Celiac disease Intestinal Digestive Allergy

From The WashingtonPost.com


The disease is a genetic autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food, according to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, a nonprofit organization.

When those with the disease consume gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains, such as rye or barley, their immune system attacks the intestine's villi, which help absorb nutrients.

"The first eight inches of the gut" are affected, Andrasik said. Gluten causes it to "enflame and swell, and it stops absorbing. The more damage you have, the less you absorb." 

Left untreated, the disease can cause malnutrition, osteoporosis and intestinal cancers. In women, it carries an increased risk of miscarriage; in children, it can result in short stature. Symptoms include itchy skin rashes, chronic headaches, diarrhea and fatigue.

Celiac disease sufferers go gluten-free

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I just met someone whose family has several members with symptoms similar to mine, apparently this is genetic, they've told me. They suggested  I google  "celiac disease".

Celiac disease symptoms can begin at any age, involve multiple organs, and in both children and adults can be extremely variable -- or there ...

Today, we know that celiac disease can begin at any age, persists for life, can involve multiple organs, and that in both children and adults the symptoms of the disease can be extremely variable – or there may be no obvious symptoms at all. Because there is no standard “picture” of a person with celiac disease, some patients go from doctor to doctor for years, seeking a diagnosis for their illness. 

 The symptoms of celiac disease almost always disappear when the patient follows a strict gluten-free diet. In rare circumstances, when the intestines are so severely damaged by chronic inflammation that they cannot heal even with the gluten-free diet, the patient is said to have unresponsive, or refractory, celiac disease.


Disclaimer: No responsibility is accepted for use of this information. Use is entirely at your own risk. Information contained herein is for educational purposes only.

Kidney Disease Might Be Related To Insulin Disorder?

I've got 2 health problems: Gastric problems (Digestive problems) and Kidney Stones

Often the steps I take to address one often aggravate the other.


This article on The-Scientist.com alerted me to a new study pointing to insulin levels leading to kidney disease (and possibly renal failure)

Researchers most often attribute the disease to defects in the microvasculature of the kidneys as a result of high blood glucose levels, which are known to be toxic to a variety of cell types.

Diabetic kidney disease likely results from defective insulin signaling in the kidneys, contradicting long-standing suspicions, according to findings appearing online today (October 5) in Cell Metabolism.

Scientists have long attributed this type of kidney disease -- the leading cause of renal failure -- to high glucose levels in the blood and defects in the kidney microvasculature.

The study "suggests there's a direct effect of insulin" on epithelial cells in the kidney, "which is really a new idea," said nephrologist Thomas Coffman of Duke University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the research. "I'm sure it will be a highly cited paper."

Diabetes causes numerous health problems, including a form of kidney disease known as diabetic nephropathy (DN). DN is characterized by protein in the urine, enlarged kidneys, and abnormalities in the glomeruli, specialized capillaries where the urine filtration process begins, and other parts of the kidney.

Read more: Insulin is key to kidney disease - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences

Disclaimer: No responsibility is accepted for use of this information. Use is entirely at your own risk. Information contained herein is for educational purposes only.

Can Hemorrhoids Cause Gastric Problems?

Can Hemorrhoids Cause Gastric Problems?

What causes gas?
Which foods cause gas?
What are some symptoms and problems of gas?
What diagnostic tests are used?
How is gas treated?
Conclusion
Points to remember
Everyone has gas and eliminates it by burping or passing it through the rectum. However, many people think they have too much gas when they really have normal amounts. Most people produce about 1 to 3 pints a day and pass gas about 14 times a day.
Gas is made primarily of odorless vapors--carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sometimes methane. The unpleasant odor of flatulence comes from bacteria in the large intestine that release small amounts of gases that contain sulfur.
Although having gas is common, it can be uncomfortable and embarrassing. Understanding causes, ways to reduce symptoms, and treatment will help most people find relief.
What causes gas?
Gas in the digestive tract (that is, the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine) comes from two sources:

• swallowed air
• normal breakdown of certain undigested foods by harmless bacteria naturally present in the large intestine (colon)

Swallowed Air
Air swallowing (aerophagia) is a common cause of gas in the stomach. Everyone swallows small amounts of air when eating and drinking. However, eating or drinking rapidly, chewing gum, smoking, or wearing loose dentures can cause some people to take in more air.
Burping, or belching, is the way most swallowed air--which contains nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide--leaves the stomach. The remaining gas moves into the small intestine, where it is partially absorbed. A small amount travels into the large intestine for release through the rectum. (The stomach also releases carbon dioxide when stomach acid and bicarbonate mix, but most of this gas is absorbed into the bloodstream and does not enter the large intestine.)
Breakdown of undigested foods
The body does not digest and absorb some carbohydrates (the sugar, starches, and fiber found in many foods) in the small intestine because of a shortage or absence of certain enzymes.
This undigested food then passes from the small intestine into the large intestine, where normal, harmless bacteria break down the food, producing hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and, in about one-third of all people, methane. Eventually these gases exit through the rectum.
People who make methane do not necessarily pass more gas or have unique symptoms. A person who produces methane will have stools that consistently float in water. Research has not shown why some people produce methane and others do not.
Foods that produce gas in one person may not cause gas in another. Some common bacteria in the large intestine can destroy the hydrogen that other bacteria produce. The balance of the two types of bacteria may explain why some people have more gas than others.


Disclaimer: No responsibility is accepted for use of this information. Use is entirely at your own risk.
Information contained herein is for educational purposes only.

Plum Juice Seems To Help... a LOT

Havn't posted to this blog in a while... because I've not been in pain:)

Besides Activia (I wish I could get paid to pitch this stuff...) actually doing for me, what the TV commercials with Jamie Lee Curtis says it will do for you, I've found that Plum Juice helps cut down on my gastric problems.

The doctor I went to last about this suggested bran flakes to "soak up excess acid", that helped as well, although it wasn't a perfect solution: too much bran led to constipation.

Going to the gym and stretching (almost yoga like stretching) is also helping

Disclaimer: No responsibility is accepted for use of this information. Use is entirely at your own risk. Information contained herein is for educational purposes only.