makes sense that if the body is incapable of absorbing the nutrition from the food that is being ingested that would result in bodily malfunction. That is indeed the case and the adrenal glands are very sensitive to malabsorption as they are responsible for keeping blood sugar levels stable. Such a job is next to impossible with the malabsorption seen with gluten sensitivity and digestive problems.

It is interesting to note that the number of systems affected by adrenal stress are unique to the individual. In other words, the entire list of symptoms mentioned above would not all be present in each and every individual suffering from adrenal fatigue. Typically one finds two to four symptoms positive. Occasionally in a more severely ill patient, most symptoms are present, but that is not typical.

Knowing the symptoms of adrenal fatigue well allows us, as clinicians, to go beyond the concept of one treatment for every symptom and to delve deeper into isolating the root cause of the symptoms. Which would you prefer? A separate drug for your fatigue, sleep problems and joint pain OR discovering the root cause beneath all the symptoms such as gluten intolerance or malabsorption of nutrients. We prefer, and are dedicated to, the latter.

Therefore when a patient arrives to see us with symptoms such as exhaustion, a red flag goes up. We “know” that we are likely looking at adrenal exhaustion but the next question is, why? What is the underlying cause of this condition? Yes, we could simply “treat” the adrenals with nutritional support. But what good is that if the reason behind the problem is not revealed!

It is the search and determination to reveal the root cause that defines our practice. I think it should define more of health care in this country, but I realize that I am extremely biased on the topic! The human body has an amazing capacity to self-heal once enough stressors are removed from it. Adrenal exhaustion is quite epidemic in this country and little is done to treat it until the symptoms have become diseases in their own right. There is no reason to wait.

One of the most exciting aspects of treating the adrenals is that they prefer and respond well to a natural program. No drugs nor surgery are required. Lifestyle changes are a must, but those are not difficult to sustain once improved energy and vitality result.

I hope you find this helpful. Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you require any assistance.

Yours in health,
Dr Vikki Petersen
Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

For more on adrenal exhaution please read here.

Answers from a Gluten Doctor - Part 9 The Most Important Thing About Being Gluten Free

2010-07-02T11:41:00.000-04:00

photo source

So I wanted to find out from Dr. Vikki what she felt was the most important thing to know when starting a gluten-free diet for health reasons.

Q. What would you consider the most important thing for a person newly diagnosed to really comprehend?

A. Based on over 20 years of clinical experience with patients, I would say that the most important thing for a newly diagnosed individual to comprehend is that gluten is truly NOT their friend.

There are some maxims like: “Everything in moderation” and “A little won’t kill you” and “It’s what you eat the majority of the time that matters” and “It’s okay, live a little”… You no doubt have heard most of them. And while in the main I wouldn’t disagree, gluten, unfortunately is in its own unique category.

Research shows us that cheating is a terrible idea. And it goes way beyond some temporary digestive complaints or a headache. We’re talking about increasing your risk of cancer, autoimmune disease and early death.

“Non-adherence to the gluten free diet, defined as eating gluten once-per-month increased the relative risk of death 600%.” Lancet 2001.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999 tells us that “both benign and malignant complications of celiac disease occur but these can often be avoided by early diagnosis and compliance with a gluten-free diet.”

When friends try to tempt you, explain to them that gluten is closer to rat poison for you than it is a food. Ask them how they would feel if you offered them “just a little rat poison”! It may sound dramatic but it has worked very well for patients who find it hard to say no to friends and family.

My other concern involves a certain sector of the celiac community who yet believe that if you don’t have celiac disease then you don’t REALLY have a problem. Nothing could be further from the truth and even those doctors who historically felt that way, did a reversal last year when more research came to light. I’m specifically speaking about Dr. Peter Green from New York and Dr. Alessio Fasano from the University of Maryland.

So please don’t get intimidated by those who might say that gluten sensitivity is just a minor form of the more serious celiac disease. Whether you are celiac or gluten sensitive it is critical that you consume NO gluten.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen
Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

For more information from the amazing Dr, Vikki read the previous 8 posts in this series on this blog ( Common Symptoms, Diagnosis, What Now?, What About Dairy?, Why is it the better we are the better we have to be? Testing, Tesing, Testing, Gluten Free Diets and Nutritional Deficiency and Supplements ) and check out Dr. Vikki's blog.

Answers From a Gluten Doctor - Part 8 Supplements

2010-06-16T11:41:00.000-04:00

Now that Dr. Vikki has cleared up the subject of nutritional deficiencies of a gluten free diet I thought the next logical question was on the subject was of supplementation i.e. vitamins and nutritional supplements.

Are there any nutritional supplements you would recommend specifically for the gluten intolerant?

Those who are gluten sensitive tend to have certain deficiencies. Vitamins A, D and K are often deficient, as are the minerals calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron. We also often find vitamin B12 to be deficient.

With that in mind it’s good to supplement those. Vitamin B12 and D are easy vitamin statuses to get from blood tests and both are extremely important for good health. Take the time to get them measured and supplement appropriately. I prefer a liquid form of both and remember D3 is much better absorbed than D2.

If you are a menstruating woman and are iron deficient you may need to take iron daily for a couple of months and after that only taking it when you’re menstruating should be sufficient. Do monitor it however because being iron deficient is very exhausting and truly not difficult to fix.

If you are no longer menstruating or are a man, monitor your iron levels closely as being deficient is not good, but an excess is unhealthy as well.

Since mineral levels are often compromised a good mineral/bone formula is important for everyone and most especially for women who are more prone to osteoporosis. If you’re over 40 a bone density test would be a good idea. It is believed that much bone loss attributed to osteoporosis and osteopenia can be reversed when caught early enough so take your minerals daily near the end of your day for best absorption.

Probiotics are very crucial for gut health so I do recommend that my gluten sensitive patients supplement with a good human strain of a combination of healthful bacteria. It might be something you take for life, but well worth it considering everything we know about their benefits.

Sometimes there is a need for pancreatic enzymes and hydrochloric acid to enhance digestion and absorption following the damage created from gluten sensitivity. Good food is critical but if your body can’t digest and absorb it it’s all for naught. We have lab tests that give us this information typically, but trying some enzymes to see how you feel with them is fine as well.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen
Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

For more fantastic information from Dr. Vikki, visit her blog, And if you haven't yet read the previous posts on this blog from Dr. Vikki, now is the time to get all caught up!

Answers from a Gluten Doctor - Part 7 Gluten-free Diets & Nutritional Deficiency

2010-06-11T11:37:00.000-04:00

Recently there seems to be a lot of mis-information going around stating that gluten-free diets may be or are causing other nutritional deficiencies. So I decided to pose the question to our favorite gluten-free doctor, Dr. Vikki Petersen. For those of you who do not already know Dr. Vikki, she is a leader in the field of gluten intolerance, author of the book The Gluten Effect and co-founder of HeathNow Medical Center in California.

Q - Is there any particular nutritional deficiency we gluten intolerant can get by eliminating gluten and if so what should we do about it?

A - Nutritional deficiencies are much more common from untreated gluten sensitivity than from removing gluten from the diet.

The deficiencies associated with being gluten sensitive are: low calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Additionally vitamins A, D and K are often deficient.

The biggest mistake I see patients make when beginning a gluten-free diet is to overindulge in the processed, simple carbohydrate-type foods. It’s wonderful that gluten-free pasta, cereal, waffles and brownies exist gluten-free. But they should not be eaten on a daily basis as they are stripped of healthy nutrients.

Many of the foods that are naturally gluten-free are the healthiest and should be consumed daily. Every day you should eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables – heavier on the dark green vegetables please. Beans, legumes, whole grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, millet and brown rice are also naturally gluten-free and very healthy. Don’t forget about the good fat in the form of olive oil, coconut oil, raw nuts and avocados. If you eat animal protein, ensure that it’s hormone-free and as “clean” as possible.

Exercise regularly and drink about 8 glasses of purified water per day. If you do all this and don’t have any secondary issues such as adrenal fatigue, hormonal imbalance, intestinal infection, etc, then you should be very well nourished on the diet I have laid out above.

I hope this helps. Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.

To your good health,

Dr. Vikki Petersen
Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

For more information from the fabulous Dr. Vikki, make sure and check out her blog.

Answers From A Gluten Doctor - Part 6 Testing, Testing, Testing

2010-04-27T11:36:00.000-04:00

From the number of emails I received requesting that Dr. Vikki clarify testing for gluten sensitivity, appparently I am not the only one cofussed.

I recently had a blood test (ordered from another doctor) and he proceeded to tell me I tested negative for gluten intolerance. As we know I have tested positive many times in the past and the simple truth is when I eat gluten I feel like crap and when I don’t, well, I don’t. Did I test negative because I have been gluten free for so long? Any advice to others that have a similar experience?

Let’s begin by reviewing the various tests available for diagnosing gluten sensitivity and celiac disease as well as their accuracy level and any inherent weaknesses.

The following tests are used to rule in Gluten Sensitivity and not to rule it out because there are many false negative test results. If any one of the testing methods below shows a positive reaction to gluten then you need to consider yourself gluten sensitive.

1. Small Intestinal Biopsy –an invasive test showing specific cellular changes associated with celiac disease. If it’s positive it means you have celiac diseases and have lost most of the surface area of your small intestine which is very serious. It is not considered a sensitive test because so much damage has to occur before it is positive. It is possible to have celiac disease in an early stage or gluten sensitivity without this test showing positive.

2. IEL (intraepithelial lymphocyte) count –an early marker for celiac as well as gluten sensitivity, but it can only be done invasively, similar to the small intestine biopsy.

3. Serum anti- transglutaminase – a blood test that is the first test typically used to determine the presence of celiac disease. Similar to the intestinal biopsy it only tends to be positive once severe damage to the small intestine has occurred.

4. Deamidated anti-gliadin antibodies – a blood test used to detect celiac disease. This is considered to be one of the more sensitive tests currently.

5. Genetic Testing – a simple buccal swab will let you know if you carry the HLA DQ 2, 8, 1 or 3 gene. (The latter two are felt to be associated with gluten sensitivity vs the first two that are associated with celiac disease.) Having the gene shows a susceptibility but doesn’t guarantee that you will get the disease.

To your good health,

Dr. Vikki Petersen

Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”
http://www.healthnowmedical.com/
http://www.glutendoctors.blogspot.com/

Answers from a Gluten Doctor - Part 5 Why is it the better we are with diet, the better we have to be?

2010-04-02T11:35:00.000-04:00

With a Holiday weekend coming up some of us may be tempted to stray from our gluten-free diets. What is it about holidays that make us think we can do or eat thing we would not ordinarily do or eat?

Read what Dr. Vikki Petersen has to say about how this affects us and answers a puzzling question as to why some of us notice symptoms from gluten so much more AFTER taking gluten out of our diet.

Ok so here’s a question particularly dear to me. Before I knew I was gluten intolerant I ate a diet that consisted of mainly wheat products – bagels, pasta, bread, etc. I didn’t really notice any symptoms immediately after eating gluten back then but now if I have the tiniest bit of it I can tell, I immediately get bloated, headachy and what I can only think of as allergy symptoms like sneezing, runny eyes, etc. I remember you telling me long ago that when it came to eating “the better you are the better you have to be” can you explain?

Here’s an analogy: If you had a tub of muddy water and you added more mud would it make a big difference? What if you had a tub of pristinely clean and clear water? Now add some mud. You would notice that mud more in the second example, right?

Similarly when you have been eating gluten your intestine (or another system such as your nervous system) is typically inflamed. Adding more inflammation isn’t necessarily noticed. It’s difficult to “feel” malabsorption or nervous system inflammation. You just know that you’re tired or you get headaches or PMS. But because those symptoms aren’t a tummy ache or instant bloating you don’t associate them with food.

Once you remove gluten from your diet your body begins to heal. It becomes more like that clean, clear tub of water. After many months of being off gluten, ingestion of it can cause quite a dramatic response. Why? Because now that your body has healed somewhat it can give you feedback of what it “thinks” about this substance gluten. Inflaming healthy tissue often gives a more noticeable response.

We see this time and time again and it always results in the same question as you have posed: “Now that I’m behaving why does my body have such a dramatic response when I have just a little gluten?”

The good news is that it shows you have been diligent staying away from it and you ARE healing.

Unfortunately the counter is true as well. If you were to continue eating gluten again despite that initial intense response, those symptoms would abate, giving you a very false sense of security. The waters have once again become so muddy that you cannot discern the addition of more mud!

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen

Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

http://www.healthnowmedical.com/

http://www.glutendoctors.blogspot.com/

OK, so that answers my question and it is personally good to know that that symptoms I get when I accidentally eat something with gluten in it are actually a good sign.

So for the sake of your body, resist the urge to break your gluten-free diet this weekend (or ever for that matter) and have a GREAT holiday!

Don't forget, if you have a specific question you would like answered by Dr. Vikki, leave it in the comments section and I will be do a round up of your questions.

Check out Dr. Vikki's blog at The Gluten Doctors and her clinic at HealthNow Medical.

Answers from a Gluten Doctor - Part 4 What About Dairy?

2010-03-25T11:34:00.000-04:00

(photo source)

In part 4 of our series, renowned gluten sensitity specialist, Dr. Vikki Petersen answers the question of consuming dairy for the gluten intolerant.

I can tolerate dairy fine but you still had me go off of it for 6 weeks in the beginning when I first went off gluten. Why? Is this something you would recommend to others?

As I frequently state in my own blog, if you don’t like change then definitely do not enter the field of clinical nutrition! As more research emerges our recommendations change and the advice you mention was our operating basis several years ago. The reasoning at the time was that since the lactase enzyme is manufactured at the tips of the villi in the small intestine, irritation of these due to gluten sensitivity may very well compromise the production of this enzyme resulting in difficulty digesting dairy products. So it was suggested that dairy be eliminated initially until healing had begun to occur in the intestine.

However as time has passed we’ve come to realize that dairy products should perhaps not be considered a “food” at all! Much like you don’t see human mother’s breast milk for sale on your local grocer’s shelves, it seems that the consuming of another mammal’s milk (designed to feed their young – an animal that weighs 10x more than we do once fully grown) is perhaps not the healthiest food choice.

Add to that the fact that in this country dairy products contain the highest concentration of toxins per gram of any other food, it’s a known source of gut inflammation and a source of xenoestrogens (estrogens that we ingest from our environment) - known carcinogens. [I would recommend the book The China Study to anyone desiring to know more about this.]

Dr. Alessio Fasano from the University of Maryland stated in a wonderful article in Scientific American July 2009 that the presence of gluten in a sensitive individual is not enough to cause problems unless there is already some extant damage in the gut. Could this damage be caused in part from dairy products? Likely.

Organic butter is allowed because it has no antibiotic or hormonal residues due to its organic nature plus since butter is basically fat it has little if any protein milk solids, the culprit in this story.

Fortunately there are a plethora of products available to make your dairy transition an easy one. Some of my favorites are: almond milk, rice milk, coconut milk. For ice cream substitutions try Bliss, it’s a coconut-based ice cream and delicious. For cheese substitutions try daiya. It can be found online at http://www.veganessentials.com/ and some other websites as well. It’s delicious, melts beautifully and is an arrowroot and tapioca base - incredible but true.

And don’t forget to enjoy all of Carol’s dairy-free recipes. She’s a genius!

I hope this helps and please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen
Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Hmm, so personally I find the news about organic butter pretty exciting but maybe I just may have to give up the cream in my coffee.

Please remeber that I will be doing a round up of questions with anwers by Dr. Vikki so if you have something you want to ask her, email me or leave a comment here.

Answers from a Gluten Doctor - Part 3 Now What?

2010-03-18T11:33:00.000-04:00

Continuing on in our series of questions answered by renowned gluten doctor, Dr. Vikki Peteresen, is the answer to the question "What now?" - just eliminating gluten from the diet and home is not enough as you are about to discover in Dr. Vikki's answer.

Once one has determined they have a gluten sensitivity what’s the best course of action to start healing the body?

The first course of action is to immediately eliminate all gluten from your diet. It’s best to clean out your refrigerator and pantry and give the food away to a non-gluten challenged friend. Dairy products are also discouraged (organic butter is fine- it is a fat and doesn’t contain much of any milk solids, a protein) as they tend to be very inflammatory to the digestive tract, something you don’t need when you’re trying to heal it.

Once you are convinced that no gluten remains in your home, it would be a good idea to give a good cleaning to any kitchen items that may contain remnants of gluten. The toaster is traditionally the biggest culprit but look around for anything else.

Next acquaint yourself with a local grocery store and on-line stores that carry gluten-free food items. While I don’t encourage a tremendous amount of refined, simple carbohydrates, everyone likes a little treat now and again, so you need to have some things on hand that will allow you to have a pleasure moment. Whether it’s a rice pasta or Carol’s wonderful baking flour, make sure that you have these things on hand so you won’t be tempted to cheat.

My website, http://www.healthnowmedical.com/ has a nice page discussing exactly what you can and can’t eat as well as where gluten may sneak into certain foods. So feel free to visit and get more educated. Once you know the ingredients to look out for and some synonyms for gluten, then start reading labels in earnest before you buy anything. The labeling laws have improved markedly over recent years, so it’s much easier to make selections.

Now that you diet has no gluten in it (and hopefully no dairy either) I encourage you to consume foods that will help you to heal and detoxify. It’s interesting to note that the most bioactive foods are all found in the plant category. Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collard greens, spinach and bok choy are all very therapeutic. Further, broccoli rabe, cabbage, cauliflower, etc should be consumed in abundance. Try to eat organically as much as possible and eat at home more where you know what quality you’re getting.

You also need to take some proactive steps to heal your small intestine. Whether you’re suffering from complete villous atrophy from celiac disease or inflammation and loss of normal function due to gluten intolerance, restoring the integrity and health to your small intestine is critical to the attainment of good health.

Try to find a clinician that specializes in this area to assist you. If there isn’t one local to you then please let me know and I can try to assist you. It is an unfortunate fact that there aren’t sufficient numbers of clinicians specializing in this area.

Meanwhile make sure that your Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Iron and Calcium levels are tested. These are standard tests that an M.D. can order for you. If any are found to be deficient you should start augmenting with a good supplement. Both B12 and D can be given in a liquid form to enhance absorption as they are fat soluble vitamins.

Attaining healing is often accompanied by the removal of more than just gluten. Often organisms such as bacteria, parasites, amoeba and the like have taken up residence in your intestine due to a gluten-induced weakened immune system. These organisms rarely leave on their own and need to be “driven out”. But first they need to be diagnosed and that requires a comprehensive stool analysis. I know this isn’t something you can do on your own but I am happy to assist you to find someone. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this point as we have seen that most patients do not regain their health simply by eliminating gluten. Healing won’t take place in an inflamed, infected intestine. But don’t despair, the test is easy and treatment is not difficult either.

After removing gluten and any inhospitable organisms and supplementing with needed nutrients, one also needs to re-inoculate the gut with the healthy probiotics. These are absolutely critical in helping to discourage any new inhospitable “guests” not to mention they are anti-inflammatory and a boon to the immune system. Try to get human strains of these organisms in capsules that contain about 20 billion organisms.

This may sound like a lot to do but just take it step by step and please do let me know if I can assist in any way. It would be my pleasure to do so.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen
Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

If you have any specific questions for Dr. Vikki, leave them in the comments and I will do a "round up" of questions and answers in a few weeks.

By the way, the flour blend Dr. Vikki refers to is a blend I developed while writting my dessert cookbook. I am very excited about it and sent some to Dr. Vikki to test out. It is in the process of being produced commercially and I will let you know when it is avaiable.

Answers from a Gluten Doc - Part 2 Diagonsis

2010-03-10T11:33:00.000-05:00

Continuing with our discussion from highly acclaimed pioneer in the treatment of gluten sensitivity, Dr. Vikki Petersen, we tackle the often confussing subject of diagnosis.

Q. I recently had a blood test (ordered from another doctor) and he proceeded to tell me I tested negative for gluten intolerance. As we know I have tested positive many times in the past and the simple truth is when I eat gluten I feel like crap and when I don’t, well, I don’t. Did I test negative because I have been gluten free for so long? Any advice to others that have a similar experience?

A. There is a tremendous amount of confusion in this area and I’m happy to try to clear it up.

First it’s important to know exactly what test your doctor ran. Tests for celiac disease are blood tests and the typical ones are tTG and endomysial antibody. Both are fairly sensitive for celiac that is severe, but would “never” show up on an individual who had already eliminated gluten from their diet. Even in untreated celiacs those tests are negative 15% of the time, so they are far from perfect. But for someone who is still eating gluten, feeling ill and wants to know if they have celiac disease, those tests are a fine place to start.

However, a negative blood test above definitely does not rule out gluten sensitivity. If you don’t have celiac disease I very much encourage patients to rule out gluten sensitivity. This is the plan I recommend: Get a blood, saliva and/or stool test for the gliadin antibody. IgA is the best test for saliva and IgG is best for blood – here at the clinic we run both.

Note: When ordering the antigliadin antibody test, both IgG and IgA, be sure the lab does not substitute the deamidated antigliadin test. This test is only accurate for celiac disease and its associated villous atrophy – we’re trying to test for gluten sensitivity which is very different. The non-deamidated tests “ask” your immune system if it’s reacting negatively to the protein gliadin, the definition of a gluten sensitive body.

A positive test means that you are gluten sensitive and need to eliminate gluten from your diet. But a negative test is not definitive because these tests are not as sensitive as they need to be and sometimes there are false negatives. Do not despair! The gold standard for gluten sensitivity is simply what you’ve already done. Remove gluten from your diet for 30 days and see how you feel. If your health is improved that is a positive test right there. Compound that with the fact that when you do stumble upon gluten you don’t feel well and you have all the data you need – you ARE gluten sensitive. No doubt about it.

The other point to know is that when you’ve been off gluten for several months your immune system is unlikely to react to gluten as it hasn’t “seen” it for a while. The only test that claims accuracy even with no gluten in the diet is the Enterolab stool test. I only have experience through patient results but it does seem to be quite accurate. You can contact them on-line, it’s non-invasive and you don’t need to reintroduce gluten before testing.

Dr. Vikki has literally written the book on gluten intolerance, The Gluten Effect and is co-founder and co-director of the renowned clinic HeathNow Medical. You can also visit her blog The Gluten Doctors.

Answers from a Gluten Doctor - Part 1 Common Symptoms

2010-02-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

Meet Dr. Vikki Petersen. Dr. Petersen is a Chiropractor and Certified Clinical Nutritionist, is co-founder and co-director (along with her husband, Dr. Richard Petersen) of the renowned HealthNow Medical Center and acclaimed author of the book The Gluten Effect .

Dr. Vikki (as she is known at her medical practice) is acknowledged as a pioneer in advances to identify and treat gluten sensitivity. Recently featured in an exclusive interview on CNN Headline News, she is also endorsed by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness & The Gluten Intolerance Group of North America for her contributions to gluten awareness in our country.

Prior to becoming a doctor, Vikki was a world class figure skater, she has a fabulous marriage which has produced three great kids and she is gorgeous to boot (inside and out)! Dr. Vikki is my doctor and a very dear friend.

Despite her impossibly busy schedule Dr. Vikki has graciously agreed to participate in a series posts for this blog answering questions about gluten and gluten sensitivity. Vikki has unique perspective when it comes to treating celiac and gluten sensitivity as she and various family members of hers are gluten intolerant. So she not only knows of what she preaches, she practices it as well.

For the first in this series I thought we should start at the beginning with the question:

What are the most common symptoms of Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance?

Well I’m glad you asked for the “most common” because if you just asked for symptoms I’d be writing a list of over 200!

For celiac the common symptoms are weight loss, diarrhea or constipation, bloating, gas, abdominal pain, failure to thrive (in children) also short stature in children, itchy skin rash, joint pain, fatigue, canker sores, tingling or numbness in hands and feet, discolored teeth or loss of enamel.

Also see if any of the following have been diagnosed by you or your children: iron deficiency anemia, depression, type 1 diabetes, Sjogren’s disease, IBS, peripheral neuropathy, Turner syndrome, dermatitis herpetiformis, infertility, osteoporosis or osteopenia, thyroid disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, intestinal cancer, down syndrome, Williams syndrome.

If an immediate family member has been diagnosed with celiac or an autoimmune disease your chances are much higher for being at risk for celiac.

For gluten sensitivity the symptoms include all those above plus more.

Those directly related to someone who has already been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity should always be tested, but those suffering with any of the following list of diseases should also get tested:

• Chronic intestinal problems
• Infertility or recurrent miscarriage
• Chronic anemia
• Osteoporosis
• Migraine Headaches
• Obesity
• Arthritis
• Memory loss
• Psoriasis
• Eczema
• IBS
• Bipolar or Schizophrenia
• Increased liver enzymes
• Low thyroid (Hypothyroid)
• ADD or ADHD
• Autism
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Restless Legs Syndrome
• Sleep Apnea
• Type I or II diabetes
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Any Autoimmune Disease

WOW! I don’t know about you but I was shocked and a little frightened to see how encompassing this “partial” list of symptoms is. It makes me wonder about how many people out there have been misdiagnosed or incompletely diagnosed and solutions of their health problems are not being found!

If you have any specific questions you would like me get answered by Dr. Vikki, leave it in the comments or you can visit her blog The Gluten Doctors.