There is no doubt that the most important treatment for Celiac Disease and Grain Sensitivity is a gluten-free diet. However, in most cases it takes more than the avoidance of gluten for optimal health to be achieved. There are several Naturopathic treatments available to help restore the health of people with Celiac Disease and Grain Sensitivity. In this week's column we will focus on Intravenous Nutrient Infusions.

Intravenous Nutrient Infusions can be a very important part of treatment for people with compromised digestive systems. This is because, for these people, nutrients from oral supplementation and diet are typically absorbed very poorly into the body. By using the intravenous administration we avoid the compromised digestive system and ensure complete absorption.

Intravenous Nutrient Infusions are not intended to replace optimal nutrition and supplementation. However, they are intended to replenish the body's nutrient status and repair damaged tissue in a relatively rapid manner.

There are 5 main advantages to intravenous nutrient infusions for people with compromised digestion. First of all, the nutrients administered in the IV are 100% absorbed into the bloodstream. This gives the body the best chance to get these nutrients to all the cells of the body. This is extremely important for the damaged and inflamed cells of the intestines as they immediately become infused with the nutrients. This stimulates repair faster and more efficiently than oral supplementation.

Secondly, the dosage administered in the IV can be much higher and more potent than the oral route. For vitamin C, magnesium, and several B vitamins to have a therapeutic effect they must be given in relatively high doses. The high doses can not be achieved in oral supplementation because of the side effects like diarrhea and digestive upset. However, these therapeutic doses can be achieved in the intravenous infusions without adverse effects.

Thirdly, when vitamins, minerals, amino acids, homeopathics and other nutrients are administered intravenously they do not go through the liver before going to the other cells of the body. This is very important because it means the nutrients are not altered. When nutrients are administered orally they must pass through and get processed in the liver before they make to any other cell in the body. This can add burden to the liver and reduce the potency of the nutrients given.

Fourthly, specific nutrients like glutathione, alpha lipoic acid, and homeopathic medicines can be used in combination with the basic vitamins and minerals to support multiple parts of the body in one treatment. There are hundreds of intravenous nutrient infusion formulas that can be used to treat very specific disease processes in the body and support recovery. Intravenous Infusions are not a one size fits all approach.

Lastly, we find Intravenous Nutrient Infusions to be very cost effective over the long run. For people with compromised digestive systems like in Celiac Disease there can be a great deal of time, energy, and money wasted on oral supplements that are not absorbed effectively. A lot of time, energy, and money is also spent on other therapies that are not nearly as effective as Intravenous Infusions. IV therapies can help rapidly repair the digestive system and other tissues of the body so that there is less need for intense oral supplementation and other treatments.

In the next column we will investigate the use of Neural Therapy for the treatment of Celiac Disease and Grain Sensitivity.

It takes on average 10 years for someone to be accurately diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This is in part because many medical practitioners are not looking for Celiac Disease and in part because of the less than perfect testing methods.

Celiac Disease is considered by many to be an extremely rare condition and therefore is not often considered as a possibility. However, in North America, Celiac Disease affects somewhere between 1 in 100 to 1 in 200 people. This means that between 5 to 10 people in a group of 1000 will have Celiac Disease. That's not too rare if you ask me or anyone suffering from the symptoms of Celiac Disease. Unfortunately, most of these people will be unaware for many years if they ever do get an accurate diagnosis.

Grain Sensitivity is probably more common than Celiac Disease but it is diagnosed much less frequently. The reasons for the low rates of diagnosis are basically the same. Most medical practitioners are not looking for Grain Sensitivity as a contributing factor to their patients' ill health and many practitioners are not aware of how to test for Grain Sensitivity.

The "Gold Standard" test for diagnosing Celiac Disease is a biopsy of the small intestine. In fact, the biopsy is considered to be the only definitive testing measure. Blood tests like tissue transglutaminase are available and utilized as a screening tool but are not considered to be diagnostic. You may ask, what is the problem? It seems like it is pretty simple. For patients who have any possible symptom of Celiac Disease you should run a blood test to screen for it then do a biopsy if the blood tests are positive to confirm the diagnosis. This sounds great but unfortunately these testing measures are not perfect.

We do not know how accurate or inaccurate biopsies of the small intestine are in diagnosing Celiac Disease. They are believed to be the most accurate test available but that does not mean they are perfect. The small intestine is over 20 feet long and it is quite possible to obtain a sample from a section of the small intestine not affected by Celiac Disease. And, what about diagnosing Grain Sensitivities where there may be no inflammatory response in the intestines?

I have seen a number of patients who have been tested for Celiac Disease and were told that they do not have it. I have also seen a large number of patients who have done skin prick allergy testing for food allergies, including wheat, and been told that they have no allergy or sensitivity. These people, with significant symptoms and health conditions are told that gluten and wheat are not playing a role in their health problems. However, when we remove gluten from the diet and accurately test for food allergens through blood testing we often find that wheat and/or gluten are significant contributing factors to their health concerns.

The main message I would like to communicate in this article is that Celiac Disease and Grain Sensitivity are often not considered and often have false negative results with the standard testing measures when they are considered. If a person's health improves when they eat gluten-free or wheat-free does it really matter what the lab tests results say? If symptoms disappear and the person feels better perhaps this is the most important test of all.

In the next column we will discuss the conventional medical approach for treating Celiac Disease.

Smart Fats are simply one of the BEST and tastiest solutions for stalled weight loss because they go far beyond the call of duty. Alone or with synergistic help from additional vitamins, minerals and herbs, these savvy fats can kick up thyroid function and/or stimulate calorie-burning brown fat (a special tissue that disperses surplus calories for heat instead of fat storage). And, that's just for starters!

They also reduce the body's ability to store fat for energy by controlling the enzymes that release fat from the cells into the bloodstream. Many are so satisfying that they enable long-term appetite satisfaction so you are not tempted to overindulge.

The Thyroid Connection
But, first things first. You cannot fix a broken metabolism until you address thyroid dysfunction. After all, your thyroid is the body's key metabolic driver. With a sluggish thyroid, your body may produce too much insulin and trigger low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), along with intense cravings for carbs.

The thyroid secretes two major hormones, T3 and T4, which regulate the burning of calories for energy. Thyroid hormones control body weight, body temperature, muscle strength, heart rate and menstrual regularity. In fact, the thyroid connection to sex hormone imbalance is not surprising to women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.

Estrogen-induced thyroid dysfunction mimics underperformance of the thyroid gland. My friend, the late Dr. John Lee, observed that many perimenopausal women exhibit symptoms of hypothyroidism with normal thyroid levels. He theorized that estrogen excess and progesterone deficiency might be the cause. Raising progesterone levels through the use of natural progesterone cream often normalizes thyroid activity without any other treatment.

Furthermore, a diet devoid of Smart Fats but heavy in commercial polyunsaturated vegetable oils also sabotages the production of thyroid hormones. Without enough thyroid hormone, estrogen rises and acts as a fat trap especially as we grow older and progesterone levels take a nosedive.

The actual number of hypothyroid patients is highly underestimated. According to the American Thyroid Association, nearly 30 million Americans have been diagnosed with a thyroid disorder—a number that could easily be much more. I highly suspect, after working with so many individuals for the past three decades, that more than 60 percent of the population have some degree of thyroid dysfunction but are not being diagnosed properly.

Besides stubborn fat that won't budge, other low thyroid symptoms include depression, hair loss, poor eyebrow growth—especially the outer third of the brow, aching wrists, fluid retention, constipation, a coarse voice, diminished sex drive, infertility, premature graying of the hair and lack of muscle strength.

This tiny powerhouse-regulating metabolism controls the health of just about every organ in the body, including the heart. That's why it is so alarming that Hashimoto's thyroiditis, a type of autoimmune hypothyroidism, is growing by leaps and bounds as is Grave's disease, another kind of autoimmune condition characterized by hyperthyroidism.

Normalizing thyroid activity is a fundamental "must" if you want to restore metabolism and help your body rebuild itself. Smart Fat supplementation will go a long way in re-establishing equilibrium. But, when it comes to a comprehensive thyroid treatment plan, it is only one of many key factors.

To speed up fat burning and heal the immune system overload that often accompanies thyroid dysfunction, you will have to take into account insidious thyroid thieves like hidden dental or sinus infections, gluten, goitrogens, lack of protein, adrenal burnout, dwindling probiotics, fluoride, bromine and chlorine overload plus several vitamin, mineral and amino acid deficiencies, which are necessary to make thyroid hormones work; and then there's underlying virus, especially Epstein Barr.

No wonder thyroid disease is rampant! There are so very many seemingly diverse factors, which are likely to be contributing causes of dysfunction.

Sneaky Thyroid Saboteurs
Let's take a more in-depth overview at how each of these sneaky saboteurs do their damage. Fasten your seatbelts because this promises to be a VERY bumpy ride.

Hidden Dental Or Sinus Infections
Your mouth is the repository of a tremendous amount of bacteria that can impact different areas of your health. That's why individuals with a heart condition are recommended to take an antibiotic before a routine dental cleaning. Dentists who practice holistic dentistry and biological dentistry believe that each tooth is connected to an organ. If that tooth has a root canal, is decayed (even under a crown that X-rays don't pick up), is an implant, or even has been pulled, leaving behind a cavitation (hole in the jawbone), you can experience a whole host of health challenges in the associated meridian line of that tooth.

Many unresolved health problems might be associated with the anaerobic bacteria seeping into your system from root canals, implants and cavitations remaining from pulled teeth. ALL of this has to pass through your thyroid! This can depress or accelerate metabolism. Sinus infections can do the same if unresolved.

As the late Dr. Hal Huggins, biological dentist and mercury pioneer told me himself, "How many people know the consequences of housing the 40 anaerobic bacteria in implants, the 60 in root canals, or the eight in cavitations?"

Goitrogens
Goitrogens are possible thyroid-suppressing substances found in raw cruciferous vegetables like broccoli.

Add to this the heavy metal burden of precipitating mercury and/or copper from high amalgam fillings and you have one lethal mixture that your thyroid is up against.

Gluten
Many grains contain gliadin, which is the protein found in gluten and most concentrated in wheat, rye, and barley. Grains are fairly new to the diet—the trail-blazing orthomolecular medicine physician, Dr. Richard Kunin, says it best: "Grains are really Jonny-come-latelies on the nutritional scene. Meats, fruits, beans, nuts and vegetables have had a considerably longer historical alliance with the human gut. Almost as if to make up for lost time, grain has deluged man's diet and this excess increasingly appears to have something to do with common major and minor ailments."

Cardiologist and author of "Wheat Belly," Dr. William Davis, couldn't agree more. Moreover, to add insult to injury, he suggests that today's "Frankengrain" is nothing like what went into your grandmother's bread. Modern wheat contains 10 times more gluten than that of 50 years ago. Today's gluten is high in gliadin, a protein that is foreign to our bodies. It highly resembles a crucial enzyme known as transglutaminase, which is concentrated in the thyroid. As the immune system attacks the gliadin, antibodies also attack the thyroid. The immune system can then go into overdrive, damaging the thyroid, sometimes for up to six months. And that's all thanks to gluten.

But, that's not all the bad news to report, folks. Gliadin is a shameless appetite trigger. People can consume nearly 400 extra calories per day when manufacturers add it to certain food products. Food sensitivities trigger a kind of toxic shock to your system, which leads to addictions and binging. Partially digested components of common food allergens function like morphine-containing opioid drugs. They heighten appetite and decrease metabolism.

Gluten-containing foods like bread, crackers, chips and cookies are so highly addictive because of gliadin. Similar to the casein in milk, gliadin has a drug-like effect on your brain. The gluten in grain probably affects just about everyone in this day and age. The trouble is that nearly 100 percent of gluten intolerant individuals are unaware of this because gluten's negative reactions typically occur a good 12 to 24 hours after consumption.

If you decide to give up gluten, you may also want to give up all sugar and yeast, too.

These three substances, in addition to dairy, account for about 80 percent of all food sensitivities. They damage metabolism through an inflammatory response that can pack on 10 pounds or more of water weight and they can make you fat from heightened cravings to reactive foods or hormonal disruption of your metabolism.

Lack of Protein
Protein is a wonderful normalizer for overall thyroid function. It acts as an escort to transport the thyroid hormone to all bodily tissues.

Adrenal Burnout
Healthy thyroid function is intimately related to the adrenal glands. They both work synergistically to keep you functioning. When you are under stress, your adrenals secrete cortisol, which can block the thyroid's T4 to T3 conversion. When active T3 is suppressed, more cortisol comes to the rescue to rev up metabolism, creating a vicious cycle. The adrenals can make more cortisol from the hormone progesterone, which ultimately decreases available progesterone for other tasks. Diminishing progesterone levels trigger the thyroid to pinch-hit to make enough adrenal hormones. Long term, this process creates burnout for both the adrenals and the tired thyroid.

Dwindling Probiotics
Gut flora is also dependent upon your thyroid. At least 20 percent of thyroid function relies on a healthy amount of quality beneficial bacteria. One strain in particular has been found to protect against the toxicity of gliadin, which is so problematic for thyroid patients. That strain is B. lactis BI-04 and comes from the Bifidobacterium family.

Fluoride, Bromine and Chlorine Overload
These chemicals compete with iodine for uptake in the thyroid, negatively impacting metabolism. They are contained in water, toothpastes, hot tubs, non-organic foods, soft drinks, teas, commercial breads, some medications and brominated vegetable oils.

Neural Therapy is one of the treatments I use most in my practice because it is a method of treatment that works with the nervous system (neural means nerves). More specifically it works with the autonomic nervous system, which is the wing of the nervous system that is not under conscious control. It is the part of the nervous system that controls things like heart rate, digestion, liver metabolism, breathing, kidney perfusion, and the function of other organs. Neural Therapy can help restore optimal function of these organs by supporting optimal function of the nerves sending information to and from them.

In most Celiac Disease and Grain Sensitivity cases the autonomic nervous system is not functioning optimally, especially around the organs of the digestive system. This is because these organs have been continually aggravated with exposure to wheat and gluten over years or decades. Once diet has been improved Neural Therapy can be a very effective way to restore healthy function of the organs of digestion.

Neural Therapy is also known as German acupuncture because it is a therapy largely developed in Germany and it utilizes many Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture points. However, instead of using acupuncture needles it employs therapeutic injections of the acupuncture points with homeopathic medicines, B vitamins, and local anesthetics like procaine. Both acupuncture and Neural Therapy can be used to support the function of the stomach, pancreas, small intestine, colon, liver, and gall bladder. However, I have found that Neural Therapy often works faster because it utilizes therapeutic injections into the acupuncture points. Restoring the health of these organs is of utmost importance for people with Celiac Disease and Grain sensitivity and Neural Therapy is the treatment I use most to achieve this.

Scar tissue formation is another major issue for many people with Celiac Disease or Grain Sensitivity. The most significant cause of scar tissue for these patients is surgery. Gall bladder removal, exploratory laparoscopy, appendectomy, hysterectomy, and C-section scars are extremely common and often prevent optimal function of the organs near the scar tissue. Neural Therapy is the most effective treatment for Scar tissue because it can break down scar tissue and restore the nervous system conduction through the tissue. This improves the function of the nearby organs by improving the information flowing to and from these organs.

Neural Therapy is a very cost effective form of treatment because long term restoration of the nervous system, scar tissue, and organs can be achieved with relatively few treatments. This usually means that less supplementation and other treatments are required. Most people prefer taking fewer supplements and Neural Therapy is a very effective way to get results with less supplementation.

The most important part of treatment for Celiac Disease and Grain Sensitivity is the avoidance of wheat and gluten-containing foods. However, doing that alone is not enough to restore optimal health in most cases. Neural Therapy in conjunction with Intravenous Infusions, and some specific supplementation makes the most effective treatment protocol to treat Celiac Disease and Grain Sensitivity and promote optimal health.

In the next column we will examine the most important oral supplements for the treatment of Celiac Disease and Grain Sensitivity.

In this week's column we will investigate the 3 most important oral supplements for repairing the integrity of the digestive system.

Glutamine
Glutamine is an amino acid found in most foods containing protein. However, to obtain enough glutamine to have therapeutic effects one must take it as a supplement in capsule or powder form. Glutamine is a very important nutrient for repairing damage and rebuilding the integrity of the cells that line the intestines. These cells gobble up glutamine like it is going out of style. They use glutamine to rebuild their structural components so they can withstand the rigors of existence in the digestive tract. Relatively high doses of glutamine should be taken for several months in order for optimal healing to occur.

Probiotic Bacteria
Probiotic bacteria are the "good guys". They are the native bacteria that live along our digestive tracts. Species like acidophilus, bifidus, and hundreds of other species colonize our digestive system and live in harmony with the cells of our intestines. Basically, we give these bacteria a home to live in and they keep that home neat, tidy, and clean no matter what we throw at them. However, people with digestive system disorders like Celiac Disease and Wheat Sensitivity typically have an imbalance of the "good" bacteria vs. "bad" bacteria and yeast species. A major part of treatment is to use probiotic bacteria to restore a healthy population of the "good guys" and dismantle the "bad guys". For probiotics to be therapeutically useful you must take in more than is available in most yogurts. In fact, I typically recommend a probiotic with at least 20-30 billion live organisms per day.

Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids are amongst the most important nutrients for all of us. They play several crucial roles in every cell of the body. The most significant may be the role they play in the cell membrane. This is the outer lining of a cell. The cell membrane is where most of the cell-to-cell communication takes place. It is also the part of the cell that allows nutrients and other molecules either into or out of the cell. When cells of the digestive tract are damaged by the inflammatory processes associated with digestive disorders like Celiac Disease and Wheat Sensitivity they need higher than normal amounts of essential fatty acids for optimal repair.

The most important essential fatty acid for the digestive system is an omega 3 fatty acid called EPA. This is a highly anti-inflammatory molecule that helps to damper down inflammation in the digestive system so that repair can begin. However, it is best to take more than just EPA because the other types of essential fatty acids also play crucial roles in repair. The best sources of essential fatty acids are purified fish oils, hemp oil, and flax oil. However, there is a great deal of other benefits in consuming some essential fatty acids from flax seeds, hemp seeds, or chia seeds. These sources also provide extremely healthy forms of fibre that supports the proper elimination of toxins from the bowel.