Celiac disease, a form of wheat allergy, doubles your risk of death. The risks are particularly severe if you are diagnosed late in the disease or do not adhere to a strict diet free of gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains.
Celiac disease, also known as celiac sprue or 'gluten intolerance' is a genetic disorder that causes bowel disorders, diarrhea or weight loss because of an insensitivity to gluten. It affects approximately one in 30 people. Patients often develop cancers of the intestines, which is thought to lead to a higher death rate.
Among 1,072 patients diagnosed with celiac disease in Italy from 1962 to 1994, researchers found 53 deaths, compared with an expected 26 deaths in the general population. The leading cause of death was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Relatives of patients with celiac disease did not have a higher than average risk of death, nor did patients who lived three years following diagnosis.
According to the authors, "Prompt and strict dietary treatment decreases mortality in celiac patients."
The Lancet, August 4, 2001; 358: 356-361
Leave it to the Italians to find yet another complication of wheat ingestion - an increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Wheat has already been associated with:
Most all of us do not benefit from eating wheat - yes even whole wheat. I know this is hard to hear for many of you.
But just remember, I was once fooled enough so that when I was in medical school nearly 25 years ago my nickname was "Dr. Fiber", as I was always preaching the benefits of whole grains.
Little did I know that wheat, and nearly all other grains, rapidly convert to sugar and rapidly accelerate aging and chronic illness in most, although certainly not all of us.
Unless you are seriously underweight, most of us would best be served by limiting or avoiding wheat altogether. I was well over 40 years old before I realized this kernel of truth and I probably chopped a good 20 years off the end of the limit of my life span by not applying it earlier.
Hopefully, many of you will realize this truth and apply this challenging discipline so you will reap the fruits of a good and long healthy life for you and your family.
If you need medically technical information about celiac sprue, be sure and review the American Gastroenterological Association paper on this from 2001.
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