ARRRGGGGGGHHHH! I continue to hear of the, still, IGNORANCE of doctors on Gluten Intolerance and Celiac and anything that has to do with the ingesting of wheat and not digesting of wheat and the complications of.I am being polite by describing their spouting of misinformation and misdiagnosis on ignorance, lacking knowledge or awareness in general; I actually think them idiots. extremely stupid in behavior
I base this opinion of these doctors on the fact that I have more knowledge of digestion and gluten intolerance than they. I became educated in the function of villi when I was in 3rd grade, aware of how digestion worked, in general. I have since gained more knowledge on digestion, celiac, gluten intolerance through the years. I have become aware of celiac, of gluten intolerance, of the damages on the body if the villi are impaired in any way. If I were not to use this knowledge, if I were to ignore the facts that would be stupid behavior, I would be an idiot. So I call a doctor who has been educated, with far more information than I, who has far more access to medical facts, scientific studies than I, and do not apply this to their thinking, idiots.I am not saying every doctor is the “i” word. I know of several doctors who use their learned knowledge and apply it with the good sense God gave them and come up with very educated, logical diagnosis. Just as we ALL should strive for.
I know we want to trust our doctors. We expect with all the years of education they have gone through they know everything, or at least more than we do. We want to give them respect for having taking such a hunk out of their lives to be educated, to care for us. We should. BUT, we should not blindly follow these doctors, never question their diagnosis, depend on them to know it all. If so then we would be fools. Everyone is fallible. There is not reason for anyone to be ignorant of anything, unless they are incapable of learning. We have internet, colleges, libraries, the information is there.
The following is the basics on digestion from a study site and the link of the whole page follow, I typed in ‘villi’ and found all the information that I would need to prove my point with:
The Small Intestine
Digestion within the small intestine produces a mixture of disaccharides, peptides, fatty acids, and monoglycerides. The final digestion and absorption of these substances occurs in the villi, which line the inner surface of the small intestine.
This scanning electron micrograph (courtesy of Keith R. Porter) shows the villi carpeting the inner surface of the small intestine.
The crypts at the base of the villi contain stem cells that continuously divide by mitosis producing
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All of these cells replace older cells that continuously die by apoptosis.
The villi increase the surface area of the small intestine to many times what it would be if it were simply a tube with smooth walls. In addition, the apical (exposed) surface of the epithelial cells of each villus is covered with microvilli (also known as a “brush border”). Thanks largely to these, the total surface area of the intestine is almost 200 square meters, about the size of the singles area of a tennis court and some 100 times the surface area of the exterior of the body.The electron micrograph (courtesy of Dr. Sam L. Clark) shows the microvilli of a mouse intestinal cell.
Incorporated in the plasma membrane of the microvilli are a number of enzymes that complete digestion:
- aminopeptidases attack the amino terminal (N-terminal) of peptides producing amino acids.
- disaccharidases These enzymes convert disaccharides into their monosaccharide subunits.
- Fructose simply diffuses into the villi, but both glucose and galactose are absorbed by active transport.
- fatty acids and monoglycerides. These become resynthesized into fats as they enter the cells of the villus. The resulting small droplets of fat are then discharged by exocytosis into the lymph vessels, called lacteals, draining the villi.
Humans with a rare genetic inability to form microvilli die of starvation.
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/G/GITract.html
I do not know if doctors are blatenly lying to their patients, or if they honestly are ignorant of these FACTS, or if they are just too stupid to put 2 and 2 together and get 4, but too many times i have heard of people being misdiagnosed, and misinformed. Recently a friend of mine, who had a major surgery a few years back, that resulted in partial removal of stomach and intestines, has had some digestive issues and weight loss. She has been showing several symptoms similar to one suffering Celiac or gluten intolerance. Of course a doctors visit was warranted and tests were performed. One of the test performed was for Celiac disease, the DNA testing. The test came back negative for ‘Friend’ having Celiac. So diagnosis is, Gluten is NO problem. REALLY? How the !@#@$ does that prove that gluten is being digested? Anyone, especially someone with the villi removed could be gluten intolerant and NOT have Celiac!! Even I know that!!! Part of the intestines are gone, thus some of the villi also– Seriously DUH! The doctor(a gastro) has prescribed some enzymes to help with digestion, because the villi have been removed and thus less enzymes are being made because the villi are missing… So the doctor has partially helped the problem. Doctor is concerned nutrients are not being absorbed. But says it is fine to eat gluten, because friend does not have celiac. Gluten intolerant means you are not digesting gluten for all kinds of reasons, damage to the stomach/intestine, autoimmune disease, any of them, medication, not absorbing nutrients, other diseases -cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes… The only cure not digesting gluten is to remove the gluten, because it is not digesting which is causing one to not absorb nutrients that produce the digestive juices to digest too… Celiac is NOT the only reason to remove wheat gluten from the diet! ARGGGGGGGHHHHH
Delete Wheat with Christy Petty 
Oh, by the way, as I understand it, the theory on pancreatic insufficiency in CF is that the blocked pancreatic ducts from the sticky secretions prevent the digestive enzymes from being released into the intestines, so they build up in the pancreas and cause inflammation and cellular damage there. Digestive enzymes are made to break down cellular structures, so left in the pancreas (instead of going into the intestinal lumen) they cause harm. Here’s an additional factoid: individuals with cystic fibrosis are immune to cholera. Cholera causes disease by affecting the very same chloride channel in the intestines (in the case of cholera, it causes terribly severe diarrhea, dehydration, and ultimately death). Since that chloride channel in a CF patient is not functional, cholera does not cause disease. CF carriers have milder cholera illness and are more likely to survive. So, the mutation which causes CF is protective against cholera, but causes terrible consequences in those with both mutations. It is a theory about why the CF mutation is so prevalent among those of European heritage.
As a physician and a sister to a vibrant young lady with cystic fibrosis, I would like to hear your explanation for how gluten contributes to illness in cystic fibrosis patients. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition (most commonly delta F508 on the long arm of chromosome 7) which results in a dysfunctional chloride channel (Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator CFTR). Since chloride does not move across the cell walls properly, water does not follow properly, and the result is sticky secretions which block tubes (tubes of the pancreas, of the lungs, reproductive organs, etc.). The blocked tubes of the lungs trap bacteria and irritants which cause chronic inflammation and obstructive lung disease. Inflammation of the pancreas prevents secretion of digestive enzymes and causes islet cell destruction resulting in malabsorption and diabetes mellitus. This is treated with supplemental enzymes and vitamins to improve digestion. Please explain to me how gluten contributes to this process. Cystic fibrosis is very well studied and understood on a cellular level thanks to the efforts of the cystic fibrosis foundation, yet I’ve never heard of a gluten-association.
Gluten does not contribute nor cause CF. I wish removing something as simple as wheat could cure CF. I only associate some of CF symptoms to those with celiac/malabsorption. I know those with CF have digestive issues because of the mucus and ? That occurs with CF. Not absorbing for what ever reason, be it celiac or CF or surgically removed intestines or anything that effects the villa will cause ADEK deficiency as well as many other minerals. Then that causes the body to react in various ways. My thoughts are removing wheat for anyone with absorption issues can only help.
A thought could the pancreas inflammation be secondary? From the malabsorption itself.
Also I have always wondered if those enzymes could be benefit those with celiac and similar diseases?
I don’t really know if the enzymes would be helpful or not. They are pretty expensive. It isn’t too difficult to find out if there is an ADEK deficiency. A simple blood test can confirm that. I suppose if you had a vitamin A deficiency for example and tried supplementing vitamin A and levels still remained low, then you could consider a trial of the enzymes. Generally though, pancreatic insufficiency (when the pancreas does not produce needed digestive enzymes) causes weight loss and predictable changes in the stool (stools usually with high fat content), so that could be documented with relatively simple testing as well. I’m not a gastroenterologist, so I can’t really speak in great detail. I know there is increasing interest in celiac disease and gluten intolerance though. My friend is a pediatric GI doc and does her research in that area specifically.