Celiac Disease Foundation Conference 2012

I had the opportunity this past weekend to attend the Celiac Disease Foundation Annual Conference and Food Show in Los Angeles.

As I study to become a Gluten Free Coach, it is my intention to learn as much as I possibly can about this disease and the potential damage that can be caused by this insidious little protein. I personally suffer from non celiac gluten intolerance and have been gluten free for 12 years since beginning my Low Carbohydrate/Paleo journey. Check out my page on gluten intolerance here. If you have any of the symptoms, you might consider testing and at the very least, trying to eliminate gluten for 30 days to see if you notice any marked improvement.

I will say that while I took a few points away, I was slightly disappointed with this conference. There were four featured speakers and I gained the most from one which happens to be a RD specializing in advising the celiac on diet and nutrition.

I was particularly disappointed with one of the speakers, Peter H. R. Green, MD.

Dr. Green is the Director of The Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. He is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University and Attending Physician at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He is also a Member of CDF Medical Advisory Board.

Dr. Green made what I believe to be an irresponsible statement for the innocent patient suffering intestinal damage. "Probiotics are un-necessary and even dangerous" and "Just go to Costco and pick up a cheap multi-vitamin".

As a Nutrition Educator, I have personal experience with both sides of the coin. Dr. Green made the reference to "lack of clinical data of the efficacy of probiotics in celiac disease". Interestingly enough, the first speaker, Stefano Guandalini, MD spoke of the potential relationship between reduced microbes and celiac disease being a potential cause. Our increase in C-Sections and lack of breast feeding could be one of the factors but more evidence is still needed. Now this made me feel like Dr. Green is disconnected from the ever important steps it takes to repair the gut and gain improved health considering "Celiacs have a higher mortality rate" as quoted by the good Dr. Talking out both sides of his mouth perhaps?

While so many gluten intolerant and celiacs are suffering without diagnosis by Gastroenterologists, one would think that this particular Dr. would be well versed in the healing of the villi that is damaged by the gluten protein considering his position. I would like to know if Dr. Green has spent any time advising on diet and repair of gut permeability?

The second speaker that I truly appreciated was RD, Shelley Case. A registered dietitian, Shelley Case is a leading international expert on celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. She is a member of the Medical Advisory Boards of the Celiac Disease Foundation, Gluten Intolerance Group and Canadian Celiac Association, as well as the Scientific Advisory Board of the Grain Foods Foundation.

We had the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and mine of course was devoted to Dr. Greens statement. I appreciated the fact that Ms. Case so eloquently pointed out that Physicians are usually clinical data driven and stated: "I have and do use quality probiotic and supplement treatment with my clients with great success." That question and statement received the only ovation of the entire day. Shelley Case has published what I think one of the most complete guides to living with Celiac you will find. Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide- Expanded and Revised Edition

Again, I have personally witnessed the efficacy of quality probiotics and quality whole food supplementation on celiac/gluten intolerance clients as well, I have watched celiacs suffer a couple of years post diagnosis with no gut treatment. This, referred to as continued TTA (Tissue Transglutaminase Antibody) elevation. This, one of the markers of inflammation in the gut.

Never mentioned during this entire conference, the ensuing damage of phytates, lectins and sapponins contained within all grains and legumes nor the cross reactionary potential of these toxins to maintain inflammatory responses in the gut. To top it off, phytates bind to minerals and in the already deficient individual, this can cause further mineral depletion. My point? A Paleo diet along with a gut healing protocol will elevate the health of the Celiac.

I thought to myself, "If only Prof. Loren Cordain, Robb Wolf or Nora Gedgaudas had been there, I know my time spent would have garnered more information than I would even known what to do with."

Consistently, in modern medicine, we look for cures to what seems to affect an increasing number of people. As Dr. William Davis points out in his book Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, our modern wheat supply has changed so much we barely recognize many of the proteins. Mentioned at this conference was the possibility of a vaccine.

Really???

So rather than stand up against big food processing, we manipulate? We allow big food to force us to change the evolutionary biology of the human body? I refuse to believe that this is a solution for long term health and fear this only panders to our addictions and the profit of the food processing industry.

Speaking of the food processing industry. Let's just say that all of the big guys are sponsoring this event. I was hard pressed to find real food options at this event. Fortunately, the breakfast supplied had fresh fruit and hard boiled eggs. Now I'm pretty picky about the food I will put into my body and I knew that some of the cleaner natural food producers were going to be there. I'm a grain free girl but not all of my clients are so it is important to me to know the options that I can safely recommend to my grain consuming celiac/gluten intolerant friends. I did taste test a few things and as I expected, left with a stomach ache.

In my opinion as well as many of my colleagues, we are trading one problem for another. High carb food for high carb food. The president of the CDF clearly stated "We need food so be sure to support our sponsors". Sorry folks, that is not food these processors are providing you. As a celiac with damaged villi, or gluten intolerant sufferer with IBS, you need nutrient from real whole foods to assist in healing that gut and reducing your mortality rate (as stated by one of the speakers).

I located one vendor that not only tickled my taste buds but really caught my attention with advertising at their booth "Low Carb". This was a local restaurant in Los Angeles called Chili Addiction. One taste and I was addicted!. Owners Johnny and Rick won my loyalty with their knowledge of good food, Paleo, Low Carb and quality. More about this establishment in my next blog post because they have mail order! Let's just say they use Prime Rib cut in their chili and burgers and one of the ingredients in my favorite chili is rosemary.

All in all I enjoyed my time at this conference and while there is still a great deal of work to be done with education of the benefit of whole, real foods and overall health, word is spreading and the needs of this very special group are becoming increasingly met.

After the conference, my husband made an excellent observation. He stated "There is a vast difference between the physical health of the attendees at this conference as opposed to the attendees at the Ancestral Health Symposium." I have to agree with him. Imagine if every celiac adapted the Paleo/Primal/Low Carb Lifestyle. Their health would soar and as a result, their physical appearance would be greatly improved. Our physical appearance is so frequently influenced by our inner health.

Dr. William Davis' "Wheat-loss Diet"

Have you been working on a weight loss project? Perhaps a low fat diet, eating whole heart healthy grains? There is a great deal of evidence that this heavily promoted food group is not only making us fatter but creating a lot of illness as well. This highly inflammatory little grain we call wheat is implicated in a whole host of ailments.

When I lecture, I call this the "Wheat Bomb". No one can believe that their high fiber, whole wheat cereal, bread, crackers and pastas are making them sick.....until they begin to remove them. Instantly, the waist begins to shrink, the joints are more flexible and less painful and an alert person begins to shine through.

Reacting with the opiat receptors in the gut, wheat is also highly addictive. This legal drug is grabbing us, giving us our high only to let us down with withdrawal and the need for more. You don't have to meet anyone behind a warehouse to get this legal drug either. No ID is required, no proof of the ability to consume, any child can walk right into a grocery store and grab a loaf for just pennies. It's affordable, and it's widely available and it has you "hooked". I know this sounds like a seedy description and I joke but this highly modified grass is wreaking so much havoc I frequently wonder who could have kept their colon or sadly, their life.

Wheat has a Glycemic Index of more than 70 and believe it or not, table sugar has a GI of about 50. Yes, a Snickers bar is healthier than a whole wheat piece of toast.

If you've been suffering from bloat, inflammation, elevated blood pressure, constipation, migraine headaches, a tourette style tick like I did, visceral fat, lethargy, and so much more, cut the wheat out of your diet. You'll feel so much better and you'll drop weight almost instantly on this "Wheat Loss Diet".

The following video is of Dr. William Davis, Cardiologist and Author of Wheat Belly. Every person should read this book because we are all affected. We must never forget, the obesity epidemic has hit 2/3 of us, and this number is growing by leaps and bounds. Save your heart, save your life and pass the word that wheat is the new tobacco.

Dr. William Daviss Wheat-loss Diet

Study confirms increase in wheat gluten disorder

Blood samples from '50s show it isn't just improved diagnosis, and researchers wonder if diet is a factor

A Minnesota study using frozen blood samples taken from Air Force recruits 50 years ago has found that intolerance of wheat gluten, a debilitating digestive condition, is four times more common today than it was in the 1950s.

The findings contradict the prevailing belief that a sharp increase in diagnoses of wheat gluten intolerance has come about because of greater awareness and detection, and raises questions about whether dramatic changes in the American diet have played a role.

"It's become much more common," said Dr. Joseph Murray, the Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist who led the study. No one knows why, he said, but one reason might be rapid changes in eating habits and food processing over the last half century.

"Fifty years is way too fast for human genetics to have changed," Murray said. "Which tells us it has to be a pervasive environmental influence."

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota who conducted the study also found that the recruits who had the undiagnosed digestive disorder, called celiac disease, also had a four-fold increase in the risk of death.

Today an estimated one of 100 people suffer from the inherited disorder, though most of the time people don't know they have it.

The disease occurs in people whose bodies cannot digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The undigested protein triggers the body's immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine, causing diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain. Though people live with it for many years, over time it destroys the lining of the small intestine, leading to an inability to absorb nutrients such as iron and calcium. That, in turn, causes serious problems, including anemia, osteoporosis and even infertility.

The only treatment is a gluten-free diet -- no wheat, rye or barley.

Murray said he initiated the study to find out whether the disease is on the rise, and whether it had long-term health consequences if undiagnosed and untreated.

He turned to medical archaeology to find the answers - a treasure-trove of blood samples taken from recruits at the Warren Air Force base in Cheyenne, Wyo., between 1948 and 1954. At the time, strep infections were raging among the recruits, mostly young men on their way to fight in the Korean war. Doctors there drew the samples as part of a study that proved treating the infections with antibiotics would prevent rheumatic fever, a serious heart ailment that can follow strep throat.

One of the doctors in that study took some of the samples with him when he moved to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. When he decided to retire two decades ago, he asked Dr. Edward Kaplan, a strep specialist at the University of Minnesota, to become their guardian. The vials were transported in frozen-pizza delivery trucks to Minneapolis, where they reside today.

"Nobody has anything like it," said Kaplan. "There are other collections, but none go back this far."

In 2000 they were used to help resolve an intense debate among researchers over whether hepatitis C infection meant certain death, or whether many people could live with it for years.
Murray used a similar design for the study on celiac disease, published today in the journal Gastroenterology. He tested more than 9,133 samples for the antibodies that proved the recruits had celiac disease; 43, or about one out of 652, had the disease. He then tested blood samples from groups of men from Olmsted County, more than 12,000 in all. In an older group of men, one in 121 tested positive, and in the younger group one in 106 tested positive, an increase of four to four-and-a-half times.

His findings raise questions about why the number of people with the disease has grown so fast. But rates of other immune diseases have also increased a lot. One theory is that modern, clean living, which has resulted in fewer infections, parasites and microbes in our bodies, causes the immune system to turn on healthy tissue instead. Or it might be the modern diet, Murray said.
"The types of food we eat now are different," he said.

Star Tribune 7-09