IgA - What We Know

This is a great piece on IgA antibody testing from the lab that we use (US Biotek Laboratories) at the IBS Treatment Center.

From USBiotek.com:

• Impairment of humoral and mucosal immune responses, or oral tolerance, plays a contributing role to the pathogenesis of disease. The breakdown of this tolerance may result in abnormal processing of food proteins in the gut resulting in pro-inflammatory food antigen handling.

• Research studies suggest elevated serum antibodies, IgE, IgG or IgA to food proteins are markers of this immune intolerance. For example, elevated IgA antigliadin is a proven useful marker of the immune reaction in the small intestine triggered by gluten, in celiac disease.

The immunological trigger effects of specific-IgA antibodies merit close consideration for the screening and management of chronic inflammatory disease conditions where there is a suspected loss of oral tolerance.

IgA represents a primary immune reaction. The half-life is about 5-6 days, compared to IgG which is about 20-24 days, and indicative of an ongoing immune reaction. The assessment of the both antibodies offers a comprehensive picture.

IgA antibodies provide early defense against many antigens. IgA in the form of secretory IgA, sIgA, is produced from initial exposure to antigen. It represents local or mucosal immunity. sIgA binds and excludes antigen present in the intestinal tract, preventing excessive systemic absorption, for example, food peptides, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi; proteins that are normally restricted to the intestinal tract.

IgA antibody is found in many mucous secretions other than that of the gut for the same purpose of immune exclusion including saliva, tears, respiratory and genitourinary tracts.

It continues...

Baby Formulas

New mothers and babies have many things to learn and discover, maybe the most important being feeding. Breast milk is well recognized as the ideal source of nutrition for babies, proven by thousands of years of motherly research.

No formula can provide the immune components and nutritional benefits that breast feeding does, but there are many circumstances when babies need to be fed formula. But which one is best for you and your baby?

Infant Formula Basics

There are many brands of formula on the market. Most of these can be divided into two basic categories, being either dairy or soy based formulas. Traditionally, formula has been dairy based, but demand for an alternative has led to an almost equal number of soy based formulas now found on store shelves. It seems strange that the first food that we introduce to our babies is milk from a cow, but maybe that is because we see so many people at our clinic who have dairy allergies.

Unfortunately, soy is not always a better alternative, as many people have a soy allergy or otherwise have difficulty digesting soy. But soy allergies are less common than dairy allergies. Notably, these formulas also usually contain corn products.

Lactose Free Formulas

Lactose intolerance, an enzyme defi ciency, is another issue to consider. Some people who are not allergic to dairy may still have a lactose intolerance. Standard formulas such as Regular Similac Advance, Enfamil Lipil, and Nestle Good Start Supreme contain both lactose and cow’s milk based proteins. But there are also lactose free formulas, such as Lactofree and Similac Lactose free. These will help an infant with a lactose intolerance, but they still contain dairy proteins such as casein and are not appropriate for infants with a dairy allergy.

Gluten Free Recipe: Double Chocolate Walnut Brownies

This wonderful recipe is thanks to ElanasPantry.com. Please visit her wonderful website for much more.

Ingredients:

½ cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao
¼ cup coconut flour
½ celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
½ agave nectar
¼ grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped walnuts
⅓ cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

Directions:

1. Place ½ cup chocolate chips in Food Processor and pulse until the consistency of coarse sand
2. Pulse in coconut flour, salt and baking soda until combined
3. Pulse in eggs, agave, grapeseed oil and vanilla
4. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pyrex dish
5. Sprinkle walnuts and remaining chocolate chips over batter
6. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes
7. Cool and serve

Understanding and Defining Celiac Disease

What is celiac disease?

While many people may have never heard of celiac disease, it is actually a fairly common problem. In fact, 1 out of every 133 people has it. That is over 2 million people in this country. It is really more of an allergy than a disease, although it is typically called an intolerance to gluten.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, triticale, and couscous. People who have celiac disease cannot eat any foods made out of these flours. Gluten is the thing that makes bread, well, bread. It allows bread to rise and keeps it together with lots of nice little air pockets, making your bread light and spongy. Without gluten it is difficult to make bread that is not heavy and dense.

What are the symptoms of celiac disease?

The symptoms vary widely. Celiac disease is typically thought of as a condition that causes
diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas and bloating. However, many people do not experience these symptoms at all. They may experience constipation, weight gain, fatigue, headaches, heartburn, skin problems such as eczema and acne, or any number of health problems.

What exactly happens to the body in celiac disease?

In people with celiac disease, eating gluten leads to damage of the small intestine. Damage is specifically done to the villi of the small intestine. Villi are tiny finger-like extensions of the surface of the intestinal tract. They can only be seen under a microscope. In celiac disease the villi are in essence worn down, or blunted. This is known as villous atrophy. It’s something like the difference between holding your hand open with your fingers out, and having your hand clenched into a fist. The fist represents the blunted villi.

Ear Infections & Dairy Allergies

Do you ever wonder why some kids get lots of ear infections, often resulting in multiple doses of antibiotics and eventually tubes in their ears?

Why don't the antibiotics ever completely solve the problem? 



Ears require drainage by the eustachian tube, which opens into the back of the throat. In young children this tube is not fully developed and is very susceptible to being blocked by inflammation. Anything that causes inflammation can block the eustachian tube, resulting in a warm moist breeding ground for bacteria in the inner ear. 



Antibiotics kill the bacteria, temporarily, but they don't change the inflammation of the eustachian tube or the breeding ground. This is when placing a tube through the tympanic membrane is recommended.

These don't solve the inflammatory problem either, but they do get the drainage going. 

The real cause of the problem is the inflammation of the eustachian tube. Usually this inflammation is caused by a food allergy, most often dairy. Children generally drink and eat a lot of dairy.

Invariably it's the very first food introduced into the diet. 

A milk allergy is by far the most common cause of ear infections. Removing dairy from the diet will usually result in complete resolution of this problem. However, occasionally further food allergy testing is required to determine the source of the inflammation.

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More information on ear infections and food allergies at CenterForFoodAllergies.com
Image thanks to mybaby.org

How IBS Can Cause Iron Deficiency and Anemia

Many patients who have digestive problems are also anemic due to low iron or low vitamin B12 levels. This problem causes fatigue, so it should be of interest to many people.

Being anemic and having IBS is not unusual and there is a logical reason for it. First we’ll discuss anemia and then how it relates to IBS and digestive problems.

What is anemia?

Anemia is a common blood disorder that is a decrease in the number of red blood cells (RBCs) and/or poorly formed red blood cells. These are the cells in your blood that carry oxygen. If you are anemic, then you will be tired because you are not delivering as much oxygen to your body as someone who is not anemic.

There are many different types of anemia, but the most common are due to iron deficiency or vitamin B12 deficiency. Iron deficiency anemia will show up on your complete blood count (CBC) as a low RBC count, low hematocrit (Htc), and/or low hemoglobin (Hgb). Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia typically shows up as an increase in the size of the red blood cells. On your CBC it is noted as the MCV.

How to catch low iron before you become anemic?

Iron is stored in the body in a protein form called ferritin. Ferritin levels can be measured with a simple blood test. Ferritin decreases long before iron deficiency anemia is apparent on a complete blood count. Therefore you can often prevent iron deficiency anemia by monitoring your ferritin level.

Digestive Problems and Migraines

Patients with digestive problems often have other problems as well. One of these is migraine headaches. New research on migraine headaches and hidden food allergies draws a clear connection between the two and explains how they can also relate to digestive problems.

Prevalence of Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches are relatively common in the United States, affecting approximately 17% of the women (that’s 51 million people) and 5.5% (16.5 million) of the men in the country.

Severity of Migraines

Migraines are no small matter. Most people who suffer from migraines experience anywhere from 1-4 attacks per month and over half of these people are severely impaired during their headache. They may last for 4 hours or as long as three days. Most migraine headaches involve intense throbbing pain in the head and often include nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound, and potentially other symptoms. Many also are associated with an aura, which is a visual distortion.

Food Allergies Can Cause Migraines

If you follow this newsletter or the IBS Treatment Center, then you know that in many cases digestive problems are caused by what might best be described as hidden food allergies. What you might not be aware of is that hidden food allergies have also been shown to cause migraines.

Children and Digestive Problems

Yes, we do treat children and infants at the IBS Treatment Center. However, children are not usually given the label of having irritable bowel syndrome. Of course, children can suffer from constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas, or any combination of the four. But for some reason doctors don’t use the words IBS, and often don’t seem to think that children suffer as much as adults.

At the IBS Treatment Center we’ve found that children’s digestive problems are very similar to those of adults, and that the causes are generally identical. Digestive problems often get worse as you get older, so more attention is given to adults. But that doesn’t mean that infants and children can’t suffer tremendous discomfort and disruption from their upset tummy. It really isn’t normal to have these problems, at any age.

Infants have only two ways of demonstrating their maldigestion. You either see it, or you hear it. Colic and reflux are two of the most under appreciated and misunderstood problems in infants. A healthy baby is generally a happy baby. They cry when they are hungry, or lonely, or need a diaper change. But they shouldn’t be inconsolable.

If you have a colicky baby, then there is a logical reason. Often this is an expression of inflammation in the digestive tract or a painful buildup of gas due to poor digestion. These two problems are most commonly caused by food allergies and bacterial imbalances. Even if a baby is only breastfeeding it can be experiencing a food allergy via mom’s milk. This is a known medical fact, though many doctors are unaware of it.

Understanding SIBO Testing

SIBO stands for “small intestine bacterial overgrowth.” It is currently popular in some parts of the IBS medical community to view SIBO as the primary cause of irritable bowel syndrome, and to use special testing and special antibiotics to treat SIBO. This article will explore the facts and science behind this approach to IBS.

A bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine is the concept that the wrong kind of bacteria have colonized and over-run the small intestine. This means that bacteria other than Lactobacillus (acidophilus) and Bifidobacter have set up shop and are wreaking havoc with your ability to properly digest your food.

In order to figure out whether or not you are suffering from SIBO a physician may have you undergo a breath test. Breath testing is of course not a direct measurement of the bacteria, but an indirect measurement. The idea is that when you are given something to digest, then you will produce more hydrogen or methane in your breath if you have bad bacteria in your digestive tract.

This may sound plausible, but there is significant research indicating that having the gases at increased levels in your breath does not indicate bacteriological imbalance. Most of the published research on successfully using this type of testing is by, or associated with, one individual doctor who has reported financial connections that pose a potential conflict of interest. That doctor has a financial relationship with the pharmaceutical company that makes the specific antibiotics most often used in SIBO studies.

Internal Medicine News: Diagnosing & Treating Celiac Disease

The doctor interviewed for this article from Internal Medicine News is making statements about celiac testing and that the diet is expensive and imposes social costs.

Comments like this are always interesting. Yes, if you want to exchange all of the high carbohydrate products that you now eat for gluten free options, then it will be more expensive.

However, in the bigger picture of what is truly healthy and good for you, there is relatively little nutritional value in wheat based carbohydrates when compared with vegetables and meats.

I believe that what we should be emphasizing as healthcare practitioners is that this is not only an opportunity to feel healthier by eliminating gluten, but to get much healthier by improving your overall diet. But God forbid that you should have to eat healthier than other people and thus suffer the social consequences of that. (Does that mean that it's a burden to be fit when a majority of Americans are overweight? Think about that.) When apparently it's fine to prescribe medications that are not only expensive but almost always come with a personal cost (side-effects). That is acceptable.

Common Misconceptions about IBS

The biggest misconception is that IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) defines a specific medical condition. IBS is, by definition, just a group of symptoms affecting the digestive tract that haven’t been explained.

Unlike cancer, a stroke, or the flu, IBS is more of a starting point than a diagnosis, because it doesn’t provide any new information. Once a person has the symptoms it is necessary to do additional testing to identify the cause of those symptoms - what you might call an actual diagnosis. Once you have an actual diagnosis, then you can treat whatever it is that causes the symptoms and usually stop them.

A second common misconception is that IBS is only caused by one thing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The digestive tract is very complicated, but can only display a limited range of symptoms. There are many things that can cause constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas, bloating, etc. Any individual might have one or more of the causes at any one time.

There is a wide range of causes of IBS and many patients have more than one cause, sometimes several causes, at the same time. For example, many patients have an allergy to a food, which causes them to have IBS symptoms. But not all IBS patients have food allergies. Many patients have bacterial or microbial issues, for example, not enough of the needed digestive bacteria are living in their digestive tract. But not all IBS patients have bacterial issues. Some patients have food allergies, bacterial/microbial issues, and other factors.

NYTimes.com: Peppermint Oils and Irritable Bowel

Here's another article talking about symptom management. The medical world will do much better at addressing IBS when it acknowledges that there are many different causes and that these causes can often be identified and treated, eliminating the need for symptoms management (with either herbs, 'natural remedies', or drugs.)

From Blogs.NYTimes.com:

The Remedy: Peppermint oil.

The Claim: It relieves symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

The Science: The symptoms — abdominal pain, bloating and frequent trips to the bathroom — sound like a bad case of food poisoning. But for millions of Americans with irritable bowel syndrome, they are a daily reality.

By some estimates, the condition strikes as many as one in five adults, and it can be difficult to treat. Many patients cycle through prescription drugs, fiber supplements, laxatives and even cognitive behavioral therapy. But for those looking for a natural alternative, peppermint oil may be an option.

A cross between watermint and spearmint, the peppermint plant has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy. It is thought to have the ability to relieve some gastrointestinal problems by blocking the flow of calcium into muscle cells in the intestines, which in turn reduces muscle contractions.

In a report financed by the American College of Gastroenterology and published in the journal BMJ in 2008, scientists conducted an analysis of previous studies comparing peppermint oil with placebo in about 400 patients. Ultimately, they found that only 26 percent of patients treated with peppermint oil — typically administered twice daily in capsule form, for a period of one to three months — continued to show symptoms of I.B.S. after treatment, compared with 65 percent of those who were given placebo. The scientists concluded that the evidence was compelling enough that more studies should be conducted, and that in the interim, “current national guidelines for the management of the condition should be updated to include these data.”

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This is an excerpt. Click HERE to read the full article on the NYTimes Health blog

PubMed.gov: Screening for Celiac Disease in Schoolchildren

A recent study published on PubMed.gov highlights a method of screening for Celiac Disease using saliva from children. Also worth noting in this study is that the incidence of celiac in the population was shown to be 1.16%; which is higher than the 1 in 133 that we often cite.

Saliva testing is being newly touted as a screen for celiac disease. It should be considered just that, a screen. The data tells us that it is not a bad test, but that it is not as sensitive as the blood tests. This means that if it is positive, then it's very helpful. But if it's negative, the blood test may still be positive.

The same is true for other types of saliva tests, such as those used for gliadin antibodies/non-celiac gluten intolerance.

From PubMed.gov:

Objective:

The high prevalence of celiac disease (CD) prompted us to evaluate a new, noninvasive disease screening strategy. The aim was to identify CD in 6- to 8-year-old children for a timely diagnosis, start gluten-free diet (GFD) in compliant subjects, achieve the growth target, and prevent CD complications.

Methods:

Five thousand subjects were invited to participate in the study. Four thousand forty-eight saliva samples were tested for anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) immunoglobulin (Ig)A using a fluid-phase radioimmunoprecipitation method.

Positive children were tested for serum radioimmunoassay tTG IgA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tTG IgA, and anti-endomysium IgA. Children confirmed as positive by serum assays underwent endoscopy with duodenal biopsies and, at the diagnosis of CD, were suggested to start GFD.

Today's Gluten-Free Recipe: Ginger Muffins!

This delicious recipe comes from The Food Allergy Mama!

Also important to note: this recipe is actually DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE.

Ingredients:

1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. molasses
1/3 c. soy or rice milk
3/4 c. dairy free sour cream (I use Tofutti)
1 T. water
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt

For Topping:

1 T. granulated sugar
1 T. chopped candied ginger (or more if you want a spicier muffin)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a 12 cup muffin tin with dairy free baking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the oil, molasses, sugar, soy milk, sour cream, water and brown sugar with a rubber spatula until well combined.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice and salt with a wire whisk. Add to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Mix together the 1 T. granulated sugar and chopped candied ginger and sprinkle over the muffin tops. Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool.

Understanding Gastroparesis

The word gastroparesis often gives people the impression that their stomach is paralyzed and that there is nothing that they can do to solve their problem. Fortunately, this is often not the case, certainly not in the same way that someone with a serious spinal cord injury may suffer from paralysis.

The diagnosis of gastroparesis simply means that there is a delay in how long it takes the stomach to empty. It is then typically assumed that this is due to damage to the vagus nerve, which helps control the emptying time of the stomach. In some cases this damage is actually seen or verifi ed. But in many cases is only an assumption of nerve damage based solely on the delayed emptying time of the stomach.

What should be remembered is that a delay in gastric emptying time is a symptom with several potential causes and is not necessarily due to damage to the vagus nerve. Constipation and diarrhea are also symptoms with multiple causes. The fact that one represents a delay in bowel transit time (constipation) and the other represents an expedited transit time (diarrhea) does not mean that there is permanent damage to the nervous system, or even any damage at all to the nervous system.

These symptoms of gastroparesis, diarrhea, and constipation simply mean that the digestive tract isn’t working properly. In the case of gastroparesis, unless you have a confi rmed diagnosis of damage to the vagus nerve, it is very possible that something else is causing it and that you can resolve it.

Gastroparesis is frequently associated with diabetes, and sometimes people assume that if they have diabetes then they must have nerve damage and thus gastroparesis.

Treating Abdominal Pain

People often think that IBS has to involve diarrhea or constipation, but often it does not.

For many people the only obvious symptom is abdominal pain. And the pain can vary from a mild discomfort to incredibly debilitating.

Chronic abdominal pain is one of the top 5 reasons that people to go to the doctor. Unfortunately, for many it is also very poorly treated. The typical approach is to rule out ulcers, appendicitis, gallstones, uterine problems, or cancers.

This may be done with blood work, scopes, scans, ultrasound or other imaging, depending on the problem.

If you have one of the aforementioned problems and it’s found, then your problem should be solved. But many people with abdominal pain do not have an ulceration, appendicitis, gallstones, uterine problems or cancer.

For them, all of the tests come back negative. They are told that nothing is wrong and left with the impression that it’s all in their head.

Of course, something is very wrong. There is always a logical reason for a problem such as abdominal pain, and it’s rarely just a mental or stress issue. But it’s not something that is structural or that you can see with the kinds of tests mentioned above. Unfortunately, those are the only tests most doctors have to offer.

What Do YOU Want to Read About?

If you are reading this blog post, then we would love to hear from you. Our goal is to post articles, thoughts and subject matter that is relevant to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, food allergies, Crohn's disease and much more.

But we want to keep our content interesting. So feel free to post a comment with your thoughts on what you'd like to see more of. We'll do our best to keep it coming!

Thanks for reading and supporting the GlutenFreeDr blog and IBS Treatment Center!

You can also follow us on Twitter (look for GlutenFreeDr) and Facebook (IBS Treatment Center). Please click here (Facebook.com/ibstreatmentcenter) to visit our Facebook page and become a fan.

We need your help and support to keep helping others.

Thank you!

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image thanks to computerclipart.com

Digestive Problems Can Run in the Family

Many patients describe having digestive problems similar to other members of their family. A patient recently expressed that her sister, mom, and even grandma all had digestive problems. So she assumed that her problem was genetic.

Fortunately, she didn’t assume that there was no hope for helping her. That is why she came to our clinic. But many people do not understand that just because a problem runs in the family, does not necessarily mean they have to suffer from it.

What do we mean by that? In most cases these symptoms are caused by something external to the body. By this we mean caused by something in the environment, such as food, bacteria, or yeast.

In many cases the cause is a genetic problem, especially if a food allergy is the trigger. What we often do not realize is that the trigger can be avoided.

We do not have to expose ourselves to the same foods as our relatives, but most of us do. Most people consume very few base foods: wheat, dairy, eggs, potatoes, sugar cane, and a few other things. But we combine them in many different ways with many different flavorings and spices. Therefore family members generally eat the same kinds of foods, even when they do not live together.

Dr. Stephen Wangen's Story

Dr. Wangen’s story:

I was diagnosed with IBS in 1994. Unfortunately, that didn’t make any real difference in my health. So while in medical school I began to research my problem and discovered that I had celiac disease, a reaction to wheat and other common grains.

When I began practicing medicine I found that because of my personal experience with digestive problems I could not only relate to my IBS patients but really help them get to the root of their problem. Not everyone has the same trigger that I do. In fact, getting to the cause of the problem takes some detective work.

I found that it took quite a bit of personal attention and a good understanding of each patient to make satisfactory progress in treating most digestive issues. The standard practice of scheduling several patients at the same time and hopping from room to room after only five or so minutes wasn’t adequate for helping my patients.

So I now schedule at least a half hour with each patient for their first visit. This allows me time to listen to you tell your story about your problem, which is critical to understanding what might be causing it. It also allows me plenty of time to answer your questions, ask all of the questions I need to ask, and to convey all of the information that I want you to know so that you can successfully resolve your problem. This has made everyone happier and resulted in a very high success rate in our clinic.

I hope to have the opportunity to help you too.


-Stephen Wangen, ND

The Inability to Gain Weight

Strange as it might seem to many Americans, a fairly regular complaint of patients is the inability to gain weight. This can be a problem at any age and ranges and can be relevant for infants, children, teenagers, men and women of all ages, and athletes who work out and are trying to put on muscle mass. In fact, it’s common enough that it is well worth writing about.

The inability to gain weight, or in the case of infants and children, poor development or even a failure to thrive, often indicates a problem properly digesting and assimilating nutrients. The next logical question is, “Why isn’t that person able to properly digest and assimilate nutrients?”

There are several possible reasons for this, but the most common one is that they are ingesting things that their body isn’t handling well. These “things” are foods, or what most people consider foods. And in most cases these foods are usually considered healthy foods. Unfortunately, not everyone is meant to eat the same thing, and any food has the potential to be unhealthy for a particular individual.

Most of these people are suffering from food allergies. But these allergies are not the typical kind that your allergist is looking for. These are food allergies that are often leading to digestive symptoms, but at the very least they are leading to the poor absorption of nutrients.

When you have a food allergy, your immune system is attacking that food whenever you ingest it. In a person without food allergies, the immune system ignores food. But all too often we eat things that our immune system does not recognize as food, even though our entire culture, family, and educational system may have told us that it is good for us.

Hypoglycemia and Food Allergies

Do you find that you need to eat every 2-3 hours?

Do you feel like your blood sugar drops to a point where you can’t function anymore?

Do you get tired, shaky, or dizzy and find that if you eat something you feel better?

Do you get irritable when you get hungry?

Do your friends know when it’s time to get some food into you?

What is Hypoglycemia?

People suffering from one or more of these problems have what is commonly referred to as hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Technically, hypoglycemia is not diagnosed until it is very severe, so you are unlikely to have your doctor diagnose you as having hypoglycemia. But in the general public this problem is commonly referred to as hypoglycemia. Unfortunately, many doctors will not explain the difference to you or acknowledge that you may have a form of hypoglycemia.

Some people assume that hypoglycemia is risk factor for developing diabetes. However, diabetes involves an elevation in blood sugar and is therefore the opposite of hypoglycemia.

The only connection is that when people who have diabetes are over-medicated they can develop low blood sugar, which can be very dangerous if blood sugar levels get too low.

How Do You Diagnose It?

Extreme forms of hypoglycemia will show up on a general blood chemistry panel as a glucose level that is below normal. However, many people who experience hypoglycemia have glucose levels that are within the normal range.

Therefore testing your blood glucose level is generally not helpful for diagnosing the most common forms of hypoglycemia described above.

The most reliable way for the average person to determine whether or not they are hypoglycemic is simply to realize that their symptoms go away when they eat. This is a sure sign that you are suffering from hypoglycemia.

IBS and the Gall Bladder

Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea or abdominal pain often wonder if they have a problem with their gallbladder. Problems with the gallbladder can indeed cause these symptoms. However, many people find that having their gallbladder removed did little or nothing to help their IBS, or even made it worse.

What does the gallbladder do?

The gallbladder does exactly what its name describes; it is a small bladder that stores gall. Gall is more commonly known as bile. Bile is produced by the liver and piped over to the gallbladder via the bile duct.

What is bile?

Bile is a highly concentrated yellow green fluid that contains bile acids. Bile acids are important for digesting fats. When you eat, your gallbladder contracts and secretes bile into the small intestine to help you digest your food. If your gallbladder has been removed then it will be more difficult for you to digest fats. In such cases, eating too much fat may cause loose stools.

When does that gallbladder need to be removed?

In some people, stones develop inside of the gallbladder. These stones, when small, can become lodged in the bile duct, which can cause severe pain and be very dangerous if they also clog the pancreatic duct. Larger stones are not able to pass into the bile duct, but their presence can cause severe pain. Sometimes this is worse when the gallbladder is contracting. In either case, removing the gallbladder usually relieves the pain and you feel much better.

Crohn's, Colitis & IBS

There is a lot of confusion concerning Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are two forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). There are differences between the IBD and IBS, but they are not necessarily exclusive conditions and may occur simultaneously.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) often presents as a group of symptoms very similar to those of IBS, but usually with the additional symptom bright red blood in the stool. Diagnosis is made by performing a colonoscopy, and often a biopsy. Detection of ulcerations in the colon confirms the IBD diagnosis. IBD is diagnosed as ulcerative colitis if it is restricted to the colon and Crohn’s disease if it is also found in the small intestine.

The cause or causes of IBD have not been identified. However, evidence points to activation of the immune system via environmental triggers and to a potential genetic link. For example, people with family members who have IBD are more likely to have IBD. Treatment usually involves anti-inflammatory medications to try to control the inflammation.

People with Crohn’s Disease or ulcerative colitis, like many people with IBS, often get discouraged by the inability to control their symptoms and the unpredictable nature of the condition. Interestingly, people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis can also have IBS or IBS-related problems that are contributing to their symptoms.

Understanding Constipation

The two major factors for defining constipation are the frequency of bowel movements and their firmness. One sign that your digestive system is functioning optimally is that you have at least one bowel movement per day.

However, bowel movements that are difficult to pass, very firm, or made up of small rabbit-like pellets qualify as constipation, even if they occur every day. Other symptoms related to constipation can include bloating, distension, abdominal pain, or a sense of incomplete emptying.

If you don't have these symptoms but you rely on extra fiber (such as Metamucil), a stool softener, a laxative, or some other method to prevent these symptoms, then you also have constipation.

Constipation is a symptom of slow transit time, not unlike rush-hour traffic. When the colon is backed up, the small intestine is also backed up. And when the intestines are backed up, the stomach can be delayed in emptying itself of food matter. This is why some people with constipation also experience heartburn and reflux.

Constipation of course affects digestion and therefore can contribute to the malabsorption of nutrients, which can lead to a wide spectrum of health problems. It can also delay the removal of waste from the body, and not just from the colon. The liver is responsible for removing a majority of toxins (including pollutants, hormones, drugs, heavy metals, and even cholesterol) from the blood stream. Much of this waste is then dumped into the gastrointestinal tract for final disposal. If the tube is slowed in its transit time, then these toxins are not removed in a timely manner and may even be reabsorbed. This is akin to setting the garbage out at the curb but not having it picked up for several weeks. It's not good for the neighborhood, so to speak.

NYTimes.com: Time to Recheck Those Food Allergies?

The New York Times recently ran an article on food allergies and questioning the number of cases of actual allergies in the U.S.

This is simply another example of the misleading information coming from some allergy specialists. They are only willing to recognize certain symptoms as allergies and ignore the strong evidence that food allergies can cause many symptoms and may not be evident within the day the food is eaten.

It must be understood that these food allergies are not immediately threatening to life. A tiny exposure is not going to kill the person, as it can with some of the allergies the "experts" admit exist. However, they are significant and for many patients make a very dramatic difference in health. Some studies have even found a strong correlation between elevated food antibodies and significantly shortened life.

Until the experts agree to discuss the science of all food allergies, the misleading information they do present will continue to prevent appropriate testing and treatment of the millions of people affected by food allergies.

Excerpt from NYTimes.com:

There is no question that some foods, especially peanuts and shellfish, can provoke severe reactions in a small fraction of the population. But a new analysis of the best available evidence finds that many children and adults who think they have food allergies are mistaken.

According to a definitive report compiled for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases by a 25-member panel of experts, a big part of the problem is misdiagnosis, from overreliance on two tests — a skin-prick test and a blood test for antibodies — that can produce misleading results.

The mere presence of antibodies to a particular substance in food does not mean that someone would have an allergic reaction after eating that food. in And a skin-prick test can remain positive long after an allergy is gone.

Sometimes a diagnosis is based on no test at all, solely on a patient’s or parent’s report of a bad reaction after a particular food was eaten. People often mistake food intolerance, like difficulty digesting the lactose in milk, for an allergy. (Allergies involve the immune system; lactose intolerance results from deficiency of an enzyme.)

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Click HERE to read this article in its entirety on NYTimes.com
Click HERE for more information on food allergies at CenterforFoodAllergies.com

Image thanks to policymed.com

The Standard Food Allergy Profile: What is it?

The Standard Food Allergy Profile test takes the guesswork out of treating your IBS and saves you a great deal of time, effort, and discomfort.

And if by chance your test happens to be negative, you can quickly move on to other potential causes of your problem without spending valuable time on an unsuccessful elimination diet and then wondering if you actually did it correctly.

Food allergy testing is a highly specialized procedure performed only by doctors trained in recognizing and treating non-anaphylactic food allergies, and only in laboratories especially equipped to handle the sophisticated testing required. In order to give you an accurate result, this test must be a blood test, and must include both IgE and IgG antibodies. If it does not evaluate both antibodies, there is a strong possibility that the testing will miss your food allergy.

(For more information about food allergies and IgE and IgG antibodies, click HERE.)

For you the procedure is neither complex nor difficult. This blood test measures reactions to approximately 100 common foods, including dairy, eggs, corn, soy, almonds, peanuts, wheat, seafood, and many others. (For a complete list of foods, click HERE.)

Reuters Health: Latent Celiac Disease Tied to Reproductive Performance

This article is about patients with a negative biopsy for villous atrophy. Technically they don't have celiac disease - they have non-celiac gluten intolerance.

But it is another study showing that gluten intolerance (mediated by the immune system) is much more prevalent than celiac disease and has serious health consequences.

From ReutersHealth.com:
By David Douglas

Women with latent celiac disease -- positive celiac antibodies but a normal small bowel biopsy -- may be at increased risk of reproductive problems, Indian researchers report in a November 24th online paper in Fertility and Sterility.

"Women having unexplained infertility, recurrent abortions, stillbirths or intrauterine growth retardation could have subclinical celiac disease, which can be detected by serological screening tests," Dr. Ashok Kumar told Reuters Health by email.

Dr. Kumar, of Maulana Azad Medical College & Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, and colleagues note that "the prevalence of latent or subclinical celiac disease has increased" due to the availability of improved and more accessible diagnostic screening tools.

Women with full blown untreated celiac disease, confirmed by biopsy, are known to have reproductive problems if the disease if they don't adhere strictly to a gluten-free diet. But as the authors point out, "There are a very few studies regarding the effect of latent celiac disease on reproductive performance; the association has never before been investigated in India."

it continues...

Friday's Gluten-Free Recipe: Coconut Chicken Tenders (egg free)

This recipe is thanks to Gluten Free Life with Jen. Please check out her website for more recipes and tons of info on gluten free living!

This recipe would also be great made with shrimp but we don’t eat shrimp at our house due to an allergy to shellfish. You could also make these without the coconut and just use a cow milk or soy yogurt.

Serve them with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce.

Coconut Chicken Tenders 


1 pound chicken tenders

1 cup rice flour or any gluten free flour or flour blend you like

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup coconut flakes

1 cup gluten free bread crumbs

1 cup So Delicious Coconut Vanilla Yogurt

3 teaspoons grapeseed oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

In a shallow bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl add bread crumbs and coconut flakes and stir to combine. In a third shallow bowl, place yogurt.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

Dredge chicken tenders in the flour, then yogurt, then coconut/bread crumb mixture. Add to hot pan and brown slightly on both sides. Just add a few pieces at a time to the pan so you don’t crowd the pan. You can be dredging the next batch of chicken while the first batch is browning.

Once browned, remove chicken from pan and place in a greased casserole. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve with Creamy Apricot Mustard Dipping Sauce

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Image and recipe thanks to Gluten Free Life w/Jen

Discussing the Recommended Fiber Intake

The USDA recommends that adults take in a minimum of 25 to 35 grams of fiber daily, and soluble fiber should account for one-third to one-half of the total.

As many as 60 grams of fiber per day is required for optimal health. If you eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables as well as at least five servings of grain products per day, you are very likely meeting your fiber requirements.

Unfortunately, the typical American eats only 10 to 15 grams of fiber daily.

One serving of vegetable is 1/2 cup cooked vegetable or 1 cup of a raw leafy vegetable (like spinach). One serving of fruit is one medium sized apple, pear, or 1/5 cup berries. One serving of grain is 1/2 cup cooked grain.

Gluten & Allergen Free Expo: Still Some Tables Available

Some tables still available. We should note that Dr. Stephen Wangen will be there too..:)

April 29th - May 1st, 2011

The 2011 Gluten & Allergen Free Expo will be held Friday through Sunday, April 29 through May 1, 2011 in the ballroom at the Wyndham Hotel, Lisle, Illinois. This show is the premier event in the Midwest for consumers with food allergies and those on a gluten free diet.

Last year there were more than 1,500 attendees at the vendor fair. This year we hope to attract 2,000 to 4,000 people searching for gluten and allergen free foods and products. In contrast, we had 450 people attend in 2009!

In addition to cooking classes and vendor fair, this year will include a dietitian training day, expanded allergen-free offerings, a larger children's area and a public stage for cooking demos and lectures.

More information or to purchase tickets, click here - GfafExpo.com


For more information contact Jen Cafferty at the Expo office at 847-217-1317 or jen@gfreelife.com

Mayo Clinic: Going Gluten Free and What Works

Interesting Q&A from the Mayo Clinic on someone who was diagnosed with celiac disease and what that meant for her life.

Getting a food allergy or celiac diagnosis puts the power to treat in the hands of the patient. We need as much information as we can get on the sources of our food and how it is handled.

While the FDA is moving in the right direction, our complex food system needs more scrutiny and better protocols for ensuring purity and correct, informative labeling.

Excerpt from Mayoclinic.com:

Q: What steps did you take to become gluten-free?

A: I tried to learn as much about the diet as possible. There are resources including websites and celiac disease support groups that provide lists of manufacturers who make gluten-free foods including brand names of items. We also opted to make our kitchen gluten-free. This made me feel safe — that I could eat anything at home without thinking too much about it. (Note: Not all families may decide to do this. It may be more practical to designate which cupboards or part of the refrigerator is gluten-free.)

I looked hard for and found good-tasting everyday foods (breads, crackers, pasta). I especially like rice crackers and pasta — they're even less expensive than the wheat-containing ones. It took a while to find gluten-free bread that had good taste and texture. Over the years food manufacturers have really come through with great gluten-free products.

Q: What remains a challenge?

A: Eating out. I don't like having to work through the menu with waiters and chefs to determine
what might be gluten-free. You also wonder if all ingredients used are gluten-free, you wonder if the food is cooked and handled so there is no cross-contamination. It's also no fun when food is made so plainly that there is no taste. What is a joy is to find restaurants that have taken training and become certified gluten-free.

I'm also concerned about a recent study that showed cross contamination of naturally gluten-free grains. Of the 22 grains samples that are assumed to be naturally gluten-free, 7 contained gluten at levels higher that the proposed Food and Drug Administration cut-off. Our food supply — every step of the way from farm to table — is complex. We need to find out where cross contamination occurs.

I'm looking forward to the FDA releasing federal standards for labeling foods gluten-free. Currently it's voluntary for food companies to test their foods for presence of gluten, and they don't have to take cross contamination into account.

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Read the entire article at MayoClinic.com
Image thanks to gluten-free-living.info

What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is defined by a set of symptoms affecting a patient’s gastrointestinal system. These symptoms, or immune system reactions, can be produced by a wide range of different medical conditions. Most often, IBS symptoms are caused by one or more of the following: chemical mechanisms resulting from reactions to certain foods; microorganisms in the gut including bacteria and parasites; yeasts; or celiac disease (gluten intolerance).

A Few Facts About IBS:

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects 10-20% of the general population, with women 20-40 years old accounting for the majority of patients. (Astegiano et. al. 2008)

• Irritable bowel syndrome affects approximately 10-15% of the European population and up to 70% of individuals with IBS may not be formally diagnosed. (Quigley et. al. 2006)

Treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome with a Food Elimination Diet Followed by Food Challenge and Probiotics

The following information comes from Drisko et. al. (2006).

Objective

In Irritable Bowel Syndrome, the gut-associated immune system may be up-regulated resulting in immune complex production, low-grade inflammation, loss of Class I bacteria, and translocation of inflammatory mediators and macromolecules outside of the GI lumen.

Since food intolerance may be one of the reasons for this upregulation, our goal was to investigate the role of food intolerance in IBS patients.

Methods

In this open label pilot study, we enrolled 20 patients with IBS by Rome II criteria (15 women, ages 24–81) who had failed standard medical therapies in a tertiary care GI clinic. Baseline serum IgE and IgG food and mold panels, and comprehensive stool analysis (CSA) were performed. Breath-hydrogen testing and IBS Quality-of-Life (QOL) questionnaires were obtained.

Patients underwent food elimination diets based on the results of food and mold panels followed by controlled food challenge. Probiotics were also introduced. Repeat testing was performed at 6-months. We followed up with this cohort at 1 year after trial completion to assess the reported intervention and for placebo effect.

Everyday Painkillers, High Blood Pressure and Stomach Damage

Americans consume an estimated $2 billion per year in over-the-counter painkillers like Tylenol, Advil and Motrin. The most common reason for taking them is for arthritis.

However, these drugs are not without side-effects. It also doesn’t take as much as you might think to cause damage. And the variety of side effects includes high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, and other problems.

A study of more than 80,000 women found that women who used acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, for 22 days or more a month had the greatest risk of high blood pressure, estimated at twice that of non-users. And even those who used the drug as little as one to four days a month had a 22% greater risk of having high blood pressure than non-users.

The risk for those taking NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), including ibuprofen products such as Advil and Motrin and naproxen drugs such as Aleve, was similar. Heavy users had a risk of high blood pressure 86% higher than those who didn't use the drug. Light users carried a 17% higher risk.( Journal Hypertension November 2002 20(11):2301-2307)

Significantly, researchers report that patients with pre-existing kidney disease who took these painkillers at least twice a week for 2 months were two to three times more likely to have the beginning stages of chronic kidney failure, compared with individuals who did not use these painkillers on a regular basis. (The New England Journal of Medicine December 20, 2001;345:1801-1808)

PubMed.gov study: Sensitization does not develop in utero

From PubMed.gov:

BACKGROUND

Intrauterine sensitization has been suggested to play a role in the development of atopic disease in children, and this has led to current guidelines recommending allergen avoidance during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relevance of allergen-specific IgE in cord blood to sensitization in early infancy and the origin of such IgE.

METHODS

Inhalant and food allergen-specific IgE in cord blood was analyzed and compared with specific IgE in infant blood at 6 months of age and in parental blood. Cord blood IgA was measured to detect maternal blood contamination of cord blood.

RESULTS

Allergen-specific IgE, primarily against inhalant allergens, was detected in 14% of cord blood samples. However, corresponding specific IgE was not found in infant blood at 6 months of age. Specific IgE in cord blood completely matched specific IgE in maternal blood with respect to allergen specificity, level of specific IgE, and ratio of total IgE/specific IgE. Finally, there was a correlation between specific IgE and IgA in cord blood.

CONCLUSION

Allergen-specific IgE in cord blood does not reflect intrauterine sensitization but seems to be the result of transfer of maternal IgE to the fetus.

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Bønnelykke K, Pipper CB, Bisgaard H.

Danish Pediatric Asthma Center, Department of Pediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. kb@copsac.dk

Image thanks to cafemom.com

Lab Testing for IBS Triggers

We regularly receive questions regarding how to test for IBS triggers. As a result, we find it helpful to regularly review what's available and how you can get more information.

Because IBS has been conventionally defined not by what it is, but by what it is not, successfully discovering its cause has been impossible, because the cause was thought to be unknown. It's really been nothing more than a guessing game, and you get to be the guinea pig. Fortunately that has now all changed.

Now we can define the cause of your IBS, and therefore treat it. IBS symptoms are almost always caused by either food allergies, bacterial imbalances, yeast, or parasites. If you want to learn more about these topics and how they relate to IBS, then this website is for you. You may also refer to the book, The Irritable Bowel Syndrome Solution.

Two kinds of tests are recommended – food allergy testing, which is a blood test; and testing for bacteria, yeast, and parasites, which is done by stool testing. Problems in any of these areas can alone cause IBS, but most people who suffer from IBS have a combination of both a food allergy and a bacterial imbalance.

Sinusitis, Runny Nose & Food Allergies - Case Studies

Case #1

52 year old woman (M.S.) with a long history of sinusitis and sinus headaches as well as arthritis, and insomnia from hot flashes. ELISA blood allergy testing discovered very high allergies to salmon, tuna, crab, lobster, and other seafood as well as beef and pork. The patient stated that she ate seafood almost every day.

Within one month after the removal of these foods the patient said that she felt “great.” Her sinusitis had almost completely resolved, as had her headaches, and her arthritis was already much better. Hot flashes were also greatly diminished and she was sleeping soundly.

Case #2

44 year old woman (E.B.) with 15 year history of sinus problems and headaches. She had 3 previous sinus surgeries that had not resolved her problems. As a child she had many ear infections. ELISA blood food allergy testing showed a high reactivity to eggs, corn, sunflower, and brewer’s yeast. The patient then stated that when she was a child her mom wouldn’t let her eat eggs because they caused eczema. The elimination of these foods resolved her sinusitis and headaches.

Gluten Free Mobile App Aims to Help the GF Community On the Go

GlutenFreeTravelSite just launched a free mobile version of their website, designed to help people with Celiac and others following gluten-free diets to find safe places to eat while on the road.

Unlike many "apps" that cost money and need to be downloaded, the mobile version of GlutenFreeTravelSite does not charge users and is automatically accessible via any smart phone -- be it an iPhone, Blackberry, or Android-based phone.

Visitors accessing the site "on the go" via a smart phone will now have a more user-friendly experience finding "gluten-free friendly" restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and hotels/resorts wherever they are. Similar to the experience on GlutenFreeTravelSite’s main website, users will be able to search our huge database of gluten-free dining and travel reviews by entering a city/town or zip code. The search results appear on a a Google map, and clicking on any establishment on the list will enable users to link to the user-submitted review.

Reuters: Online health info popular but often unchecked

A recent article from Reuters highlights that many people look for health information online but don't check the source.

Our favorite quote:

"Relying on dodgy information can easily lead to people taking risks with inappropriate tests and treatments, wasting money and causing unnecessary worry," said Annabel Bentley, a medical director at Bupa.

"Equally, people may check online and dismiss serious symptoms when they should get advice from a doctor."

This is a perfect opportunity for us to point to the Innate Health Foundation's collection of published medical research on celiac disease, food allergies, IBS, and related conditions.

There are a number of organizations that support the celiac disease community and others that provide resources for those with life-threatening food allergies, but little real support exists to help people with chronic health problems like IBS, chronic fatigue, skin conditions, and other conditions that are often related to food allergies.

The Innate Health Foundation was conceived in 2004 as a way to improve the help available to people with IBS and other food allergy-related conditions.

You can find additional cited research on IBS and food allergies in Dr. Stephen Wangen's books, which are the source for much of the work of the IBS Treatment Center.

Excerpt from Reuters:

The number of people looking for health information online is set to soar as workers return from holiday breaks, but few will check where the information comes from, according to an international survey on Tuesday.

A report by researchers at the London School of Economics (LSE) commissioned by the private healthcare firm Bupa said that with smartphones and tablet computers set to outsell personal computers by 2012, more health information is available online and there are more ways to access it than ever before.

Hypothyroid Case Studies

Case #1

30 year old woman with complaints of fatigue, weight gain and forgetfulness. These had become progressively worse over the last 2 years. Patient was previously told that her thyroid was normal.

Retesting demonstrated that she was in fact suffering from hypothyroidism. Treatment with thyroid hormone completely solved her energy shortage resulting in weight loss and much better cognitive function.

Case #2

40 year old man with fatigue, weight gain and constipation. This patient complained of feeling very sluggish. Testing showed that he had a hypothyroid condition. Treatment with thyroid hormones quickly turned around his fatigue, resolved the constipation and made it possible for him to lose weight.

Case #3

51 year old woman (M.M.) diagnosed with hypothyroidism 2 years ago and recently diagnosed with celiac disease. TSH testing showed fluctuating thyroid levels for over 2 years, resulting in repeated changes in dosage of thyroid medication.

More recent testing demonstrated high autoimmune thyroid antibodies, explaining the fluctuations in thyroid levels. This patient continued to experience abdominal pain, nausea and weight loss until the celiac disease was diagnosed. Avoidance of gluten may stabilize thyroid problem.

Hypothyroidism Q & A

Hypothyroidism is a serious condition found in people with and without food allergies.

However, people with food allergies, particularly those with celiac disease (a gluten allergy), frequently suffer from hypothyroidism. 
Hypothyroidism causes fatigue and weight gain as well as other problems, and is often overlooked and misdiagnosed due to complexities in thyroid testing and symptoms which may overlap or contradict the symptoms of food allergies. These issues are discussed in this article.

What Is the Thyroid Gland?


The thyroid gland sits in the neck in front of and on both sides of the trachea and secretes thyroid hormones. These hormones regulate metabolism and thus affect many aspects of health. 



What Are the Symptoms of Hypothyroidism? 


Lack of adequate thyroid hormone production may result in one or more of the following symptoms: fatigue, weight gain, constipation, cold extremities, inability to focus, forgetfulness, dry skin and depression. 



How Is Hypothyroidism Typically Diagnosed? 


Most physicians measure thyroid function not by testing thyroid hormones, but by testing levels of TSH. TSH stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. TSH is produced by the pituitary gland and stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones. 
As thyroid hormone production drops, TSH levels are supposed to automatically increase to compensate for low thyroid hormone levels. Therefore a higher than normal TSH level indicates a hypothyroid condition. 



Today's Recipe: Hot Fudge Pie!

This week's recipe thanks to Jules Gluten Free!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup butter or non-dairy alternative 
(e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
1 cup granulated cane or coconut palm sugar
1/3 cup Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract, gluten-free

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Dissolve 1/2 cup cocoa in 3/4 cup boiling water and set aside to cool.
Folding beaten egg whites into the batter.

Separate eggs, whipping the whites until stiff in a metal bowl with a whisk attachment on an electric mixer or a whisk and really strong arms!

In a separate bowl, cream the butter with sugar, flour, 2 separated egg yolks, and vanilla extract.

Add the cooled chocolate mixture, then fold in two stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into an oiled and floured (with corn starch or Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour) 9 inch pie pan.

Bake for 1 hour and serve hot with vanilla ice cream*, whipped cream*, or deliciously plain.

*Some great dairy-free topping options include So Delicious® Soy Ice Cream, Purely Decadent® Coconut Ice Cream, SoyaToo!® Soy Whipped Topping or Mimic Creme™ Healthy Top (nut-based).

**Organic, unrefined Coconut palm sugar retains much of its natural nutritional content after minimal processing, remaining high in Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron and also offering vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6 and C. I have successfully used it in many recipes myself, but if you are looking for loads more of these low glycemic gluten-free recipes, be sure to check out my friend Amy's recipes at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free.

Causes of IBS: Yeast (Candida)

Yeast infections, or yeast overgrowth, are a common result of antibiotic use. Yeast is also considered normal flora at low populations, since it is often found in the digestive tract.

However, remember that normal does not necessarily mean good. Yeast, especially the most common type called Candida, invades tissue and is a general irritant. Its growth inhibits the growth of good bacteria, and its life cycle produces the toxic effects of IBS symptoms in its host - you. Candida will take advantage of every opportunity it has to flourish.

If your system has been wiped clean of friendly bacteria due to antibiotics (which do not kill yeast), Candida will likely pounce, either in your digestive tract or elsewhere in your body. Once it gets hold, it can be difficult to get rid of.

Candida can cause a huge variety of symptoms, including but not limited to all the symptoms of IBS, making it one of the most frustrating and confusing conditions to describe, not to mention endure. The average Candida sufferer reports about twenty different symptoms.

In fact, many sufferers give up trying to find out what is wrong with them because their symptoms seem unrelated. Diet can affect Candida symptoms too. Since yeast feeds upon sugars, a diet high in sweets, alcohol, starches, and refined carbohydrates may increase its growth. As a result, some health practitioners recommend special Candida diets that are low in sugar and refined carbohydrates.

PubMed: Adverse Reactions to Wine? Think Outside the Bottle

The following study comes from PubMed.gov:

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Wine contains chemical and biological contaminants. Symptoms such as facial flushing, asthma and oral allergic swelling and burning (oral syndrome) have been attributed to these contaminants and food additives. Their clinical implications should be known.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies have reported a high prevalence of hypersensitivity symptoms after intake of alcoholic drinks in the general population. Red wine was the most common beverage implicated. Wine contains many contaminants. Some of them come from Hymenoptera insects that fall into the wine when grapes are collected and pressed. We have found patients with allergic symptoms related to wine consumption who are sensitized to Hymenoptera venom without previous stings. The aim of this study is to assess the potential importance of their sensitization to Hymenoptera antigens as the cause of their symptoms and also to comment on other recent studies on wine hypersensitivity.

SUMMARY

We found patients with allergic symptoms related to wine consumption who are sensitized to Hymenoptera venoms. Challenges were negative with sulfites, other additives and aging wines, but positive with young wines. Sera from all the patients detected Hymenoptera venom antigens. We report the first cases of sensitization to venom antigens by the oral route.

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Image thanks to blogs.usyd.edu.au

Innate Health Group - what is it?

The Innate Health Group was designed and created to reintroduce something that has been missing in medicine, a belief that you are capable of being healthier if given a better understanding of your body.

We subscribe to the scientific method and the theory of evolution. We know that in most cases health is something that comes from the capacity of your body to perform according to its genetic design, with which you were born.

Health, excepting traumatic damage to the body, is usually not most effectively achieved by drugs or surgical procedures. Although these have their place, they are grossly overused. And frequently drugs and surgical procedures cause other significant problems that could be avoided by other techniques that not only solve the underlying problem, but avoid additional risk.

As a society we have lost touch with our innate health. We are confused by a medical system and a culture that prioritizes business over health, and by generic mass marketed treatments and fads that treat people as statistics and customers rather than as unique individuals with unique health care needs.

Cedars-Sinai study claims antibiotic effective in treating IBS

The latest study from Dr. Pimental at Cedars-Sinai has been making the rounds for the last 24 hours and we wanted to take a moment to review.

This is not a new cure nor even a new approach for attempting to treat IBS. For many years, doctors have been trying to treat IBS with antibiotics. And there is nothing special about this particular antibiotic except that it isn't absorbed into the body. So if you have IBS and you've been treated with antibiotics, for anything, then you already know whether or not that approach will work.

In my experience, only a very small percentage of IBS patients have a bacterial problem. There are hundreds of other causes of IBS, and many patients are suffering from more than one.

Sorting out the cause(s) in each individual patient takes special testing and good amount of detective work. At the IBS Treatment Center we prefer to treat each patient as a unique individual and we create a treatment plan specific to their individual triggers and needs. This is why we have a very high success rate in helping patients with digestive issues resolve their problem and help them return to a normal life.

Excerpts from LATimes.com:

A two-week treatment with an antibiotic can ease overall symptoms in many patients with irritable bowel syndrome for at least 10 weeks and perhaps for much longer, according to a pair of clinical trials of more than 1,200 patients reported Wednesday.

Good Bacteria Deficiencies

We've been talking a lot recently about the "bad" and the "ugly" bacteria. Now let's take a moment o review the "good" bacteria.

Healthy people live in harmony with their good bacteria, or normal intestinal flora. This is called symbiosis. We provide the bacteria with a home and food, and in return they do some great things for us. These bacteria are called "probiotics."

Although there are thousands of different bacteria, the best-known friendly bacteria are Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium. Lactobacilli are also the bacteria that change milk into yogurt, and they are present in acidophilus milk. Bifidobacteria, which have been shown to provide many health benefits, are particularly high in the intestines of breast-fed newborns. A healthy intestinal system has more of both these friendly bacteria than other unfriendly bacteria.

One of the most important services good bacteria provide is preserving the correct balance of bacterial populations within the body. By their very presence they prevent the establishment and spread of "bad" bacteria and yeast, because harmful bacteria and yeast generally have no place to grow if friendly bacteria are thriving. You can never have too many of these great bacteria.

Vitamin and Mineral Panel

Vitamins and minerals play an important role in nearly every facet of our health. Knowing exactly what vitamins and minerals your body is deficient in allows you to give it exactly what it needs.

This can make a world of difference in the effectiveness of taking supplements. We are given lots of generic recommendations for taking them, but we are never offered the opportunity to test their actual levels. Now you can do just that.

The Vitamin and Mineral Panel is a blood test and includes the following nutrients:

• A
• B1 (Thiamin)
• B2 (Riboflavin)
• B6 (Pyridoxine)
• B12
• Folate (folic acid)
• C
• D
• E
• Ferritin (Iron)
• Zinc

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Image thanks to onlyhealth.wordpress.com