Gluten sensitivity and intestinal cancer connection

Nana b

dmdwins said:

Gluten free
I have been gluten free since my diagnosis in 2007 (Stage 4)My blood work (anti-Gliadian test) was negative but you can get false negatives. I decided to go gluten free anyway.I figured it is better for my overall health anyway. I am currently NED.

It has been and adjustment for an Italian girl who loves to eat and cook but it gets easier once you find producuts you like. Gluten is is soooooo many things!! I am happy to answer any questions for anyone.

And just FYI- P.F Changs has a great gluten free menu- even their lettuce wraps can be made gluten free YUMO!!

Smiles,
Dawn

Yummy
PF CHANGS!! Wow, we love their food. I order the garlic spinach, asparagus, and green beans, I used to order their garlic noodles, but since they are probably white flour, I stopped ordering them. Lettuce Wraps are awesome! A piece of my husband's spicy chicken is so sinful! lol, Jk

dmdwins

2bhealed said:

Thanks!
for sharing your story too. Do you also find gluten free body care products? I wonder about shampoo and my lotions that have wheat products (or nut oils) in them. Should we be avoiding all them as well? I realized this morning when I read the label that my Jason face cream has wheat germ in it. Since the skin is the largest organ we have I'm obviously absorbing the stuff. Is this a stupid question? Is it a "duh" of course you need to avoid body care products. HA!

If so, do you have some to recommend?

Thanks!

peace, emily

Hmmmmm
That's a great question. I never even thought of that...duh. My nutritionist never mentioned wheat free for nonconsumable products but I never asked either. I will ask.... then let you know his thoughts.

I'm not sure that any of my natural products have wheat in them but now I will look.


Thanks for jarring my (still) chemo brain.

Smiles,
Dawn

dmdwins

Nana b said:

Yummy
PF CHANGS!! Wow, we love their food. I order the garlic spinach, asparagus, and green beans, I used to order their garlic noodles, but since they are probably white flour, I stopped ordering them. Lettuce Wraps are awesome! A piece of my husband's spicy chicken is so sinful! lol, Jk

Lots of great options
They have lots of great gluten free options and give you brown rice as an option too. We just took the kids there for lunch. It's great to have a place to go and know I'm eating gluten free.


Smiles,
Dawn

serrana

dmdwins said:

Lots of great options
They have lots of great gluten free options and give you brown rice as an option too. We just took the kids there for lunch. It's great to have a place to go and know I'm eating gluten free.


Smiles,
Dawn

food sensitivities OH YES!!!!
Thanks Emily for starting this thread There is so much written about gluten sensitivity if not full blown celiac disease that I have been amazed there hasn't been a focus on this and cancer. It is time, troops.Lets get the medical and patient community to do a headsup.

I discovered it by "accident" three years ago after neoadj chemo ( Xeloda) and radiation when all of a sudden I couldn't process anything but rice, white meat chicken, bananas, apples,eggs and soy. Yikes, anything else I ate made me feel horrible. I didn't know why, figured it was the chemo I was on but three years later I now know that lactose and gluten are my worst enemies.

Looking back I had fibromyalgia aka chronic fatigue syndrome for decades before diagnosed with CR cancer. One of my oncs offhandedly said I had proably been fighting cancer for decades and didn't know it!!!

After three years of gold standard treatment at NCI Cancer Centers NO doctor has EVER asked me about my diet. NONE. "Eat a balanced diet", well, no that didn't work.

I had an endoscopy for celiac disease which came back "uncertain" but I can tell you that a handfull of pretzels, wheat cereal/bread etc upsets everything

I think it is a chicken/egg issue actually, probably no one shoe fits all..does the gluten reaction
cause inflamation which sets the stage for cancer or does the gi cancer screw up the lining of the gut so we get the sensistivity. Anyway TIME FOR RESEARCH so the newbies don't have to wonder why they feel so terrible.
Enough blabbering here, I think I'll go have a gluten free brownie and a glass of chocolate soy milk. Hmmmmmmmmm Yum
Serrana

2bhealed

serrana said:

food sensitivities OH YES!!!!
Thanks Emily for starting this thread There is so much written about gluten sensitivity if not full blown celiac disease that I have been amazed there hasn't been a focus on this and cancer. It is time, troops.Lets get the medical and patient community to do a headsup.

I discovered it by "accident" three years ago after neoadj chemo ( Xeloda) and radiation when all of a sudden I couldn't process anything but rice, white meat chicken, bananas, apples,eggs and soy. Yikes, anything else I ate made me feel horrible. I didn't know why, figured it was the chemo I was on but three years later I now know that lactose and gluten are my worst enemies.

Looking back I had fibromyalgia aka chronic fatigue syndrome for decades before diagnosed with CR cancer. One of my oncs offhandedly said I had proably been fighting cancer for decades and didn't know it!!!

After three years of gold standard treatment at NCI Cancer Centers NO doctor has EVER asked me about my diet. NONE. "Eat a balanced diet", well, no that didn't work.

I had an endoscopy for celiac disease which came back "uncertain" but I can tell you that a handfull of pretzels, wheat cereal/bread etc upsets everything

I think it is a chicken/egg issue actually, probably no one shoe fits all..does the gluten reaction
cause inflamation which sets the stage for cancer or does the gi cancer screw up the lining of the gut so we get the sensistivity. Anyway TIME FOR RESEARCH so the newbies don't have to wonder why they feel so terrible.
Enough blabbering here, I think I'll go have a gluten free brownie and a glass of chocolate soy milk. Hmmmmmmmmm Yum
Serrana

You nailed it!
WHY OH WHY is the medical establishment dragging its heals so hard on NUTRITION for healing ????? WHY OH WHY is the medical establishment so reluctant to connect the dots????? WHY OH WHY are they so willing to dump cytotoxic chemicals into our bodies wreaking havoc that many never recover from, yet they have a spaz if you want to take some vitamins, and call you a quack if you want to use alternatives to their poisons. Honestly, I think often that it's the pot calling the kettle black!

Well, I ain't waiting for them to "get it"!!

If we want to heal our cancer we honestly have to EDUCATE ourselves and connect our own dots.

I have always read that disease starts in the gut and then manifests in other organs or becomes autoimmune diseases. I have read about inflammation and its role in disease. But this gluten issue, for me, seems to connect all those loose dots of info leading me to the TAP ROOT of my cancer, my allergies and my sister's cancer. Why was it never suggested and why do I have to do all the work???

Ok, off to bed.

GO USA!!!!

peace, emily

Fb489

for nana2
this is gal you are looking for

NWGirl

I've recently started to head down this road myself. I finished chemo in September 2008 (stage 3c rectal cancer) but haven't felt "healthy" since pre-cancer. I wasn't really getting anywhere (or it didn't feel like it) with my "cancer doctors" so I tried seeing an accupuncture therapist. After 3 weekly sessions, I realized my fatigue was MUCH improved, I was sleeping better and my anxiety levels were way down. She told me that accupuncture could only do so much for me, so suggested I see a Naturopath and gave me 3 names.

I've seen the Naturopath twice now. He did a blood test on me that shows I am "intolerant" to dairy - not to be confused with lactose intolerance, which is much more easily identified and acknowledged by the medical professsion. He said many people have food intolerances that they don't know about but cause them problems. There are also food allergies and food sensitivities. I've learned a lot from this doctor in just a couple of visits. Time will tell whether my avoiding all things dairy (eggs are okay for me) will improve the way I feel, but as I haven't been able to "fix" myself thus far, I'm willing to give it a shot.

I asked why traditional doctors don't do these things and he said that the medicine he practices is "old medicine" but it has lost favor over the years with the advent of antibiotics, immunizations and so forth. Doctors tend to treat the disease and not the person. He is a huge proponent of organic foods and pointed out to me that food these days to often is not created to nourish our bodies, it is created to sell. For example, all the preservatives that are added so a loaf of bread can sit longer on a store shelf - so it has more opportunity to sell.

I will admit that although all of this makes sense and sounds good, it has really rocked my world to adjust my thinking and eating to accomplish the goals he has set out for me. Still, I'm desparate, so I'm committed to doing all I can to make it work for me. He has me on a number of supplements as well. Nothing too exciting - all stuff you read about here - Vitamin D (though a very high dose - 10,000 IU I think); Calcium, Magnesium Phosphate, Curcumin (sp?), fiber, probiotics. What I like, is he covers it all as far as nutrition. I don't have to try to figure this out myself - he is a one stop shop for all my questions and concerns and I like the face to face interaction.

There is a lot of good information out there to help us - but finding it can be a challenge. I asked him if my dairy intolerance caused my cancer and he said cancer is very complicated and not well understood. He said it probably contributed to the cancer, but no one knows for sure why cells go haywire in some people and not others; and all the factors that ultimately create cancer in the body. His goal is to teach me to heal my body so that I create an environment that is less likely to allow cancer to start again at a later date. No promises - no guarantees; I can live with that. At least I feel like I'm trying.

Nana b

NWGirl said:

I've recently started to head down this road myself. I finished chemo in September 2008 (stage 3c rectal cancer) but haven't felt "healthy" since pre-cancer. I wasn't really getting anywhere (or it didn't feel like it) with my "cancer doctors" so I tried seeing an accupuncture therapist. After 3 weekly sessions, I realized my fatigue was MUCH improved, I was sleeping better and my anxiety levels were way down. She told me that accupuncture could only do so much for me, so suggested I see a Naturopath and gave me 3 names.

I've seen the Naturopath twice now. He did a blood test on me that shows I am "intolerant" to dairy - not to be confused with lactose intolerance, which is much more easily identified and acknowledged by the medical professsion. He said many people have food intolerances that they don't know about but cause them problems. There are also food allergies and food sensitivities. I've learned a lot from this doctor in just a couple of visits. Time will tell whether my avoiding all things dairy (eggs are okay for me) will improve the way I feel, but as I haven't been able to "fix" myself thus far, I'm willing to give it a shot.

I asked why traditional doctors don't do these things and he said that the medicine he practices is "old medicine" but it has lost favor over the years with the advent of antibiotics, immunizations and so forth. Doctors tend to treat the disease and not the person. He is a huge proponent of organic foods and pointed out to me that food these days to often is not created to nourish our bodies, it is created to sell. For example, all the preservatives that are added so a loaf of bread can sit longer on a store shelf - so it has more opportunity to sell.

I will admit that although all of this makes sense and sounds good, it has really rocked my world to adjust my thinking and eating to accomplish the goals he has set out for me. Still, I'm desparate, so I'm committed to doing all I can to make it work for me. He has me on a number of supplements as well. Nothing too exciting - all stuff you read about here - Vitamin D (though a very high dose - 10,000 IU I think); Calcium, Magnesium Phosphate, Curcumin (sp?), fiber, probiotics. What I like, is he covers it all as far as nutrition. I don't have to try to figure this out myself - he is a one stop shop for all my questions and concerns and I like the face to face interaction.

There is a lot of good information out there to help us - but finding it can be a challenge. I asked him if my dairy intolerance caused my cancer and he said cancer is very complicated and not well understood. He said it probably contributed to the cancer, but no one knows for sure why cells go haywire in some people and not others; and all the factors that ultimately create cancer in the body. His goal is to teach me to heal my body so that I create an environment that is less likely to allow cancer to start again at a later date. No promises - no guarantees; I can live with that. At least I feel like I'm trying.

celiac disease
My daughter's mom in law has celiac disease and she has it bad. My grand kids are highly allergic to eggs, we thought they also had celiac disease but they were tested and they don't. I am allergic to Alchohol the kind you drink and only Shiraz wine is tolerable at least for a glass, but I stay away from it for the most part. Maybe once a month I know it contributed to my illness..... I used to have a glass of wine each night, no more!!!!

dmdwins

Nana b said:

celiac disease
My daughter's mom in law has celiac disease and she has it bad. My grand kids are highly allergic to eggs, we thought they also had celiac disease but they were tested and they don't. I am allergic to Alchohol the kind you drink and only Shiraz wine is tolerable at least for a glass, but I stay away from it for the most part. Maybe once a month I know it contributed to my illness..... I used to have a glass of wine each night, no more!!!!

NwGirl
I saw a Nutritionist right after my Stage 4 diagnosis in October of 2007. He helped to support my body during chemo... we detoxed my body (eliminating many things) and the slowly added a few in.

Although i tested negative for celiac (bloodwork only-no small bowel biopy) I have maintained a gluten free diet almost entirely, removed sugar, do limited dairy, organic veggies when possible, organic meats, and an occasional grass fed steak.

I am NED and feel well. It has not been easy but by trial and error over the last few years I now have many products, recipes and even restaurant that have a gluten free menu(PF CHANGS is my favorite).

I am happy to share any of the knowledge I have learned with you if you are interested.

Hang in there.....It has definitely been worth it for me!!


Smiles,
Dawn