My life with gluten sensitivity E-Book

Gabriele Kuppe

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 116

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Gluten sensitivity and histamine intolerance often go undiagnosed. When stomach and intestinal problems and circulatory problems play a central role, it takes a lot of patience to adapt to the daily circumstances and the dietary changes. Those affected often face a long road ahead. Based on her own experiences and research, the author describes the connections between these illnesses to make it easier for others. Recipe suggestions for gluten-free, low-histamine, and sugar-free diets, keeping a food diary, and relaxation exercises provide assistance in getting through this difficult time.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Blood Test

Gluten Sensitivity

Histamine Intolerance

Intestinal Health

Recipe Suggestions

Diet Plan

Food List

Relaxation Suggestions

Sources of supply

Book Recommendations

Recipe Index

Closing words

Author's Biography

Quantity information

Notes

Foreword

This book was written to help others and make it easier for them to cope with gluten sensitivity, histamine intolerance, and intestinal problems in their daily lives. As is often the case, the same symptoms apply to different conditions. This often makes identifying and treating the causes difficult.

For a long time, I was free of symptoms. I achieved this by switching to a spelt diet. But then some things happened in my life that I couldn't easily cope with. Due to a lot of excitement, some human disappointments, every day and emotional stress, and deep grief over the loss of a loved one, my whole life fell apart.

What perhaps was bound to happen happened. I relapsed and ate sweets in large quantities. I was well aware that these pleasant comfort foods only provide a brief moment of happiness. You could call it inconsistent, but I'll just say: I'm a human being, just a normal human being with human traits, feelings, and weaknesses. But what seemed to be good for my soul was significantly less pleasing to my inner life.

A rather painful journey began for me, and I was simply frightened by what was happening to me and my body. My strength was leaving me more and more every day. Sometimes I felt like I no longer existed. If I couldn't muster any strength for myself, how could I possibly have any strength for others?

My quality of life, if I even had any left, suffered more than I would have liked. With a heavy heart, I withdrew to get healthy again. But that wasn't easy, because I unfortunately received very little help from the people who could or should have helped me professionally. I can still hear the words: "Oh, that can't be true."

I felt a little better for a while, but then the same symptoms returned. My stomach constantly tormented me, then the constant pressure in my right upper abdomen, and above all, this lack of strength. I felt weak, simply very weak.

Of course, I was examined again and given pills, which didn't help; I felt the opposite was the case.

Unfortunately, no research was done into the causes. But I've experienced that many times before. My complaints went largely unaddressed, and I felt truly abandoned. My body, however, wasn't impressed, and it seemed to give up. I became weaker and weaker.

One morning, I was so weak that I couldn't do anything on my own. I couldn't even go to the bathroom on my own. The paramedics who were called looked at me, took my blood pressure, which was very high, but said I was having a panic attack. Well, I think anyone in my situation would have been scared. Without exception!

Racing heart, shortness of breath, the feeling of fainting, numbness in my left foot and lower leg—well, that's certainly no small thing and shouldn't be laughed at. However, apart from my beloved sister, no one seemed to take my problem seriously.

Almost with my last ounce of strength, I decided to help myself if no one else would. What choice did I have? Simply being able to live a carefree life was my greatest wish.

Several years ago, I had suffered greatly from professional stress, and the problems were similar, but not as severe, as those I experienced on that particular morning and the time afterward. I followed my intuition and had another blood test done to determine food intolerances. Unfortunately, this was also deemed pointless, and I had to pay for everything myself. Another blood test for histamine, as I had hoped, unfortunately never happened. But as I now know, this test was anything but pointless!

After a good year, I was finally allowed to take a blood test because I had to find someone to take my blood, be it a doctor or alternative practitioner. And: Surprise, surprise. My histamine level was elevated.

Then I read scientific studies. I learned more and more about the connections between these conditions: gluten sensitivity and histamine intolerance. Everything that was affecting my health applied to me!

I would like to share my experiences with you, dear readers. If you're feeling desperate right now, please don't give up. I haven't either, although I've often felt like it.

With all my heart, I wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

Gabriele Kuppe

Blood test

I had the blood test to determine whether I have a food reaction done through www.imupro.de (Germany). Perhaps a similar option is available in your country.

For example, from there, you can order information and choose a test variant. There are various options for whether you want to be tested this or that.

Once you've chosen the appropriate test, you'll receive a tube for a blood sample, which you then return to the institute or laboratory yourself.

You just need to find a doctor or alternative practitioner who is willing to take a blood sample.

I didn't have to wait long for the test results. They showed elevated IgG antibody titers to food. A one-sided diet combined with increased intestinal permeability is thought to be the cause of an IgG food allergy (type III). Every time an IgG-positive food is consumed, an inflammatory reaction is triggered that can weaken the entire organism. Experience shows that simply avoiding the foods in question is not enough; a change in diet, following a so-called rotation principle, is necessary.

That all sounds quite plausible, but implementing the practice of only being allowed to eat the same thing every four days proved more difficult than expected.

This means: If you choose certain foods on the first day, you should avoid them for the following three days. This supports the body in recovering from current IgG food allergies and simultaneously reduces the likelihood of new allergies developing. It also ensures that all necessary nutrients are consumed in a varied diet. Surprisingly, I reacted to spelt, as spelt is unfortunately not completely gluten-free. It depends on how this valuable grain is cultivated. Then I reacted to barley, gluten, kamut, rye, and wheat, as well as to chicken eggs, cow's milk and its products. I even reacted to goat's milk. Potatoes and some nuts were also taboo from now on.

In the so-called elimination phase, the foods to which you reacted are strictly eliminated. This is best done for several weeks. If necessary, even longer. It depends on the individual body, because every body reacts differently.

The best thing to do is actually keep a food diary. Unfortunately, I didn't always do that because it seemed too bothersome, and my weakness, which kept coming over me, prevented me from participating productively in life.

Once the elimination phase is over, the provocation phase begins. You can gradually try to reintroduce the affected foods back into your diet.

First, you should start with foods from the "elevated values" group. Please also observe the rotation principle of at least three days. If you manage to tolerate these foods, you can start with foods from the so-called "highly elevated" group.

Of course, you may also have to completely exclude the foods to which you react strongly, even for a year or longer.

I know it's a long road. Please don't give up!

Record everything in your food diary, including whether you reacted to a certain food and what the reaction was. Ideally, you have someone by your side who takes you and your condition seriously. If not, please don't despair and keep trying.

If a food doesn't cause symptoms to recur after the second provocation, it can probably be reintroduced into your diet.

Please also be careful not to stress yourself too much, because stress makes you sick.

Chronic stress can lead to an imbalance in stress neurotransmitters (for example, serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline, and cortisol). This shift in neurotransmitters causes physical and psychological symptoms.

For example, sleep disorders, anxiety, listlessness, depression, forgetfulness, headaches, migraines, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, difficulty concentrating, and joint pain can be the consequences.

The causes of chronic complaints are often unclear. Therefore, treatments are usually based only on treating the symptoms and not addressing the actual cause. Thus, therapeutic approaches often fail to produce satisfactory results.

There are many triggers. In this context, it is suspected that chronic complaints are exacerbated by inflammatory reactions, triggered, for example, by food.

An indication that food contributes to inflammation is provided by an elevated level of IgG antibodies in the blood. This is then referred to as a delayed food allergy or IgG food allergy.

There is evidence from studies and satisfied patients of a connection between food intake, elevated antibody levels, and the promotion of chronic complaints.

However, these connections have not yet been conclusively scientifically proven and are unfortunately controversial in conventional medicine.

Personally, as a patient, I find it very unfortunate because I also have to take medication, even though I haven't always tolerated it well.

But back to the actual topic.

The so-called enteric nervous system (ENS) is directly connected to the central nervous system, through which information is exchanged. There is a nerve pathway to the emotional system in the brain. If, for example, the intestines are irritated due to inflammation, this information is sent to the brain. There it can trigger psychological reactions. Conversely, severe psychological stress, for example, is also communicated to the ENS. Therefore, prolonged stress often manifests itself in the gastrointestinal tract.

Thus, there is a gut-brain axis. The gut and psyche influence each other.

A gut cleansing and prior special stool diagnostics, for example, to determine whether intestinal parasites are present, would certainly be beneficial.

An intact gut reduces the occurrence of new immunological reactions to food and contributes to the reduction of food allergies.

I sincerely hope that you have or find a suitable contact person in this regard.

It cannot be denied that medications, infections, stress, and environmental toxins, for example, can repeatedly damage the intestinal wall, allowing incompletely digested food particles to pass between the intestinal cells and enter the bloodstream.

These are recognized as harmful by the immune system. The immune system can then trigger defensive reactions to these food proteins.

Regular consumption of these foods then leads to repeated immune reactions.

This may not necessarily be detectable by ultrasound. I also had an ultrasound and nothing was found.

Gluten sensitivity

Elevated IgG antibody levels against gluten can be an indication of a serious autoimmune disease, celiac disease. This should be checked by a doctor.

If celiac disease is ruled out, it's possible that you suffer from non-celiac gluten sensitivity. In this case, too, gluten should be eliminated from your diet.

Gluten intolerance likely leads to an inflamed intestine. It is also suspected that it also leads to increased intestinal permeability. This, in turn, can lead to deficiencies (for example, iron, vitamin D, folic acid) as well as other immune reactions to foods and related symptoms, even outside the intestine.

In addition to an IgG food allergy, there are many other causes of digestive disorders or reduced nutrient absorption that are not related to the immune system.

Intestinal infestation with fungi or parasites, as well as an imbalance in the intestinal flora, can also play a role.

But it's also the case that sauerkraut, for example, is recommended for the intestines. However, sauerkraut is fermented and therefore not suitable for someone with histamine intolerance.

One of the possible causes could be histamine intolerance, but I'll come back to that later. I can only say one thing right now: anyone who suffers from both gluten sensitivity and histamine intolerance hasn't exactly hit the jackpot.

But what does gluten mean?

Gluten is a protein found as a storage protein in many popular grains. These include wheat, spelt, rye, and barley. Gluten is often referred to as gluten protein because it helps the ingredients in baked goods stick together well during baking.

However, gluten is not essential for our bodies. A gluten-free diet is therefore possible in the long term—and sometimes even necessary. For example, for people with celiac disease, because in this autoimmune disease, the consumption of gluten leads to inflammation in the small intestine.

The term "intolerance" is an umbrella term for various adverse reactions that occur after consuming certain foods. The physical processes vary greatly.

In a food allergy, the immune system reacts hypersensitively to harmless proteins in food. An intolerance is an intolerance reaction that is not an allergic reaction. Many intolerances are caused by enzyme defects. As a result, certain components of food cannot be processed properly, thus causing symptoms such as bloating, cramps, diarrhea, or constipation.

An autoimmune disease is a malfunction of the immune system in which the body's own structures are attacked.

In a gluten/wheat sensitivity, the body reacts to gluten or other components in wheat with very nonspecific symptoms. However, this is not celiac disease or a wheat allergy. Since there are no specific biomarkers, this gluten intolerance is diagnosed by exclusion.

Hypersensitivity to gluten or wheat can occur suddenly and at any age. However, gluten/wheat sensitivity can certainly be a temporary condition that improves with a gluten-free diet.

Symptoms of Gluten/Wheat Sensitivity

The symptoms of gluten/wheat sensitivity are very diverse and manifest themselves in a variety of ways:

Abdominal pain, sometimes accompanied by a burning sensation at the entrance to the stomach, nausea and vomiting, bloating, fullness, constipation, and diarrhea

Fatigue, numbness in the arms and legs, muscle cramps and joint pain

Headaches, malaise, listlessness, confusion, circulatory problems

Eczema, reddened or swollen tongue

Many of these symptoms overlap with those of other conditions, which is why gluten/wheat sensitivity often goes undetected and untreated.