Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Today Pushed Me Over The Edge

Yesterday I was standing on the edge and today I jumped.  I had contemplated the jump for awhile.  I played around with the idea, tried it out for a time, and enjoyed the results.  However the jump requires a big commitment and the entire family needs to be on board.  So I never really got hard core.

Today that changed. My husband and I received 3 of 3's allergy test results.  And with this news my family and I are jumping in with both feet.  We are going hard core gluten free, but in a week.  The rest of our clan is going to get tested next week.

I want to have all members of the family tested as I need to know if the girls are free to eat out and about as they please or if they are full time anti-glutenites too.

When I received the test results from the doctor I was STUNNED by what I learned.  3 of 3 is not allergic to milk, or almonds or eggs.  He is allergic to GLUTEN.  His hives may be brought on by the gluten.  Or the gluten may be causing him to be sensitive to other foods as it can cause chronic health conditions.

Either way, that is not what I expected to hear.

Throughout the appointment our doctor enlightened us about gluten intolerance, gluten sensitivity, and celiac diesease.  First off, in her experience 90% of the gluten intolerance issues are passed on from the father.  I had no idea!!!

And that is one of the reasons we are all going in for a great big family blood draw and allergy test.  Doesn't that sound like such a wonderful bonding experience?  Taking a 3 year old and a soon to be 6 year old to get blood drawn.

The doctor went on to say that when she started her practice, 1 in 200 patients had gluten issues.  Years later, it went up to 2 in 100 patients.  I could hardly believe it when she said currently she is finding at least 50% of her patients are testing positive for gluten allergies.  "A study looked at the blood tests of ten thousand people from fifty years ago and compared them to tests on 10,000 people today. The study discovered a 400% increase in full-blown celiac disease."  link  The same article said that around one third of the population has gluten intolerance and 1 in 100 has celiac disease.

Our doctor said the top indicators of gluten intolerance she sees in her patients were foggy headedness, sluggishness, bloatedness, skin problems such as eczema, seasonal allergies, especially allergies to mold, and joint pain.  GI tract issues were not even mention in the top indicators!

Gluten intolerance triggers an autoimmune response in the body.  "Symptoms can include irritable bowel disease, canker sores, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoporosis, anemia, cancer, autoimmune disease, MS, and neurological problems such as depression, anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia, nerve damage, migraines, epilepsy, and autism."  Link  Heart disease, liver disease and cancer are also linked to gluten issues.

So this momma is going to make it her summer mission to learn everything about gluten, every hidden source, every gluten free treat and recipe and basically learn how to become a hard core anti-glutenite.  Gluten, it's on!  You are so out of here!

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