Gluten sensitivity / dysfunctional bowel letter (August 2011)
Q1 Sue I just found your question and answer section on the net and arrived at this page. I have just moved to Natal from Cape Town as a result of some very difficult circumstances. I was searching for hormone help and found that you advise on so many of my problems. I have a totally dysfunctional bowel and really serious symptoms and nobody has been able to help me come right. I would really value being able to speak to you if that is at all possible. I am truly desperate. Many thanks.
A1 The best person to help you in Durban is my friend Lucille. Unless you approach your food sensitivities there is no drug or pep talk that can help you. This will require a lot of homework and effort on your part but you will have plenty of support and resources.
1 We usually advise to begin with gluten exclusion. Lucille can help you.
2 I further recommend eating for your blood type. Try a month like this and you will feel a big improvement in the way you feel.
3 Clean out the parasites – this really improves bowel health.
4 Take our PROBIOTIC-15 supplement to set up a good balance of gut flora.
5 Hormones are complex. We have tinctures that can help but what really upsets them are diet (gluten and lectins that cause autoimmune problems ie. Blood type), stress, toxins and contraceptive pills. I hope this will help you into a better space.
Love, Sue Visser
Dear Friends, Anyone suffering from celiac disease is sensitive not only to the gliadin bearing grains, but to any grain or starch product. I had severe digestive issues for many years in my teens and early twenties. I thought it was IBS, but when I landed up in hospital with bleeding from my intestines five years ago, as well as a severely compromised immune system, I was diagnosed via blood test by a gastroenterologist as having celiac disease. I’ve been living gluten-free (as well as corn-free) now for five years, and have never felt better. Regards, Lucille.
A2 From Lucille: I believe that anyone who suffers from a “totally dysfunctional bowel” as you put it, has to suspect food sensitivities. I suspect that you may be sensitive to gluten grains (wheat, rye, oats and barley) and possibly dairy products.
If you can give me a few more details about this “totally dysfunctional bowel” I may be able to point you in the right direction for tests.
If you suffer from chronic diarrhoea and/or severe weight loss, you may be suffering from the condition called coeliac disease (pronounced as. see-lee-ack).
In this case you should go to a reputable gastroenterologist like Dr. Funnel at Parklands hospital who will organise the correct blood tests. (See document attached called gluten blood tests). He may even then suggest you have a small bowel biopsy. This is to check for flattened villi in your intestines. Villi are microscopic finger-like projections on the walls of the intestine. They are there to absorb nutrients from food. In the presence of gluten (as in wheat, rye, oats and barley), these villi become damaged and cannot function properly.
If you suffer from constipation or alternating constipation and diarrhoea, you may be suffering from a milder form of the condition called gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance.
In both cases, you need blood tests first, then you will probably have to follow a gluten free diet. The gluten free diet is for life. You will never “grow out of it”. This is because it is genetic. You inherited it from one or both parents. I am attaching a lot of documents for your interest. Once you have read the symptom list, please contact me again and let me know what symptoms you suffer from. Where do you live in Natal? You may like to attend a talk I am giving on food allergies and gluten sensitivity on 10th September at the Kloof Methodist Church (see attachment).
If you feel you do not suffer from full-blown coeliac disease, then I try and encourage people to go for the ImuPro 100 Delayed Food Allergy Type III (IgG) test. At R1950 it sounds very expensive, but it is a truly excellent food allergy test. It will be the best test you will have in your whole life! Check out www.wellpro.co.za or go into the German supplier’s website:www.imupro.com .
In South Africa, you can have a blood sample taken at any Dis-Chem pharmacy and they courier the blood to the laboratory in Westville, Durban. You do not have to go through a doctor. The lab is run by microbiologists and geneticists. They e-mail the results to you within 7-10 days. They also provide you with a 30-page report and diet sheet with recipes personally designed to eliminate your food allergies or sensitivities. You can of course go direct to the lab in Durban. Their phone number is 031-267 7000 The lab is called Molecular Diagnostic Services. Their email address is wellness@mdsafrica.net
To learn a bit more about the effects of gluten in the diet, I suggest you check out these websites:
www.celiac.com
www.coeliacuk.org
www.gluten-free.org
Web Site: http://www.labspec.co.za/ (then click the gluten/coeliac link)
Kind Regards, Lucille
Lucille Cholerton Nutrition Counsellor
Specialist in Gluten Sensitivity/Coeliac Disease Gluten Intolerance/Coeliac Support Group Est. 1995
1, The Palms, 13, Park Lane, Kloof Durban 3610 South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)31-764 2129 Fax: 086 672 6346
Email: lucoll@mweb.co.za Website: www.allergysa.co.za
Thank you very much indeed for your reply Sue. It is much appreciated. My case is very severe and very complex because it also involves a functional bowel disorder. I am at my wit’s end .I have not had gluten for years and don’t think my body can cope with the blood type diet as I need to be eating meat as an O positive and with a dysfunctional bowel that is out of the question. Something has gone wrong with the nerve function in the bowel. I had a bowel prolapse op last year and don’t know if this has gone wrong now but I am in Durban and can’t get to see Dr. Elliot. anyway thank you for your input. It is much appreciated.