Gout And Celiac Disease? It Cant’ Be Ignored

(this post was updated on 9/16/2015)

Wheat and Gluten seem to go hand in hand with Celiac Disease – which has a connection to all sorts of ailments.  This relationship has us paying attention to the affects of what is in our diet and gout. Why is that?

For a while now I’ve been wondering what all the fuss is about “wheat-free” this and “gluten-free” that.  If you’re wondering too, the book, “Wheat Belly” will answer ALL your questions.  I discovered how to shake my problem with gout and I started building this blog, and gout and Celiac disease popped up all over my research.

To which I said:

“Hmmmmm? I Wonder if I Should Stop Eating Wheat?”

So I did.

You’ll never guess what happened…the pounds started coming off, I got more energy, more productive, thinking more clearly, (ski racing faster) better poops, better mood…in general, just feeling better! I was like – “what the hell! it works!”

Then I thought; “how come?” …which brings us to the present.

Since I already figured out how to not get gout anymore, I don’t have a personal connection with wheat/gluten and gout, but here’s what I found out, and thought I should add this because it might make all the difference for you.

Check out what they say about it at LabTestsOnline.org:

• Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease characterized by an inappropriate immune response to dietary proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley (gluten and gliadin). This response leads to inflammation of the small intestine and to damage and destruction of the villi that line the intestinal wall. These villi are projections (small folds) that increase the surface area of the intestine and allow nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fluids, and electrolytes to be absorbed into the body. When the villi are destroyed, the body is much less capable of absorbing food and begins to develop symptoms associated with malnutrition and malabsorption.

Now What Do You Think?

Not everyone who gets gout has Celiac disease, but there is some logical connections that can be made about how eating too much wheat (rye, barley, oats) can help to create or aggravate an intestinal condition that could lend itself to causing gout. Nevertheless, the question, “what is Celiac Disease or what is gluten intolerance” comes up a lot so let’s talk a little bit about it.

. . .

Seems you have really gotten into this. It’s a disease nobody really knows about. You are becoming the ‘go to’ person about Gout. Thanks so much. ~ Jeff

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What Is It?

In simple terms, gluten intolerance is when you become extremely sensitive to the protein, gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats, and some other grains but to a significantly lesser degree. What happens is these proteins damage the villi like we learned from LabTestsOnline.org above, and the absorption of water, minerals and vitamins is compromised. So when you’re not getting what you need to be healthy in the first place, is it any wonder why the gout beast is salivating at your door?

The part that I’m not completely on-board with is that gluten intolerance is a genetic disorder – maybe it is but what I’ve come to understand is that there is so much wheat in everything! …that a much higher percentage of the population is running around out there with mild to moderate damage to their villi and they are experiencing varying degrees of difficulty because of it.

What Does It Look Like?

There is a long list of documented symptoms of gluten intolerance, here is a short list:

• abdominal pain
• cramping
• diarrhea and consipation
• arthritis (?!)
• ADD (attention deficit disorder)
• depression, anxiety, irritability
• diabetes
• fatigue
• grayish, bad smelling poops and bad farts
• headaches
• joint pain (?!)
• lactose intolerance

Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance can be almost as sneaky as gout – you can have it and not experience any symptoms at all or you end up completely debilitated. It’s a lot smarter to just stop or at least slow down on all the bread, pasta, and crackers…especially the cheap processed stuff.

Here’s my suggestion: skip all the bready type stuff you’ve been eating your whole life – at least for a while, like a few months. See how you feel. Replace it with good brown rice (it takes an hour to cook) or quinoa (I LOVE quinoa!). These alternatives can still give you that full starchy feeling but without the interference of the gluten.

Check out some of our favorite recipes that help gout and incorporate gluten-free ingredients, and pick up a copy of my handbook on Killing Your Gout Now that includes additional info on a gluten-free diet.

   ☆ Remember:  Gout, Gluten, Celiac Disease…they’re all connected.