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Celiac is not a disease

By Dr. Davis | February 5, 2013 115 Comments

Celiac is not a disease. Lest you think I’ve gone off my rocker, let me explain.

Say that, of 100 people you know who smoke, only 1 gets lung cancer. Do we declare that the only person who has problems with cigarettes is the poor unfortunate guy or girl with the one lung cancer? Shall we ignore the 60 cases of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, the 10 abdominal aortic aneurysms, the 5 thoracic aortic and iliofemoral aneurysms, the oral, tongue, and laryngeal cancers, and the several dozen other conditions that typically develop in smokers–but not as imminently fatal as lung cancer?

In other words, do we dismiss all these conditions that fall outside of lung cancer just because . . . they’re not lung cancer?

Of course not:All the conditions caused by smoking are important, even potentially debilitating, crippling, or fatal, even if they don’t “qualify” as lung cancer.

Then why do we do this with celiac disease? Modern wheat and its various components (alpha gliadins, omega gliadins, glutens, glutenins, amylopectin A, wheat germ agglutinin, alpha amylase inhibitors, and others) trigger an entire range of health conditions. Readers of the Wheat Belly message understand that consumption of any food made with modern wheat can cause:

–Accumumulation of inflammatory visceral fat (a “wheat belly”)
—Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, diabetes
—Gastrointestinal disruption–acid reflux/heart burn, esophagitis, esophageal stricture, bowel urgency/irritable bowel syndrome, worsening of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease)
—Neurological impairment–from mind “fog” and behavior outbursts in children with autistic spectrum disorder and ADHD, to paranoia and hallucations in schizophrenia, to food obsessions in those prone to bulimia and binge eating disorder, to triggering of mania in bipolar illness, to depression in the depression-prone. Also add cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, and dementia to the list (“gluten encephalopathy”).
—Joint pain and arthritis–Including both “wear-and-tear” osteoarthritis as well as inflammatory forms like rheumatoid.
—Autoimmune diseases–The peculiar potential for the gliadin protein of wheat to “unlock” the normal intestinal barriers, allowing foreign antigens access into the bloodstream, is the first step in autoimmunity, the immune system’s misguided effort to eliminate the “intruder,” such as your thyroid gland, colon, small intestine, synovial lining of your joints, skin, thymus, liver, pancreas, even brain.
—Skin disorders–Skin rashes and damage from wheat are as varied as they are ubiquitous. There is hardly a skin condition that is not caused by wheat. (Not to say that all skin conditions are caused by wheat–they are not, but that, of all the myriad skin conditions experienced by humans, virtually all have been associated with wheat consumption.) This ranges from the level of nuisance, such as acne, to the level of life-threatening, such as leg gangrene.

There’s plenty more, from cataracts, to calciuria, to porotic hyperostosis (disfigurement of the skull from iron deficiency). Shall we ignore all the other conditions attributable to wheat consumption just because they are not celiac disease? Do we regard the one smoker with lung cancer as the only one with disease–and the rest don’t count?

Okay, I think you can begin to appreciate the absurdity of labeling celiac a “disease”: The disease ain’t celiac; the disease is wheat.

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About Dr. Davis

Cardiologist Dr. William Davis is a New York
Times #1 Best Selling author and the Medical Director of the Wheat Belly Lifestyle Institute and the Undoctored Inner Circle program.

Nothing here should be construed as medical advice, but only topics for further discussion with your doctor. I practice cardiology in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Comments & Feedback...

  1. Sarah

    October 16, 2013 at 11:02 pm

    You’re kidding right? Please be kidding.
    You’re adding misconceptions and hype to fad dieters everywhere.
    Saying celiac isn’t a disease is making us sound like hypochondriacs. I realize your solution is for everyone to go g/f. Do you honestly thing that’s going to happen? I don’t. By saying it isn’t a disease you are minimizing the damage that gluten does to our bodies. Major damage.

    Also, boundless, if I hear one more person call it an ALLERGY I’m going to explode. It’s an autoimmune DISEASE.
    seriously…
    ugh

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    • Boundless

      January 5, 2014 at 9:17 am

      > You’re kidding right? Please be kidding.

      Absolutely not. Where do we draw the line on what is a “disease” and what is not? Obesity was lately classified as a disease. 99.999734% of the time it is no such thing. Is alcoholism a disease? I don’t think so.

      > You’re adding misconceptions and hype to fad dieters everywhere.

      The age of fad diets is about to end.

      > Saying celiac isn’t a disease is making us sound like hypochondriacs.

      Absolutely not. You have a testable genetic predisposition that indicates a severe immune response to something that should never have been considered a human food.

      > I realize your solution is for everyone to go g/f.

      Not just. Also low-carb, high-fat, entirely grain-free, PUFA-free, soy-free, organic, and non-GMO :).

      > Do you honestly think that’s going to happen?

      Of course not, just like people still smoke. But smokers can no longer pretend that they are unaware of the health consequences (or worse, {circa 1950} that smoking actually has health benefits, which is comparable to vegetarians who today eat pure gluten {seitan}, thinking it’s a superfood).

      > By saying it isn’t a disease you are minimizing the damage
      > that gluten does to our bodies. Major damage.

      Well, I respect your reaction, but you’re making that up. Gluten damages us all. Celiacs are damaged faster and more severely.

      > … if I hear one more person call it an ALLERGY I’m going to explode.
      > It’s an autoimmune DISEASE.

      So how who you feel about people routinely getting Cyrex array 3 testing?
      40% will come back as gluten-sensitive (compared to perhaps 2-5% for celiac).

      Apart from over-extending the meaning of the word “disease”, the celiac diagnosis is presently impeding progress in eliminating this toxin from the food chain. Far too many MDs and nutrition specialists think that if you test negative for celiac, you’re free to consume gluten.

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      • sarah

        February 15, 2014 at 4:20 pm

        How do I feel about Cyrex testing? Honest answer, I’m not sure. I don’t have all the information I would need to determine if it’s alarmist crap or the real deal. What I do know is that research hasn’t determined what size of peptide is needed or what other proteins/peptides can cause our cells to create antibodies to our own cells and enzymes that triggers intestinal damage. That’s the autoimmune part of celiac. That’s why we have more damage than normal people. Normal people do not have this biological response. There are others that have symptoms, but don’t have the autoimmune component (non celiac). I think these are the people you are talking about and as I understand it each case is different. I would agree with your last statement, but I think it’s more of a personal responsibility issue than a drs telling you what to do issue. If you fell like crap after eating gluten or grains, don’t eat them.
        My beef with this article is not with that aspect. I think it would be awesome if nobody ate gluten. It would make my life a hell of a lot easier. my problem is with spreading alarmist misinformation that confuses the general public and ultimately makes it harder for people like me to eat out or go shopping. The new labeling law is an excellent example of how good intentions get it wrong.

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