Curious about CELIAC

Are there many people out there who have celiac disease (gluten intolerance) or family members who do? I read something about it being linked to heart defects but I don't know if there is much proof. Just curious!

Thanks!

3 Comments

celiac

by Tracey_E - 2009-06-10 04:06:07

I've never heard of a connection. Celiac is genetic so if one family member has it, others should be tested. Undiagnosed celiac can cause many organ problems, including heart.

One of my best friends is a nurse and her whole family is celiac. I'm no expert but I've picked up a lot hanging out with her for the last ten years and feeding her kids on a regular basis. I bake a mean gluten free chocolate cake if you want the recipe!

From a Chinese perspective

by wiredwoman - 2009-06-10 07:06:00

I don't have celiac disease, but the element organ correspondences in Chinese medicine do offer a likely connection.

Each of the five elements in Chinese medicine (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) corresponds to: a yin (hollow) organ, a yang (solid) organ, a sense organ, a tissue, an emotion, a fluid, and a few other things. For example:

Wood corresponds to the liver (yin), the gall bladder (yang), the eyes (sense), the tendons/sinews (tissue), anger/impatience (emotion), and tears (fluid). So more often than not, symptoms/imbalances in one of these areas lead either directly or circuitously to symptoms/imbalances in the others as they're sort of on the same 'circuit', so to speak.

As an example, someone who is angry or stressed a lot may suffer from tension headaches/migraines accompanied by tightness in the neck and shoulders, red eyes, visual disturbances, digestive upset/bile issues. Once the headache peaks, they may cry spontaneously (if they allow themselves) providing a physical release of 'excess' (too much heat) in the liver that brings further relief. The tears may even feel somewhat acidic. Their mood then becomes more peaceful.

Fire corresponds to the heart-mind (yin), small intestine (yang). tongue/speech (sense), blood vessels (tissue), joy (emotions) and sweat (fluid). The connection is made here between heart and memory as well as digestion and heart. You might know someone whose symptoms illustrate the correspondences in much the same way as the headache example and be able to see how these things are connected.

There are many wonderful books on Chinese medicine that provide much more thorough explanations than I can if you're interested. A good acupuncturist is also a great source. It's a complicated field but with an underlying logic and simplicity that I just love.

Hope that helps!


**wiredwoman





celiac connections

by Eperr - 2009-06-10 11:06:23

A year ago test results showed I had a sensitivity to gluten. I took the test because I was frustrated with diarrhea problems. A son had similar test results and my mother had diarrhea. Once I quit gluten, the diarrhea went away. Diarrhea causes mineral loss - especially magnesium and potassium. Both are vital to functioning heart and deficiencies can contribute to a-fib.

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