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Could Canker Sores Mean You Have Celiac Disease?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Back in January we looked at the question Does Celiac Disease Cause Canker Sores?  Well, more recently, it looks like we should have instead asked the question, could my canker sores mean I have Celiac Disease?  The one thing we’ve known for awhile now is that the gluten-free diet can help clear up canker sores (aka mouth ulcers), so it makes sense to think that having canker sores could in fact be a symptom of Celiac Disease.

According to a recent report on Celiac.com, it appears that there may in fact be reports which suggest canker sores can suggest Celiac Disease, and even goes as far as to say 1 in 20 people with canker sores with have NO other symptoms.

Here is a small excerpt from their post:

The research team looked at 247 people with aphthous stomatitis (canker sores), who had suffered at least three aphthous lesions in the previous year. Subjects had a median age of 33 years.

What should be take from this?   I suppose if you have a friend or family member who feels pretty good but is dealing with significant canker sore problems, you should be recommending they get tested for Celiac Disease.

Autism Linked to Several Autoimmune Diseases

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

For a while now we’ve been discussing and speculating about Autism and its link to Celiac Disease. According to a recent study, it looks like there is now finally medical research that supports Autism’s link to Celiac, as well as other autoimmune diseases, including Type 1 Diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Although the association between autism and a maternal history of type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis had been found in earlier research, the researchers behind the new study say that theirs is the first to find a link between autism and celiac disease.

According to Forbes:

“This finding reinforces the suggestion that autoimmune processes are connected somehow with the cause of autism and autism spectrum disorder,” said researcher William W. Eaton, chairman of the Department of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. “This finding is on the pathway of finding the cause of autism.”

Eaton noted that there is no clinical significance to the finding but that it could guide future research as scientists try to pin down the cause or causes of autism.

One reason autoimmune diseases might have a role in autism is genetic, Eaton said. Children who are born underweight or premature are at higher risk for autism, and both of these obstetric problems are associated with celiac disease, he added.

“There may be an overlap in the genetics of some of the autoimmune diseases and autism that would not be trivial,” he said. “Autism is strongly inherited, but we don’t have the faintest idea where. But this may point a flashlight to areas of the genome that connect to autism.”

In addition, there might also be environmental triggers that affect the fetus, he said.

Introducing Celiac-Disease 3.0

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

This website, Celiac-Disease.com, has been growing steadily since it was first launched close to a year and a half ago, so much so that we felt we had outgrown our existing website design. Combining that with the new features recently introduced into WordPress (such as threaded comments, etc.), and we knew it was time for a makeover!

Nearly three full months later, after a lot of work and planning, today marks the official release of Celiac-Disease.com 3.0, our third website design.   Being that green is the unofficial color of Celiac Disease, we made sure to keep green as the primary color while adding what we feel is a much better design and a better comment setup (which should allow for more productive discussions).

For those of you that follow this website via a feed reader or email updates, here is an image of how this website used to look:

Celiac-Disease.com 2.0

old-celiac-disease

Celiac-Disease.com 3.0

new-celiac-disease

So, what do you think of the new look?   We’d love to gather your feedback in the comments!

Celiac Disease and Yoga

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Ever since I first learned about Celiac Disease, I’ve always found it to be interesting that this disease seems to affect everyone differently. Doctors are beginning to learn that there aren’t a standard set of Celiac symptoms and people have positive results through all different types of Celiac treatments. Although the gluten-free diet is the standard for treating Celiac Disease, I’ve found when attending Celiac events that many people have to eliminate additional foods to truly feel great, as well as working some vitamins and certain exercise programs into their daily routine.

Something I’ve been reading a lot of positive results about over the past few months is people with Celiac Disease using yoga as a way to feel better. This of course is not a treatment, but instead is a way to improve core strength and of course to promote healthy digestion.

One recent example of this is a testimonial by Crystal of gluten-free Hub, who shared her experiences using yoga to feel better and improve her outlook on life:

Taking some time to slow down and practice focusing exclusively on the moment, the pose, and the feelings inside my body has allowed me to carry the practice into the rest of my life. When I’m in a restaurant, and nobody seems to know what’s gluten-free, or when someone in my office is eating a big cheeseburger and fries that smell impossibly delicious, I can focus my mind and move through the frustration, the temptation. Similarly, when I’m tired, crabby, or tempted to blame myself for ingesting a hidden source of gluten in a restaurant, I can explore the negative emotions without getting lost in them.

But yoga is not only for Buddhist types. If you’re into a hardcore cardio routine, you might be reluctant to try yoga because it may not seem as intense as your regular workout. However, I had been running and doing crunches 4-5 times per week for nearly a year, and I had no signs of single abdominal muscle.  I started doing yoga twice per week for one hour and cut way back on my cardio and crunch routine, and within two months, my posture had improved, and I had abs.

Out of curiosity, how many of you with Celiac Disease have tried incorporating yoga into your lifestyle?

Celiac Disease and Physical Activity

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Due to the large variety in symptoms often found with a Celiac Disease diagnosis, each individual will suffer from Celiac Disease differently. Symptoms may include neurological symptoms, physical symptoms and overall feelings of fatigue or depression. As a result, each individual with Celiac Disease must find their own individual balanced lifestyle.

Balanced lifestyles are especially important for older adults with Celiac Disease because, as anyone diagnosed with a disease knows, they must maintain their physical wellbeing in order to heal. Older adults with Celiac Disease are also at risk of gaining weight after starting a gluten-free diet because their bodies absorb nutrients so much more efficiently than before, and because many gluten-free breads and desert substitutes may be higher in calories than their gluten-containing counterparts.

In their recent post covering Celiac Disease and Physical Activity, Celiac.com wrote about recent research in this area.  Research about the attitudes of older adults with celiac disease toward physical activity will help to understand:

  • The general attitudes of older adults with celiac disease toward physical activity;
  • The symptoms of celiac disease that directly or indirectly affect older adults’ attitudes toward physical activity;
  • How physicians, recreation centres, celiac associations and the Canadian Government can work with people with celiac disease to maintain or increase their levels of physical activity, and;
  • Provide literature on nutrient deficiency and physical activity to patients in need of information or reassurance about their attitudes toward physical activity.

This is definitely something to think about.  To our readers with Celiac Disease, what do you do to stay in shape?   Let us know in the comments!