I wanted to share this insightful article:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/07/can-probiotics-prevent-celiac.aspx?e_cid=20120307_DNL_art_2
Can Probiotics Prevent the Development of Celiac Disease?
"If you have celiac disease, consuming gluten (a gluey type of protein found in wheat, rye and barley) causes your immune system to mistakenly attack your small intestine, which inhibits the absorption of nutrients.
This is a very serious condition that requires the complete and lifelong elimination of all gluten-containing foods from your diet.
Left untreated, it can lead to a number of health complications and diseases, including other autoimmune disorders, osteoporosis, infertility, neurological conditions and even cancer.
It's already known that your gut microflora play a critical role at the onset of celiac disease. And past research has shown probiotics may help heal intestinal barrier function in people with celiac disease,ii as well as alleviate the severity of the condition by influencing inflammation to varying degrees.iii It is also possible that the millions of people who suffer from "out of intestine" varieties of celiac disease or wheat intolerance, which can express itself in over 125 health conditions,iv may benefit from supporting their microflora with a regular supply of friendly bacteria.
Further research presented at the 2011 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) annual meeting, by researchers at the University College Cork in Ireland, showed that people with inflammatory conditions such as ulcerative colitis, chronic fatigue syndrome or psoriasis who took the probiotic bacteria Bifidobacterium infantis for eight weeks had lower levels of inflammation than those taking a placebo. The simple strategy appeared to lower levels of inflammation among a wide variety of conditions.
Probiotics are so crucial to your health that researchers have compared them to "a newly recognized organ," and have even suggested we consider ourselves a type of "meta-organism" -- in acknowledgment of the fact that we cannot be whole and healthy without the participation of a vast array of friendly bacterial species and strains.
What are the Best Sources of Probiotics for People with Celiac Disease?
Fermented food helps you to both "reseed" your body with good bacteria, as well as provide the ideal 'nourishing matrix' that the bacteria depend on to flourish in their transit through your gut, and include tasty options such as:
- Lassi (an Indian yoghurt drink, traditionally enjoyed before dinner)
- Fermented milk, such as kefir (a quart of unpasteurized kefir has far more active bacteria than you can possibly purchase in any probiotic supplement)
- Various pickled fermentations of cabbage, sauerkraut, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash and carrots
- Natto (fermented soy)
When choosing fermented foods, steer clear of pasteurized versions, as pasteurization will destroy nearly all of the naturally occurring probiotics. This includes most of the "probiotic" yogurts you find in every grocery store these days; since they're pasteurized, they will be associated with all of the problems of pasteurized milk products and they typically contain added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, artificial coloring, or artificial sweeteners, all of which will only worsen your health.
Those with celiac disease must avoid gluten to manage the condition, but I actually recommend that everyone following my beginner nutrition plan eliminate all gluten from their diets because, in my experience, there is an epidemic of people with hidden intolerance to wheat products and gluten who would benefit from avoiding it entirely as well.
Wheat is the most important gluten-containing grain to avoid; it alone contains the highly toxic gliadin molecule.
When gluten is broken down in the gut and gliadin is released, it is free to bind to gastrointestinal cells in your body, increasing both permeability and inflammation in the gut If you are especially sensitive, your body will make antibodies to gliadin and attack the cells that have become complexed with it, treating those cells much in the same way that they would if they were infected. This immune response damages surrounding tissue and has the potential to set off, or exacerbate, MANY other health problems throughout your body, which is why gluten can have such a devastating effect on your overall health.
If you suffer from any inflammatory condition -- be it celiac disease, other autoimmune disorders, or heart disease, just to name a few -- it would be wise to avoid grains. Probiotics may help your body recover and heal, but they cannot be used as a way to maintain a grain-based diet without suffering ill effects."