This episode of ‘Gluten Free RN’ covers the basics of celiac disease and gluten intolerance – what those terms mean and what they might mean for you. Nadine explains which genes suggest a predisposition to gluten intolerance and what circumstances lead to a diagnosis of celiac disease proper.

 Nadine talks you through what happens in your digestive tract that leads to gluten proteins attacking your organs and preventing your body from absorbing the nutrients it needs. She also outlines the foods and products you need to avoid to achieve ‘gluten-zero,’ as well as the foods you can enjoy as part of a gluten-free diet.

 Listen in and learn where gluten is hiding and how to modify your diet to reverse the adverse effects of gluten!

What’s Discussed: 

• The definition of celiac disease and its chronic nature
• • 30-50% of the population carries the genes
• How a trigger event (i.e.: a cold, pregnancy, stress, an injury) initiates the autoimmune disorder
• Options for getting tested for the genetic predisposition
• The closed system of the digestive tractand how food is processed
• • While some food is used for energy, much just passes through
• Villous atrophy and the four stages of tissue damage
• • Marsh 1: microvilli destroyed; body cannot break down sugar and milk
  • Marsh 2/3: villi themselves fold over or atrophy; tight junctures between villi (that keep things your body can’t utilize in the GI tract and out of your bloodstream) open up
  • Marsh 4: villi gone and only red, inflamed tissue remains; ‘leaky gut’
• The effects of increased permeability of the intestinal wall
• • Damaged immune system
  • Rather than passing through the GI tract, gluten proteins get into bloodstream and wreak havoc on organs
  • Body can’t absorb nutrients out of food
• The importance of healthy intestinal tissue
• • 70-90% of the immune system is in your intestines
• The soldier analogy
• • Healthy villi are like rested soldiers with loaded weapons on a clear day who can easily take out antigens that don’t belong
  • Damaged villi are like soldiers on a bender with inadequate weaponry, operating in smoke and fire – they either don’t work at all or fire randomly at antigens
• The long road to recovering from villous atrophy
• • It takes 6 months to a year to reverse the damage
• Grains to avoid that contain gluten
• • Wheat
  • Barley
  • Rye
  • Oats (due to cross-contamination)
• Places where gluten may be hiding
• Gluten-free foods
• • Fresh fruits and vegetables
  • Plain meats and fish (not breaded or beer battered)
  • Beans/legumes
  • Tree nuts
  • Rice, corn and potatoes
  • Quinoa and teff
  • Dairy
• What a gluten-free rating means
• • The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) certifies products that contain less than ten parts per million

Resources Mentioned: 

Gluten: Zero Global by Rodney Ford

 Enterolab Website

 Glutenpro Celiac Test

 Country Life Vitamins

 Kite Hill Foods

Connect with Nadine: 

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Contact via Email

Books by Nadine:

Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism

In this episode of ‘Gluten Free RN,’ Nadine discusses the urinary system and urinary issues associated with the ingestion of gluten, gluten intolerance and/or celiac disease. If you are experiencing health problems related to the urinary system, it is possible that eliminating gluten and dairy will eliminate the problem.

 Nadine utilizes anecdotes from her own experience and those of her friend and colleague Wendy Cohan, author of The Better Bladder Book, to illustrate the connection between diet and urinary health.

 This episode explains how your urinary system works and outlines the difficulties you may be experiencing. Click and listen to learn how changing your diet could alleviate your pain!

  What’s Discussed: 

• The symptoms of interstitial cystitis (IC)
• The connection between gluten and IC
• After adopting a gluten-free diet, colleague Wendy Cohan no longer has IC
• Other urinary issues that may be caused by the ingestion of gluten
• Kidney and brain stones
• Repeat urinary tract infections
• Bed wetting
• The health problems specific to men that are caused by inflammation in the urinary system
• Chronic prostatitis (CP)
• Prostate cancer
• Erectile dysfunction (ED)
• When it is appropriate to treat urinary infection with antibiotics
• Antibiotic stewardship means we use them judiciously
• Why implementing a gluten-free diet may be better than taking medication for urinary issues
• 95% of female IC patients and 77% of male CP patients reported food sensitivities
• The ways in which other body systems are affected by urinary issues
• It is rare for these difficulties to occur in isolation
• Large numbers of IC and CP patients report having additional symptoms, i.e.: irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia
• The importance of addressing the underlying cause of your urinary issues
• The components of the urinary system
• What healthy urine looks like
• The need for additional research to confirm the effects of gluten on urinary health

Resources Mentioned: 

The Better Bladder Book: A Holistic Approach to Healing Interstitial Cystitis and Chronic Pelvic Pain by Wendy L. Cohan https://www.amazon.com/Better-Bladder-Book-Holistic-Interstitial/dp/0897935551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481754556&sr=1-1&keywords=wendy+cohan+the+better+bladder+book

Connect with Nadine:

Website http://glutenfreern.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/glutenfreern/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GlutenFreeRN

Email nadine@glutenfreern.com

Books by Nadine:

Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism

This week on ‘Gluten Free RN,’ Nadine explores gluten intolerance in pets. She looks at the health problems pets have experienced in increasing numbers in the last several decades and contends that a Paleo Diet is more appropriate for your furry friends than a diet that includes grains.

Nadine also explains the risk of cross-contamination and the importance of removing all products containing gluten (including pet food) from your home if you have a sensitivity to it.

Listen and learn the ways in which a gluten-free diet is more appropriate to your pet’s biology and get pet food brand recommendations from Nadine!

What’s Discussed: 

• How Nadine discovered the benefits of a gluten-free diet for pet health
• As her gastrointestinal issues improved, so did Slugs’
• Why grains are not appropriate for dogs and cats
• Historically, dogs and cats are omnivores by instinct
• A Paleo Diet including meat and plant matter will improve your pet’s health
• The diseases pets have developed over the last several decades
• Many of these conditions are similar to the health problems humans have developed
• Why it’s difficult to test pets for gluten intolerance and celiac disease
• A clinical trial is often the only way to determine if gluten is causing your pet’s health issues
• The symptoms your pet might exhibit that could point to a gluten intolerance
• The risks of cross-contamination for people who are exposed to the grain in their pet’s food
• For a celiac patient, exposure to a bread crumb can trigger the same auto-immune reaction as an entire piece of cake
• The foods you should never give your pets
• The pet food brands with zero or very low (less than 10 ppm) gluten content
• Animal Crackers has a huge selection of grain-free, high-quality pet food
• How to test food for the presence of gluten

Resources Mentioned: 

 “Gluten-sensitive enteropathy in a family of Irish setters” by Sylvie C. Daminet https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1576718/?page=1

 EZ Gluten Test Kit http://ezgluten.com/

Connect with Nadine:

Website http://glutenfreern.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/glutenfreern/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GlutenFreeRN

Email nadine@glutenfreern.com

Books by Nadine:

Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism

In the premier episode of ‘Gluten Free RN’ Nadine tells us a bit about her journey in regaining her health and why it’s so important to understand that food is medicine to our bodies. If we think about food as medicine, we will make better food choices which will lead to much better health in both the short and long term. 

Nadine also discusses the increasing rate of Celiac disease diagnosis and some factors that may be influencing this. 

Listen in to learn why it’s so important to make good food choices and how making the right ones will help you maintain or even regain your health!  

What’s Discussed: 

• Nadine’s background 
• Nurse for 25 years, 10 years as the Gluten Free RN
• At the time, Nadine didn’t know that gluten intolerance and Celiac disease were often big factors in her patients' health problems 
• Why Nadine considers herself to be a “Connectologist” 
• Nadine connects some dots that may not have been previously connected 
• Why Gluten sensitivity and/or Celiac disease is often common denominator in health problems 
• Why food is medicine and how that affects our health 
• Nadine’s journey back from bad health 
• Learned she had Celiac disease at the age of 40
• Your GI Tract and immune system
• 70-90 % of your immune system is in your GI tract
• As humans, we do not have do not have enzymes to break down gluten proteins 
• Why you may be predisposed to Celiac disease
• 30-50% of our population carries the genes that predispose us to Celiac disease 
• The increasing rate of Celiac disease diagnosis 
• The importance of having a plan for remaining or getting healthy into your 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s 
• It’s easier to maintain your health than to regain it 
• Nadine’s diet recommendations 
• Common problems of a bad diet
• Topics that will be discussed in future episodes! 

Resources Mentioned: 

“Seeds of Deception” by Jeffery Smith

Connect with Nadine: 

Email: Nadine@GlutenFreeRN.com 

Books by Nadine:

Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism