REPAIRING THE DAMAGE OF CELIAC

By Dr. Morgan Camp, M.D.

Mainstream medical treatment for Celiac Disease consists of one remedy and one remedy only: stopping your intake of gluten. This method ignores vital hidden fact about Celiac Disease: during the decades of gluten consumption, numerous systems, organs and functions of your body endure long-lasting serious, damage. Simply adopting a gluten-free diet will not and can not repair the body's compromised organs and pathways.

Stopping your gluten intake is vital, but this is only the first step on the healing path. Changing your diet is like stopping a physical beating: no additional blows are raining down on you, creating further damage. Yet, the organs, limbs and bones, which suffered the assaults desperately need medical attention. In much the same way, the damage of Celiac continues to plague the body long after you enter the gluten-free zone, unless action is taken to halt and even reverse the affects.

There is a better path to long-term health. Functional Medicine is a comprehensive approach to Celiac designed to correct the long-standing damage created by gluten. Functional Medicine is a sound, scientific method that focuses on identifying and correcting the underlying causes of illness and disease. It focuses on the following tenents:

1. Each patient is genetically and biochemically unique.

2. Diagnosis and treatment is customized for each patient.

3. Treatment targets the underlying causes of illness, not the symptoms that mask the causes.

4. Testing and evaluation is based on "optimal levels," rather than "population norms."

5. A strong emphasis is placed on in-depth understanding of the patient: their life, environment, relationships and needs. As the father of modern medicine, Sir William Osler stated, "It is more important to know which patient has the disease than to know which disease the patient has."

In contrast, allopathic medicine specializes in prescriptions for drugs that mask symptoms while ignoring the underlying causes. Although this financially benefits the pharmaceutical business, it does little to improve long term health. Functional Medicine aims to uncover the factors that contribute to a disease and create individualized programs to correct the underlying imbalances.

Celiac's Ongoing Legacy

As a practitioner of Functional Medicine, I work in partnership with you to uncover the hidden causes that are contributing to your current state of ill health. For individuals afflicted with Celiac Disease, these problems include:

• Small-intestinal overgrowth with bacteria and/or yeast. (The small intestine is just past the stomach.)
• Hidden parasitic infections.
• Food sensitivities and food allergies.
• Inability to properly digest foods other than gluten and gliaden.
• Specific nutritional deficiencies including B12, other B vitamins, and minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
• Impaired liver detoxification, creating increased sensitivity to medications, chemicals, diet, and environmental toxins.
• Depleted serotonin levels, contributing to low energy and depression.
• A weakened immune system.

With so many variables active with each individual, I devote the crucial time necessary to know and understand each person that comes to me seeking help. Lifestyle, exercise, diet, and stress play a significant role in Celiac health. It can challenging to wade through the murky waters of hidden gluten and gliadin intolerance and we help you become more aware of these issues along with food additives, chemicals, etc. I work very closely with our on-staff holistic nutritionist who will help you make healthier food choices that taste great, and provide you with support and guidance during your healing process.

In contrast to traditional allopathy, Functional Medicine assists the Celiac patient using a wide array of tests and treatments, in addition to recommending a gluten free diet. An effective Functional Medicine digestive program includes:

• Replacement of deficient digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid.
• Replacement of natural bacterial flora.
• Removal of pathogenic bacteria, yeasts, and parasites.
• Elimination of all foods that stimulate an immune response (not just an IgE-mediated immune response.)

In addition to prescription medications - if needed, you will receive some or all the following treatments:

• Digestive enzymes.
• Betaine HCL.
• L-Glutamine.
• Probiotics.
• Specific herbal preparations that heal the intestinal lining.

Vital B Vitamins

Those with Celiac often have additional vitamin and mineral deficiencies because of the malabsorption that is occurring in the digestive tract. This is due to the sloughing off of the intestinal villi caused by the gluten allergy. The most common deficiencies are in B vitamin, especially B-12. These deficiencies are easily diagnosed with organic acid panels.

In addition, all the Celiac patients I treat suffer from additional food allergies and intolerances. The most common of these being dairy intolerance that may not be permanent, sometimes improving after 6 months of a gluten free diet. I measure additional sensitivities using non-traditional testing methods, including IgG testing and other very sensitive measures of cellular immune reactivites to specific foods.

Fatigue is a very common symptom in Celiac patients, and is related to one or more of these factors:

• Poor nutritional intake.
• Weak absorption of macro- and micronutrients.
• Food sensitivities.
• Impaired detoxification; (Liver support is needed)
• Vitamin deficiencies

Proper, targeted laboratory testing for Celiac sufferers is vital to pinpoint the bodily systems damaged by gluten intake and needing targeted support. I prescribe sophisticated lab tests including:

• Stool parasitology from reputable specialized labs such as Metametrix, Great Smokies, and others. Specialized labs provide us with more consistent results than at the local lab or hospital.
• Food allergy or sensitivity testing.
• Organic Acid Profile screening for important vitamin and nutrient deficiencies.