As of late I have become concerned more about my overall health.
But I'm just not sure what "healthy" for me means.
Before I was diagnosed with Celiac/Coeliac disease my pants size was 9. Not that small for an 18 year old, but I'm from Viking stock. At 128 lbs you could count my ribs thru my t-shirt. When I stood, my hip bones were the largest protrusion from my front. I was all bones. Looking back at photos you can see that I was not well. Doctors said words like "malnourished" and "deterioration" Adults thought I was anorexic, or bulimic, or both.
Yet according to the BMI, I was well witin healthy ranges.....That is CRAP.
According to the BMI I'm now Obese...That is CRAP.
Graduated High school: size 11
Graduate Jr College: Size 9
Graduate University: size 22
Wedding day: size14
Currently:size18
SO what does that mean? What IS healthy?
I don't really care what the scales say.
I'm not all that concerned with the number on the clothing.
What I am concerned about was summarized nicely by Wikipedia:
After the implementation of a gluten-free diet there can be many persisting deficiencies, which can be “due to slow or incomplete healing of the small intestine, failure to eat foods rich in needed nutrients, eating too much fiber with meals, thus binding nutrients, Helicobacter Pylori infection, small bowel bacterial overgrowth, giardia, or other infections and parasites”[39].
Many gluten-free made products are not fortified, enriched, or have all the nutrients that the natural sources contain, thus these products are especially low in folate, iron, and fiber[citation needed]. Also, due to the fact that gluten-free products are not always available, many Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy (GSE) patients do not consume the recommended amount of grain servings per day.
The standard gluten-free diet does not meet the recommended intake for fiber, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, iron, or calcium[citation needed]. People who change their standard gluten-free diet to implement gluten-free oats at breakfast, high fiber brown rice bread at lunch, and quinoa as a side at dinner have been found to have significant increases in protein (20.6g versus 11g), iron (18.4 mg versus 1.4 mg), calcium (182 mg verses 0 mg), and fiber (12.7g verses 5g). The B vitamin group did not have significant increases, but were still found to have improved values of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folate. These dietary changes can greatly reduce a GSE patient’s risk for anemia (especially Iron Deficiency Anemia) and low blood calcium levels or poor bone health. Not only is it important to avoid gluten, but also to find more nutrient-dense, gluten-free food sources to prevent patients from other diseases due to deficiencies.
So I might not be any healthier GF then I was not GF?
A decade ago when I first scoured the Internet for Coeliac disease I found a European Medical Journal summery. It plainly stated that most patents who were diagnosed over the age of 18, and done enough damage overall, that the positive life expectancy was 50 years old. Loss of mobility by 40. Most likely cause of death being heart failure, followed by complications of autoimmune deficiencys.
That hit me at 19 years old hard.
Perhaps that has all been proven wrong?
I have not found the article since, though I have tried.
So maybe that doctor was a quack, disbarred, and discredited.
But on days like today, when I'm sick for "no reason" and my body acts like that of the baby boomers I know, I can't help but remember that article, and wonder If I've only got 10 good years left...
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