Epigenetics - Genes and the Environment - Celiac

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You are born with the genes that you are born with...epigenetics says that genes that are there CAN lie dormant, until something triggers them to express, then once switched on, you are at their mercy. (And they can be carried on to future geneations as holocaust survivor studies are showing)

Late last year my daughter, always robustly healthy started having serious stomach pains and cramping...she had noticed that she was getting bloated after eating for a couple months before that.

Given that apples don't fall far from their trees, she started using doctor google, and on her own volition decided to ditch gluten....felt much better, trailled herself with/without (pizza and garlic bread being the weak links)...she lost two pants sizes in a month (15 Y.O., now back to shopping in the childrens section)

We had the Christmas Cruise, and her US trip, so scheduled the proper testing to be after that (last week). Her own testing was pretty conclusive regarding sensitivity, so she (and her host family) managed very well over the period.

Test results came back yesterday.

One dominant and one recessive gene for Celiac, and the antibodies to show that she's reacting to it.

We've got a pretty good GP, who keeps up with everything, and he was explaining to her that it's her genes, they were sitting there, and she made it 14+ years before they activiated due to some response of her system to something in her environment. Could have made her whole life symptom free, but now they are switched on, it's lifestyle changes.

Looks like it came from wife's side of the tree.

Son is out with my wife at the moment getting blood drawn for his testing. He's a bit peeved at the concept that he too may have the issue, and has stocked the fridge with cocktail franks to gorge on before he finds out he can't/shouldn't eat them.

Funny thing with him is that when the GP went to order the blood work, son was shown as "deceased", as he hadn't shown up at any medical establishment for 7+ years...broken arm, chicken pox, shingles, and the formerly mentione robust health that my children have displayed.
 
This modern understanding of how this works is great...not so long ago, she would have had to eat a gluten rich diet, and spend a fortnight in extreme discomfort before having a bowel biopsy to show what she had.
 
Good luck to your daughter. I know about the discomfort and feel bad for her. Modern medicine is great though. Just imagine what it will be like in a few decades.
 
I work with a guy who started to lose weight rapidly. Turns out he "developed" celiac in his 40s. Ditching gluten allowed him to regain weight. Interesting how and when these things present themselves,.
 
kid #1 activated Celiac around 3 years old.
stomach bug pre-school epidemy and some hard headed doctors could not figure out her nightly vomit session and weight loss.
look at us like we had 3 heads..........

changed town and doctor, and she sent her to additional blood work 5 minutes into the visit

she's taller and heavier now, and I think she does no really react to slight cross-contamination.

Kid#2 did not got celiac positive at 3 years old.

Me and wife did not test positive

I suspect some stomach/GI issues on both our families may be from some granparents side....

It is not the end of the world these days,and especially since you cook kind of asian in your family, she will e OK.
Since you like spicy,get to exchange recipes with the TX guys for a tex-mex feeling.

One trait of some celiacs is being really sensitive (brain/feelings). Watch or that.
 
Originally Posted By: das_peikko
I see some food products labelled "Gluten Free." I've always wondered what that meant.

a lot of time... Money. It is a fashion du jour to loose weight with it.
some Celiacs react to really really tiny amounts of cross-contamination.

Gluten-free is a question of how much non-contaminated and controlling all ingredients in a recipe.....
 
Originally Posted By: pandus13
Originally Posted By: das_peikko
I see some food products labelled "Gluten Free." I've always wondered what that meant.

a lot of time... Money. It is a fashion du jour to loose weight with it.
some Celiacs react to really really tiny amounts of cross-contamination.

Gluten-free is a question of how much non-contaminated and controlling all ingredients in a recipe.....


It does cost... But Ill say that when the person I mentioned above came down with it, the wife and I tried gluten free for a few weeks.

I had long heard, if youre encountering issues, first thing is "no wheat, no meat, and no dairy". We werent encountering anything, we did it literally for fun.

May be the placebo effect, but just going GF for a little while made us feel better, and we certainly dont exhibit celiac.

Laziness/being generally agreeable to wheat/etc. pushed us back into having gluten in moderation... But we will often buy GF pasta (we only eat pasta maybe twice or three times a month), and Ill also note that I feel less sluggish after a GF big pasta meal.

But we rarely eat bread/sandwiches/pasta, so while its still possible to eat a ton of guten, like most things for most everyone, moderation is key.
 
Interesting subject. Thanks Shannow.

Testing like this might have helped me who went the first 55 years with no worries then suddenly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I had no inkling that I would be prone to it. No real family history either.
 
Son got his results back Thursday.

Has the genes, not the antibodies. 95% of Coeliacs have the genotype...obviously not everyone with the genotype has triggered the immune flare up.

Gluten Free household it appears to be ('cept for me)...daughter will have a reaction to something so innocuous as wife making son a lunch wrap (wet with tomato), then cutting her lunch on the same board.

Naturally, wife is trying to make the transition expensively pain free...after school snacks jump from $2-3 to $7-10, because that's what he always has...Gluten free sausage rolls are like something (don't know what) wrapped in cardboard...but they are familiar in shape and accesibility.

We were alone (he and I) last night, so I made some Polenta with parmesan and thyme, cooled it, cut it, and grilled it with the Jerked Chicken...he loved it.

We need to work out gluten free stuff that people want to eat, not gluten free substitutes for three times the price and half the satisfaction.
 
Yes, stay away from the whole gluten free band wagon, learn what their bodies need and how to achieve it. One of my daughters has a skin condition that goes away on a gluten free diet...but she doesn't stay gluten free...
 
Yep, it's trendy for some and a necessity for others.

We had a neighbor who has Celiac disease, as did her late daughter.

Some meals at our home were "fun." There was the two of them. Then one of my daughters was vegan, the other vegetarian, and oilBabe has a number of food allergies/sensitivities.

The neighbor has moved to Alaska, the vegan daughter has backed off to vegetarian, but is living on her own in Seattle, so that's not a problem. oilBabe has a new allergist and the meds she takes help her cope. The other daughter is full carnivore again, and now I'm the complicated party with pre-diabetes, maybe stage 2, so I'm controlling my carbs...

The "fun" never ends.

Originally Posted By: pandus13
Originally Posted By: das_peikko
I see some food products labelled "Gluten Free." I've always wondered what that meant.

a lot of time... Money. It is a fashion du jour to loose weight with it.
some Celiacs react to really really tiny amounts of cross-contamination.

Gluten-free is a question of how much non-contaminated and controlling all ingredients in a recipe.....
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Son got his results back Thursday.

Has the genes, not the antibodies. 95% of Coeliacs have the genotype...obviously not everyone with the genotype has triggered the immune flare up.

Gluten Free household it appears to be ('cept for me)...daughter will have a reaction to something so innocuous as wife making son a lunch wrap (wet with tomato), then cutting her lunch on the same board.

Naturally, wife is trying to make the transition expensively pain free...after school snacks jump from $2-3 to $7-10, because that's what he always has...Gluten free sausage rolls are like something (don't know what) wrapped in cardboard...but they are familiar in shape and accesibility.

We were alone (he and I) last night, so I made some Polenta with parmesan and thyme, cooled it, cut it, and grilled it with the Jerked Chicken...he loved it.

We need to work out gluten free stuff that people want to eat, not gluten free substitutes for three times the price and half the satisfaction.

Cutting board use in common .... Yup the dreaded cross-contamination.

Since you just moved into the new place, You can make a "Gluten-free corner". The idea is buy your daughter new stuff (cutting board, set of cooking utensils, couple pots/fry pans ), and make sure only her use it. Wash separately and dry separately.
Then allocate (after a triple session of cleaning) a shelf in the fridge for her use only, and that's it.
You need to get a gage on what's the minimum she react to and keep it that way.
You (the rest of the family) can still eat non-gluten-free.
Also some costs for the special flours could be go down if you invest in an electric mill (rice, almond, beans, peas .... flours).
Since she was recently in US, she could try the Mexican style of eating. Avoid torta, farina, pan, salsa ingles, Knorr/Magi in recipes.
Also, I remember you cook with a indian/Asian flare: this is usually gluten-free.

It is not the end of the world...
The idea is to cook as much from scratch to control the ingredients. (I know you cook at home a lot, so should not be that much of an adjustment).

The commercial stuff, while they may fill a need on the go, they usually empty your wallet.

I had two "gluten-free on the road" threads: a lot of suggestions where made, plus we find out some gluten-free BITOG members....
 
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Given that she's active, the son has the genes, just not the immune flare ups, and it came to them via my wife, I think it's gluten corner for me...we had the gluten free corner, but it's easier the other way.

Separate boards, separate butter, separate condiments...
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Given that she's active, the son has the genes, just not the immune flare ups, and it came to them via my wife, I think it's gluten corner for me...we had the gluten free corner, but it's easier the other way.

Separate boards, separate butter, separate condiments...


Next time in US get to get you for a Waffle house for a dad's lunch/dinner out?

I buy bread (crunchy baguettes) when feel like it and eat it at work.

Wife treats the other kid while shopping (a cookie, a donut, some crackers).

Like that we can keep the house gluten-free.

Now, friends parties or benevolent ladies at school.... different story.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Given that she's active, the son has the genes, just not the immune flare ups, and it came to them via my wife, I think it's gluten corner for me...we had the gluten free corner, but it's easier the other way.

Separate boards, separate butter, separate condiments...

Shannow,

3-weeks update?
 
Food Bills up.
wastage down.

No attacks in that period for my daughter, so things looking in control there.

Son had major bout of "sadness" this week, which coincides with what daughter and wife went through as their systems got sorted.

I just watch and keep mouth shut.
 
Now, since daughter is a smartie, get her a homework in getting educated in cross-contamination.
also hidden gluten, and names of compounds. (we found in pasta sauce, sweet yogurt, fat-free sour-cream,.... sweets from a lady at school)

May need that for son too.

Now wifey:
after she is done with buying the ready-mixes and all kind of products, you can search you local interwebs for the available GF flour (beans, coconut, rise, peas, lentil, ... the list is really large).
It will take some trial and error until GF breads, pancakes, crepes pass as delicious and not brick-stage (been there)

While the price is around 3X times compared with when cooking with flour, it is still cheaper than all the ready mixes and other retail available products.

good resources/alternatives:
-rice and rice noodles
-sweet potatoes noodles
-corn, polenta
-korean and indian stores
 
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