Chinese Medicine for Celiac Disease
By Robin Brain Most Important Complete multivitamin and mineral complex Free-form amino acid complex (as directed on label)-supplies protein in a form your body can assimilate vitamm B complex (as prescribed by healthcare provider)-necessary for proper digestion; injections are best because they bypass the digestive system Also Recommended ZInc (1 15-mg lozenge 5 times daily not to exceed a total of 100 mg from all supplements)-promotes healing Copper (3 mg)-to balance with zinc Evening primrose oil (as directed on label)-provides essential fatty acids needed for intestinal health Magnesium (750 mg daily)-a deficiency is common in people with celiac disease Calcium (1500 mg)-works with magnesium Vitamin C (2000 to 5000 mg in divided doses)-boosts the immune system L-glutamine (2 g)-supports intestinal immune system A prodophilus formula (as directed on label) (For an acute condition, take supplements until your symptoms subside. If symptoms persist, seek the advice of your healthcare provider. For a chronic condition, consult your healthcare provider regarding the duration of treatment.) Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture Acupuncture can be used, to help remedy typical symptoms, including gastrointestinal discomfort, abdominal distention, lethargy, irregular bowel movements, and slack muscle tone in the stomach region. The practitioner typically targets points that relate to the small intestine, large intestine, and stomach. Acupressure This method of treatment can help relieve the constipation or frequent bowel movements that often accompany celiac disease. It also can ease abdominal discomfort and increase the patient's energy level. Chinese Herbal Therapy Herbs that are sometimes used to treat the disorder include trifoliate orange (for digestive upset and abdominal bloating), fennel (to regulate and enhance digestive functions), and nutmeg (to tone the small intestine). An herbalist also may prescribe over-the counter herbal formulas, such as Ginseng Stomachic Pills or Aplotaxis Carminative Pills. Read out for Liposuction garments. Check out breast pumps and doctor Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robin_Brain Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/961314 |
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Nutritional Deficiencies Common in Those With Celiac Disease
By Erin Elberson
As as we all are far too familiar with, celiac disease can present some challenges with absorbing nutrients from our foods. Prior to being diagnosed, the inflammation and damage in the small intestine can cause food to "run right through us." Even when that doesn't happen, those little villi can be damanges and not absorb nutrients very well. (Which makes me think-those of use with intestinal issues are certainly a but more familiar with anatomy than the average person, aren't we? Villi to anyone else may sound like a shape of pasta-but I digress.) And just in case you are not familiar with the word "villi", it's not a pasta or a grape varietal, they are the little finger-like projections that stick out from the walls of the small intestine, sucking up the good stuff-nutrients, vitamins, minerals, etc.
When the lovely little villi get mad at us if we eat what they consider to be the wrong thing, they don't work. They get riled up and inflamed, and then they don't do a good job absorbing the good stuff anymore. Over time they can also get smaller ("villous atrophy", anyone-prior to that are "flattened villi") and then there's even less surface area to absorb the good stuff. This continues on as long as the irritant is ingested-in this case, gluten. The good news is that the gut can heal to a large extent as long as gluten is not ingested-the irritant is removed and healing can begin. Some of us as are very fortunate and are diagnosed quickly, before too much permanent damage has been done. Others who have suffered through a lengthy diagnosing/mis diagnosing process have a bit more of an intestinal structural challenge when it comes to absorbing properly.
This impaired ability to absorb nutrients can create several issues, of which I'm going to touch on just a few, and lump some together as well. A good idea is to get tested for baseline levels of these items by your doctor (the ones that can be tested for,) generally a simple blood test will do the trick and give you a starting point.
1 - Overall lack of nutrient absorption can cause weight loss while undiagnosed. This is not a good thing. Conversely, after being diagnosed people may find they gain weight. Up to a normal weight this is a good thing, and necessary if an individual has been malnourished due to lack of nutrients. Weight gain after diagnosis is not uncommon, and something I will be touching on in greater depth in another article.
2 - Essential fatty acids-Omega 3 and 6's. They are all over the media lately, so you've probably heard of them. In general, we get enough Omega 6's from everyday stuff. However, unless you eat a lot of fish, you may want to actively get more Omega 3's in your diet. Fatty fish like wild salmon are great sources. You can also get some vegetarian sources from walnuts, pumpkin seeds and flax. I also supplement with a fish oil. A TBSP a day of Carlson's lemon fish oil covers me, and really isn't bad at all, I promise. Pour into a measuring spoon and just slam it.
3 - Vitamin D, Calcium and Magnesium. I lumped these together because they are all important for bone health. At age 30 I was diagnosed with osteopenia, and here I am an athlete who lifts weights! Bone health is a huge issue for celiacs in general, especially the females amongst us. Calcium is obviously in dairy, but that doesn't help the casein intolerant, does it?
-Food sources of calcium: spinach, greens, (turnip, mustard, collard, kale) broccoli, molasses, squash, cabbage
-Food sources of magnesium: pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, halibut, spinach (see a pattern...) beans, artichokes
-Food sources of Vitamin D: cod liver oil, salmon, milk. Other dairy products are generally NOT fortified with D.
Even with all this, in regards to Vitamin D that's more than likely not going to get you enough. And I'm sure you've heard about how Vitamin D is the "sunshine vitamin" which we don't produce enough due to our largely indoor-dwelling and sunscreen-wearing lives. I supplement with all 3-calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D in pill form. The The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine has established 2000 IU as generally safe for adults. There's also a lot of talk about the RDA for Vitamin D being raised significantly. There are also many anecdotal reports of much larger doses being used without adverse affect. I say, do your research and read, then make an informed personal decision. My personal decision involves 2000 IU of Vitamin D, plus the amounts in my multivitamin, Cal/Mag supplement, and limited sunshine from walking the dog.
4 - Iron. There are 2 types of iron, heme and non heme. According to the McKinley Illinois website, "HEME iron is found only in meat, fish and poultry and is absorbed much more easily than NON-HEME iron, which is found primarily in fruits, vegetables, dried beans, and nuts." The absorption of non heme foods can be enhanced by eating it with a Vitmain C source (such as citrus fruit, strawberries, red bell pepper) or by being cooked in a cast iron skillet.
-Heme iron sources: liver (you knew that was coming, didn't you?), beef, chicke, pork, salmon, tuna, turkey
-Non-heme sources: almonds, apricots, beans, molasses, rice, broccoli
This just begins to scratch the surface. I always take a multivitamin/mineral to cover my nutritional bases. I think a digestive enzyme supplement and pro/prebiotics could also be helpful to assist in maximizing nutrient uptake.
Did you notice any patterns in the lists of recommended foods? Green leafy veggies, lean protein sources, healthy fats in the form of nuts and fatty fish, high fiber food like beans and the veggies again....sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
Go forth and absorb
References:
http://www.mayoclinic.com
http://www.health.gov
Erin Elberson
http://www.glutenfreefitness.com/
Erin provides easy to understand, and easy to implement, information about living a healthy life without gluten. Her goal is to provide education and resources to enable people to make positive changes in their health and lifestyle.
Please visit: http://www.glutenfreefitness.com/Free_Gluten.html to obtain her free guideline for setting up a healthy gluten free nutrition plan.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erin_Elberson
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3967821
By Erin Elberson
As as we all are far too familiar with, celiac disease can present some challenges with absorbing nutrients from our foods. Prior to being diagnosed, the inflammation and damage in the small intestine can cause food to "run right through us." Even when that doesn't happen, those little villi can be damanges and not absorb nutrients very well. (Which makes me think-those of use with intestinal issues are certainly a but more familiar with anatomy than the average person, aren't we? Villi to anyone else may sound like a shape of pasta-but I digress.) And just in case you are not familiar with the word "villi", it's not a pasta or a grape varietal, they are the little finger-like projections that stick out from the walls of the small intestine, sucking up the good stuff-nutrients, vitamins, minerals, etc.
When the lovely little villi get mad at us if we eat what they consider to be the wrong thing, they don't work. They get riled up and inflamed, and then they don't do a good job absorbing the good stuff anymore. Over time they can also get smaller ("villous atrophy", anyone-prior to that are "flattened villi") and then there's even less surface area to absorb the good stuff. This continues on as long as the irritant is ingested-in this case, gluten. The good news is that the gut can heal to a large extent as long as gluten is not ingested-the irritant is removed and healing can begin. Some of us as are very fortunate and are diagnosed quickly, before too much permanent damage has been done. Others who have suffered through a lengthy diagnosing/mis diagnosing process have a bit more of an intestinal structural challenge when it comes to absorbing properly.
This impaired ability to absorb nutrients can create several issues, of which I'm going to touch on just a few, and lump some together as well. A good idea is to get tested for baseline levels of these items by your doctor (the ones that can be tested for,) generally a simple blood test will do the trick and give you a starting point.
1 - Overall lack of nutrient absorption can cause weight loss while undiagnosed. This is not a good thing. Conversely, after being diagnosed people may find they gain weight. Up to a normal weight this is a good thing, and necessary if an individual has been malnourished due to lack of nutrients. Weight gain after diagnosis is not uncommon, and something I will be touching on in greater depth in another article.
2 - Essential fatty acids-Omega 3 and 6's. They are all over the media lately, so you've probably heard of them. In general, we get enough Omega 6's from everyday stuff. However, unless you eat a lot of fish, you may want to actively get more Omega 3's in your diet. Fatty fish like wild salmon are great sources. You can also get some vegetarian sources from walnuts, pumpkin seeds and flax. I also supplement with a fish oil. A TBSP a day of Carlson's lemon fish oil covers me, and really isn't bad at all, I promise. Pour into a measuring spoon and just slam it.
3 - Vitamin D, Calcium and Magnesium. I lumped these together because they are all important for bone health. At age 30 I was diagnosed with osteopenia, and here I am an athlete who lifts weights! Bone health is a huge issue for celiacs in general, especially the females amongst us. Calcium is obviously in dairy, but that doesn't help the casein intolerant, does it?
-Food sources of calcium: spinach, greens, (turnip, mustard, collard, kale) broccoli, molasses, squash, cabbage
-Food sources of magnesium: pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, halibut, spinach (see a pattern...) beans, artichokes
-Food sources of Vitamin D: cod liver oil, salmon, milk. Other dairy products are generally NOT fortified with D.
Even with all this, in regards to Vitamin D that's more than likely not going to get you enough. And I'm sure you've heard about how Vitamin D is the "sunshine vitamin" which we don't produce enough due to our largely indoor-dwelling and sunscreen-wearing lives. I supplement with all 3-calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D in pill form. The The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine has established 2000 IU as generally safe for adults. There's also a lot of talk about the RDA for Vitamin D being raised significantly. There are also many anecdotal reports of much larger doses being used without adverse affect. I say, do your research and read, then make an informed personal decision. My personal decision involves 2000 IU of Vitamin D, plus the amounts in my multivitamin, Cal/Mag supplement, and limited sunshine from walking the dog.
4 - Iron. There are 2 types of iron, heme and non heme. According to the McKinley Illinois website, "HEME iron is found only in meat, fish and poultry and is absorbed much more easily than NON-HEME iron, which is found primarily in fruits, vegetables, dried beans, and nuts." The absorption of non heme foods can be enhanced by eating it with a Vitmain C source (such as citrus fruit, strawberries, red bell pepper) or by being cooked in a cast iron skillet.
-Heme iron sources: liver (you knew that was coming, didn't you?), beef, chicke, pork, salmon, tuna, turkey
-Non-heme sources: almonds, apricots, beans, molasses, rice, broccoli
This just begins to scratch the surface. I always take a multivitamin/mineral to cover my nutritional bases. I think a digestive enzyme supplement and pro/prebiotics could also be helpful to assist in maximizing nutrient uptake.
Did you notice any patterns in the lists of recommended foods? Green leafy veggies, lean protein sources, healthy fats in the form of nuts and fatty fish, high fiber food like beans and the veggies again....sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
Go forth and absorb
References:
http://www.mayoclinic.com
http://www.health.gov
Erin Elberson
http://www.glutenfreefitness.com/
Erin provides easy to understand, and easy to implement, information about living a healthy life without gluten. Her goal is to provide education and resources to enable people to make positive changes in their health and lifestyle.
Please visit: http://www.glutenfreefitness.com/Free_Gluten.html to obtain her free guideline for setting up a healthy gluten free nutrition plan.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erin_Elberson
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3967821