I was really impressed by the article featured in Living Without interviewing Alessio Fasano, a professor of pediatrics, medicine and physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of the Center for Celiac Research. Dr. Fasano led a study demonstrating that gluten sensitivity is a distinct medical condition that is separate from Celiac Sprue disease.
This study scientifically analyzes and declares that there are distinct, although different physiological changes going on for gluten-intolerance. It also makes the problem of gluten-intolerance valid and immediately needing the attention of health care providers, if they aren't paying attention already. For me this means "you're not crazy". It's interesting to work with people who are gluten-intolerant because there is always a constant internal battle; "I don't have Celiac but I don't seem to be able to digest gluten either. What gives?" Trust me, living a gluten free life is not for the faint of heart. I wouldn't recommend trying such an austere regimen "just for fun", because it isn't. It's hard work.
And another frustrating part of living gluten free is finding health practitioners that treat Celiac or Gluten-Intolerance as a "made up condition" or basic hysteria. I was appalled to learn of an herbalist who added Fu Xiao Mai (unripe wheat grains) to a patient's formula, even though the patient had clearly indicated they were gluten-intolerant. Why? Because the patient was obviously emotionally disturbed and Fu Xiao Mai Nourishes the Heart and calms the Spirit, and anyway, the patient never seemed to notice.
Wrong.
What we're learning more and more about this condition is that it can manifest in a number of different ways. Gluten reactions don't look like, for example, a peanut allergy reaction. The reaction can be very subtle and damaging in ways we can't see. Why does someone have to demonstrate anaphylaxis (life threatening allergic reaction) or urticaria (hives) for a condition to be considered real? What about osteoporosis that only begins to remit when the patient is found to be Celiac and a gluten free lifestyle is the only therapy that works?
On the other hand, it's heartening to think that if we continue to pursue and unravel the reasons why this auto-immune disease works the way it does, we might find ways to prevent other auto-immune disorders.
For more on Celiac please see http://celiaccenter.org/ or http://www.celiac.com/
