Veggie that is very interesting. I have learned a lot about Gluten, Coeliac, Diabetes, et al over the last year or two but it was good to see it put into simple but scientific understanding.
Modern gluten is evil stuff (and dairy isn't far behind it). Whereas original wheat had about 2% gluten, over the last couple of hundred years or so since the days of Gregor Mendel, via hybridisation and genetic manipulation it has reached a point where it now apparently contains about 13%. As one eminent scientific journalist put it, have we in our quest for greater yields, more resilient growth and an ability to generate more financial rewards produced a food that is no longer digestible?
Not only that but flour is so highly processed these days that by the time the end product comes out it has little if anything in the way of nutrition in it and any 'replacements' that are added are usually in a cheap synthetic form and cannot be properly used by the body - in fact they may actually deplete nutritional reserves (if indeed by that time we actually have any!).
Yeasts and other pathogenic organisms feed on undigested carbs. Although Candida Albicans et al are often a normal inhabitant of the bowel, they can become pathogenic when they are allowed to proliferate. That proliferation is triggered by an overconsumption of carbohydrates. The interrelationship between the overconsumption and the microbes sets up inflammation which eventually damages the gut which then leads to even more 'in-digestion' and more food for the beasties. We then become trapped in an ever-increasing cycle of damage and inflammation and microbial proliferation which can then impact on any area of the body causing any kind of symptom - I am convinced that all our different 'dis-eases' are just different manifestations of the same thing! They are unique modern health issues that are unique to those cultures that follow the 'Western' Diet.
So many people live with external symptoms of being a 'fungus factory' like Athlete's foot, Dandruff and itchy scalp, fungal nail infections, thrush, and the charmingly named 'jock-itch' that they think it is normal - never realising that they themselves are actually fomenting the problem. If you have it outside then you are riddled with it inside.
I had had digestive issues for years, weight problems for years, hypos for years, issues with carbs for years, Athlete's foot and very obvious other signs of systemic Candida infestation for years. Unsurprisingly I eventually developed Diabetes 12 years ago at the age of 39. 18 months ago my digestion finally collapsed and it was only then on picking up a Coeliac/gluten intolerance link that really set me on the road via the Specific Carb Diet to reclaiming my digestion, and my health, back.
Within a few hours of withdrawing gluten (and dairy) from my diet the awful pains every time I ate and the raging diarrhoea stopped, never to return. I have gradually been rebuilding my health over the last 18 months by limiting my diet to fresh wholesome fruit, veggies, fish, a little meat and poultry, nuts, seeds, a little honey and yoghurt. My diet is simple but very nutritious, and it is surprising what you can do with that 'limited' but quite vast selection. The ironic thing is of course, that those who think my diet is limited actually confine their diet to a much smaller range of food! Duh. They only think I am limited because I can't and won't eat what they eat......
My Mum was Type 1 from the age of 16 and it was only about 4 weeks before she died in 2000 at the age of 64 from multiple organ failure that the possibility that she had Coeliac Disease was raised by one of the Hospital Doctors.
Knowing what I now know I am convinced that she had Coeliac Disease and a very strong intolerance to gluten. Although she tried giving up wheat for a while at one point it didn't make any difference so she dismissed it as a problem. Unfortunately, what she didn't realise is that you have to be TOTALLY gluten-free in order for it to work. She thought that stopping bread, cake and biscuits was enough. She didn't realise that there are a huge amount of 'hidden' sources of gluten.
There are causal links between Coeliac and Diabetes, especially type 1. Mum also had fertility issues (me, followed by a stillborn, followed by 10 miscarriages) and lifelong Anaemia, both of which are typical Coeliac issues. In latter years she developed digestive issues that I now recognise as typical also, but neither we in our ignorance, nor (as was their job, ha ha) did the Medical Profession pick up on the Coeliac link. I am convinced that had it been done so at a much earlier stage she might still be here.
My Dad also had digestive issues most of his life which I am now sure were also linked to Gluten intolerance. His other symptoms manifested as neurological issues - depression and very low self-esteem mainly and he too died 5 years ago at only 70. I am grateful that I know enough now to be able to help myself and my family, but I weep that it all came too late for them.
The 'Western' diet encourages the constant consumption of carbs. People eat (and drink) the stuff from the minute they wake up to the minute they go to bed. Cereals, sugar, cake, snacks, bread, chips, crisps, buns, biscuits, cookies, pasta, pizza, rice, crackers, pastries, pies, flans, sausage rolls, squash, soft drinks, beer, the list is just endless.............
The thing is - gluten intolerance can manifest in any form. Any health issue can come from a gluten/Candida problem in the body - it just depends on what the individuals' genetic vulnerability is. Because it is in so much food it is a very difficult thing to avoid, but it is not impossible. All these years gluten was controlling me. I have broken free and have 'wised-up' and I feel very grateful for that knowledge.