Celiac Disease? You Don’t Need a Positive Biopsy!

The Creator of the Intestinal Biopsy Disagrees with Most Gastroenterologists

Imagine being the ‘father’ of the intestinal biopsy and having your opinion ignored. It would be rather frustrating, not to mention heartbreaking, when your entire life’s work was dedicated to helping individuals with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

A recent interview with Dr Michael Marsh, the founder of the Marsh Classification System of intestinal biopsy, revealed that Dr Marsh himself is in total disagreement with the standard utilized by gastroenterologists to determine whether a patient should be diagnosed with celiac disease and begin a gluten-free diet.

Is 'Waiting for' Complete Villous Atrophy Malpractice?

In a fascinating discussion led by Dr Thom O’Bryan from the Gluten eSummit, Dr Marsh revealed that he created his classification system in 1982 and in 1992 formally spoke out at an international conference, making it quite clear that to not recommend a gluten-free diet for a patient with positive blood work but a negative biopsy was a medico-legal situation in the making. Meaning that doctor who refused to recommend a gluten-free diet could be held accountable should that patient later develop severe nutritional deficiencies, osteoporosis or cancer, to name a few of the many possible negative scenarios.

Dr Marsh stated that he had met individuals in their 20s who were celiac but hadn’t initiated a gluten-free diet and already, at their young age, had developed cancer.

He went on to cite the work of several other researchers: 

• Dr Kaukinen from Finland who found antibodies (immune system reactions) to gluten a full 7 years before villous atrophy occurred.
• Dr Not who showed elevated fatty acid binding protein, substances that reveal cell death, when a biopsy was completely normal.
• Dr Ludvigsson who discovered increased mortality with those showing intestinal inflammation despite no change in the intestinal lining, a mortality rate that exceeded those WITH intestinal damage by 2x.

 
All these researchers have proven what traditional, current gastroenterologists seem to refuse to admit and that is that waiting for complete destruction of the lining of the small intestine is dangerous and even reckless for the patient.

Show THIS to Your Doctor

Have YOU been told that you don’t have to stop eating gluten even though a blood test said otherwise because your biopsy was normal or not a Marsh 3 (meaning total villous atrophy)? If so, you were told wrong. And that is straight from the founder of the system himself!

Dr Marsh feels that all stages found in a biopsy should be taken seriously. And, the type of biopsy he recommends might interest you, especially if you’ve ever had one. He prefers rectal biopsies that require little to no ‘down’ time from work or daily activities. 

When asked what percentage of the population fell into the ‘at risk’ stages of Marsh 1, 2 or 3, Dr Marsh stated a full 30%! 1% have Marsh 3, full villous atrophy, but 29%, in his opinion, fall within Marsh 1 or 2 meaning partial atrophy and therefore needful of a gluten-free diet. That's 30% of our population, a number I've been quoting for a long time...

The doctor also placed strong emphasis on noting that celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are not solely the domain of the small intestine, but in fact are also large intestinal diseases. This was great to hear from such an esteemed source, because I often am faulted when I mention that we have excellent success treating Crohn’s disease or colitis by, in great part, removing gluten from the patient’s diet. I’ve been chastised  that such a treatment makes no sense when gluten doesn’t affect the large intestine, but only the small intestine. Not being a researcher, all I could fall back on was my own and fellow doctors’ experience here at HealthNOW -  we DO see excellent results. It’s nice to have Dr Michael Marsh’s support in the area. He made it quite clear that gluten affects the mesenteric immune system and that is found in the intestines – both large and small.

Is Beer Okay? Really?

Does gluten-free mean no beer? You’re thinking ‘of course’. Me too. However Dr Marsh has always allowed his celiac patients to drink English beer. Despite being warm in temperature, is English beer any different than American beer? I truly have no idea, but Dr Marsh was quite adamant about the fact that he never saw any negative reactions in his beer drinking celiac patients. Please don’t ask me for my opinion on this one yet – I’m going to have to do some pondering!

Celiac Blood Test Found Not to be Accurate

Lastly, Dr Marsh spoke out strongly against the tTG blood test – another ‘gold standard’ of celiac testing. While the test is 97 to 99% sensitive and specific within a patient who has a positive Marsh 3 biopsy, when it comes to those with partial atrophy, the test quickly gets a failing grade at only 27 to 33% accurate.

This is why I utilize the Cyrex Lab – I have no personal affiliation with this lab, I only recommend it because it’s the most comprehensive testing currently available.

Help Me to Help More People- Spread the Word!

The bottom line is that celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are killing people – not the people who know and diligently follow their diet, but the people who don’t know or the people who suspect but are erroneously being told by their doctor that they’re ‘fine’ when they are not.

Let’s spread the word! Show this post to your doctor. We’ll start a dialogue and perhaps make some inroads into the proper and early diagnosis of these important conditions.

Need Help? We're Here for You! 

If you felt as if I was describing you above, you are not alone. As I mentioned earlier, adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is almost epidemic. If you would like assistance and don’t have a clinician whom you feel can assist you, consider contacting us for a FREE Health Analysis.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

Is Depression Really a Chemical Imbalance or Does Gluten Play a Role?

Patients with depression are told they have a chemical imbalance.  If someone else in their family is also

depressed, the “gene card” is played.  “Your depression is genetic”, they are told.

I have been in practice for over 20 years and I find the above data to be false.  Consistently we find patients who are suffering from depression and anxiety to be gluten (and dairy) sensitive.

How could a food cause depression?  Let’s take a look:

After the digestive tract, the most common system to be affected by gluten is the nervous system. It is thought that depression can be caused by gluten in one of two ways. 

First, gluten causes inflammatory changes. The immune system in an individual with glutensensitivity or celiac disease responds in a negative, inflammatory fashion to the protein gliadin.  Unfortunately, that protein is similar in structure to other proteins present in the body, including those of the brain and nerve cells. A cross reactivity can occur whereby the immune system “confuses” proteins in the body for the protein gliadin.  This is called cellular mimicry and the result of this confusion is the body literally attacking it’s own tissues. When inflammation occurs in the brain and nervous system, a variety of symptoms can ensue, including depression.

Research shows us that patients with symptoms involving the nervous system suffer from digestive problems only 13% of the time.  This is significant because mainstream medicine equates gluten sensitivity almost exclusively with digestive complaints, a mistake that causes millions to suffer needlessly.

In a study examining blood flow to the brain, 15 patients with untreated celiac disease were compared to 15 patients treated with a gluten-free diet for a year.  The findings were amazing. In the untreated group, 73% had abnormalities in brain circulation while only 7% in the treated group showed any abnormalities. The patients with the brain circulation problems were frequently suffering from symptoms such as anxiety and depression.

In addition to circulation problems creating symptoms of depression, other research has looked at the association between gluten sensitivity and its interference with protein absorption.  Specifically, the amino acid tryptophan can be deficient. Tryptophan is a protein in the brain responsible for a feeling of well-being and relaxation. A deficiency can be correlated to feelings of depression and anxiety.

Is it worth it to discover if your depression is being causes by something in your diet? Absolutely, in my opinion.

Our society is too willing to accept a “chemical imbalance” as an explanation for their symptoms and instead of getting to the root cause of the condition, simply opt to swallow a pill – a pill that in the case of anti-depressants has very dangerous and sometimes lethal side effects.

The frequency with which we are able to successfully taper patients off their anti-depressants is considered “unbelievable” to many mainstream doctors, yet we do it regularly.  How is that possible?  We actually diagnose the root cause of the depression.  Frequently the culprit is gluten.

I hope you found this informative. If you or someone you know is suffering from depression, consider calling us for a free healthanalysis – 408-733-0400. We are a destination clinic and we treat patients from across the country and internationally. You don’t need to live local to us to receive assistance. We are here to help!

Need Help? We're Here for You! 

If you felt as if I was describing you above, you are not alone. As I mentioned earlier, adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is almost epidemic. If you would like assistance and don’t have a clinician whom you feel can assist you, consider contacting us for a FREE Health Analysis. We are a Destination Clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally. We would be delighted to help you as we have been doing so for over two decades.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

The ‘Gluten’ Found in Coffee and Chocolate

Why Do Some Celiacs Never Heal?

Research tells us that only eight percent of those adult patients suffering with celiac disease experience complete healing of their gut despite maintaining a strict gluten-free diet. Sixty five percent feel better, but only a fraction (8%) enjoy complete healing.

This is significant because too many patients suffering from celiac disease and gluten sensitivity do not enjoy the good health they deserve. Instead they suffer a variety of symptoms and many develop serious autoimmune diseases and other life threatening diseases such as cancer.

It is felt that many autoimmune diseases could potentially be prevented if the individuals’ gut lesions and leaky gut were fully addressed.

I want to discuss a tool that we use here at the clinic to help isolate any dietary components that could be ‘confusing’ the immune system of a gluten intolerant patient to react as if gluten was being consumed. I often have patients tell me that they feel ‘glutened’ despite the lack of gluten consumption.

What are "Cross Reactive" Foods and How Can They Make You Sick

How can this occur? Cross reactivity is a process whereby the body consumes a protein (e.g. milk) that has similarities to the protein gluten. Due to this similarity (known as molecular mimicry) the body’s immune system reacts to this food as if it were gluten, creating symptoms that the patient attributes to gluten consumption. The picture at the top of this post gives a good visual of how this occurs.

Is milk gluten? No. But if cross-reactivity is occurring, it may as well be as far as the patient’s immune system is concerned. In other words, ingestion of these cross-reactive foods can irritate and inflame the immune system in much the same way as if gluten was being ingested. The result? Poor healing and continued illness.

Therefore in patients who are not feeling optimal despite maintaining a gluten-free diet, or who continue to have a leaky gut or develop autoimmune disease, testing for cross-reactive foods can be a great diagnostic tool.

 The test is a blood test offered by Cyrex Labs and includes the following foods:

Cow’s milk

Casein

American cheese

Chocolate

Sesame

Hemp

Buckwheat

Sorghum

Millet

Amaranth

Quinoa

Yeast

Tapioca

Oats

Coffee

Corn

Rice

Potato

Temporary Avoidance May Be All That's Needed

Once the test returns it will reveal what, if any, foods are causing a reaction. The protocol is to remove these foods from the diet for three months and then reintroduce them slowly, one at a time, to determine any negative reactions. Unfortunately, some foods, if found positive, are considered permanent sensitivities and are therefore not reintroduced. These are: dairy, rice, corn, yeast and millet.

For the rest of the foods, elimination for a period of three months should allow the body’s immune system to rebuild and repair and, along with other measures taken by a savvy clinician, will go far towards repairing any leaky gut issues.

I’m not trying to depress anyone regarding further dietary restrictions. Being gluten intolerant myself, I very much understand the discipline that is required. But if a cross-reactive food(s) is the culprit underlying a lack of healing and putting one at risk for other diseases, it certainly is important to find out.

Here at HealthNOW we have found it make a huge difference in some of our patient's health.

I hope this was helpful and please do let me know any questions that you have or if you would like assistance to improve your health. That’s why I’m here!

Our destination clinic treats patients from across the country and internationally. If you don’t live locally it’s not a problem. You can call for a free health analysis – 408-733-0400.

Need Help? We're Here for You! 

If you felt as if I was describing you above, you are not alone. As I mentioned earlier, adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is almost epidemic. If you would like assistance and don’t have a clinician whom you feel can assist you, consider contacting us for a FREE Health Analysis. We are a Destination Clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally. We would be delighted to help you as we have been doing so for over two decades.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

I Have Celiac Disease - How Good Can I Expect to Feel?

Are You Gluten-Free But Still Having Symptoms?

Discovering that you have celiac disease, or gluten sensitivity, is often a decade long process (or longer!) that entails many doctors, many drugs to treat symptoms actually being caused by gluten, and a lot of treatments that don’t work.

When you finally find out the ‘real’ answer – gluten – you think all your problems will be solved. And initially, it often seems that they are. But, due to a continued leaky gut, undiagnosed infections, a compromised immune system, cross-reactive foods (those that mimic gluten), poor digestive enzyme levels, probiotic imbalances and/or hormone imbalance, symptoms often return (or they never went away entirely in the first place).

It can be quite frustrating to diligently follow a gluten-free diet, only to feel 'somewhat' better, but not great. I’ve known many people whom became so discouraged that they began cheating occasionally. They figured that they weren’t feeling great anyway, why try so hard?

As the problems persist, one is easily left with the idea that this mediocre health status is as good as it gets. And too often, doctors concur.

There Is a Reason for Your Continued Problems

 Is it asking too much to handle those lingering symptoms? I don’t think so. We have coined the term “Secondary Effects of Gluten” to address the exact scenario I’ve been discussing. And if you find that this describes you, believe me you are in very good company.

If you’ve heard me speak of the secondary effects of gluten before, believe me it bears repeating. Why? Because this problem of lingering, or returning symptoms, is truly the most common complaint I hear from individuals who have been diagnosed with gluten intolerance. And here at HealthNOW Medical Center we have people visit us from around the world to handle that exact problem.

What Can You Do?

1    1. Don’t give up. There’s always a reason for underlying symptoms and you just need to find out what is causing it.

2     2. Find a clinician who understands the secondary effects of gluten and has the diagnostic tools to discover what specifically is affecting you.

3     If you need help with either of the above, feel free to contact us. We will help you to try to find a clinician local to you or we can help you here. We are a destination clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally - you don't need to live local to us to receive help. 

      

      The facts are that gluten can be quite devastating to several systems of the body, chief amongst them the digestive tract, nervous system and immune system. Removing gluten from the diet is often insufficient to truly heal these systems. But that doesn't mean they cannot be normalized - far from it.

     We Are Here to Help!

      If you are interested in a free health analysis, consider calling us at 408-733-0400 – we are here to help!

Please share this information with others you know. Whether a friend or family member has been diagnosed with gluten intolerance and continues to suffer symptoms, or their health issues fall within the over 300 symptoms and conditions that could be associated with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, let them know about gluten and let them know that better health is possible.

While it may seem sometimes that ‘everyone’ now knows about gluten, nothing could be farther from the truth. Those of us who live with gluten intolerance are so well versed in it that it may seem unlikely that ‘everyone’ isn’t aware of the problem. But I promise you that awareness has a long way to go before the  millions who continue to suffer needlessly get properly diagnosed.

Need Help? We're Here for You! 

If you felt as if I was describing you above, you are not alone. As I mentioned earlier, adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is almost epidemic. If you would like assistance and don’t have a clinician whom you feel can assist you, consider contacting us for a FREE Health Analysis. We are a Destination Clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally. We would be delighted to help you as we have been doing so for over two decades.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”