Do You Really Have to Remove Gluten to Heal from CIRS?
Step 4 of Dr. Shoemaker's protocol assesses you for the production of antigliadin antibodies. You are at increased risk for producing antigliadin antibodies if you have the HLA haplotypes of 17-2-52A and 7-2-53. Being a kiddo with CIRS also puts us at greater risk! Adults are less likely to express antigliadin antibodies. It is important to understand that you will only get an accurate result to this blood test if you have recently ingested gluten. If you have already removed gluten from your diet and are strictly avoiding it, you will not produce antigliadin antibodies.
Even before I knew I have CIRS, removing gluten from my diet lessened my erythromelalgia flares. I also noted more mental clarity when I said adios to my beloved gluten. It's important to note that I benefited from removal of gluten despite not making antigliadin antibodies. Why would this be? Gluten is mildly inflammatory for most people. Anytime we have an inflammatory process going on in the body, additional inflammation is simply adding fuel to the inflammation fire. It is then logical that any lever that we can pull to lower inflammation is quite helpful.
To complicate things, in the context of CIRS melanocyte stimulating hormone (nicknamed "MSH") is usually low. This leads to a whole host of issues including intestinal permeability (AKA- a leaky gut). This intestinal permeability can drive reactivity or intolerance to many different foods. I became intolerant to all sorts of foods. Foods that would seem benign! My diet was becoming more and more limited which was greatly affecting my quality of life. It turns out tolerating dairy, beans, and a whole host of other yummies really does spark joy. As the old adage goes, "You don't know what you've got until it is gone."
If you are intolerant to gluten and/or are producing antigliadin antibodies, it doesn't mean you have to wave goodbye to gluten forever unless you are diagnosed with Celiac disease. Instead you benefit from removal- especially while MSH is low- and can attempt reintroduction of gluten later when your body has gained resiliency. Your body is unique. Listen to the feedback your body is giving you. You can do this by testing blood markers. Celiac disease can be silent meaning you have no symptoms. If you are cleared to resume gluten, listen to how it feels in your body. If you get feedback such as brain fog or bloating, that is important information. Remove it and perhaps try again at a later date. Reach out to schedule@untamediona.com to learn more about how our Certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioners can hep you navigate diet while managing CIRS and/or erythromelalgia.
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel to get a weekly dose of hope from Dr. Sparks herself.You can read about CIRS Shoemaker Protocol starting from the beginning at Step #1 here.You can read more about Dr. Sparks’s journey as a medical provider hellbent on healing her own erythromelalgia here.Read about Dr. Sparks’s healing her chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) and how that connects to EM here.Interested in receiving our blogs in your inbox? Simply click here connect@untamediona.com to shoot me an email and be added to the mailing list.
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