book by Elisabeth Hasselbeck |book review by June Milligan, M.Ed., CCHt |
Elisabeth Hasselbeck (co-host of The View) suffered from the effects of celiac disease for over a decade before she was correctly diagnosed and therefore discovered what was causing severe abdominal pains, gas, diarrhea, weakness and lack of energy. She went to scores of physicians, was diagnosed with IBS most often and took the prescribed medications, but to no avail. For three years she tried dozens of other medications, both prescription and natural, but got no relief. The symptoms persisted.
She tried to go on with her life, and it was not until she was accepted as a contestant on the reality show Survivor: The Australian Outback and therefore spent time in the most primitive part of Australia did she get relief from the constant stomach pains, bloating and diarrhea. Since she was forced to live off the land there, she came to the realization that what she was eating in the U.S. had everything to do with how her body felt and functioned. As soon as she returned, she wanted to introduce the old familiar foods to her system gradually, but she was famished for her family’s Italian foods: fresh bread, pasta, pizza, and so forth. She dived in and her painful symptoms immediately returned.
She did her own research and eventually diagnosed herself with celiac disease, which is a digestive disorder characterized by a toxic reaction to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, barley and some oats. But she couldn’t find a doctor who would run the diagnostic tests to prove she had that particular toxic sensitivity. Loath to believe that diet could be the culprit as well as the cure, physicians continued to prescribe medications which sometimes masked the symptoms, but sometimes had no effect whatsoever. Eight long years later, she found a physician, Dr. Peter Green, who diagnosed her problems as celiac disease. With his help, she learned which foods contain gluten, and how she could most effectively avoid them. Since then she has been free of all symptoms, has a wide range of delicious gluten-free foods she can eat and has the stamina and strength to manage her very busy life.
Dr. Green wrote the forward to this book, and therein gives us some insight into why celiac disease is so rarely diagnosed in this country. He was educated in Australia, where they realize that celiac disease affects approximately one percent of the world’s population. Untreated celiac disease can cause an increased chance of other autoimmune diseases as well as malignancies, so it’s important to be tested for this condition as soon as possible if you suspect you may be suffering from it. The list of symptoms is long and was included in the excellent article on celiac disease printed in this magazine last month. That article was written by a nutrition educator who also has this condition.
The major issue facing us here in America is the under diagnosis of this disease. This under diagnosis occurs throughout the world, but is most marked here in the U.S., where it is estimated that less than 5 percent of those with the disease are currently diagnosed. This compares with Finland, where 70 percent are diagnosed. Awareness of this disease is great in Australia, Ireland, Italy and in many countries of South America. Why is this condition so under diagnosed in the U.S? Because the pharmaceutical industry has great sway over the direction of medical care here, being responsible for the majority of both medical research and medical education. Celiac disease has received little attention from the pharmaceutical industry because the therapy is dietary, and as a result there has been little interest in the disease from among the university-based academic centers. This translates as: there’s no money in it for Big Pharma.
Even if you do not have celiac disease, you may have a sensitivity to gluten which untreated, may become celiac disease. After all, Elisabeth did not have any symptoms of the disease at all until she had a bout of flu while in college. That seemed to trigger the symptoms. This means she experienced years of consuming lots and lots of gluten in the form of breads, pasta and pizza before she ever developed symptoms. So it stands to reason that the information and recipes included in this book could come just in time.
Chapters include how to shop, how to eat g-free while dining out or traveling, how to pack g-free lunches for your kids, how to be g-free and slim, what the Autism connection is to gluten-intolerance and much more.
Elisabeth’s physician, Dr. Peter Green, is a Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. His website is www.celiacdiseasecenter.org. Check it out for additional information.
The G-Free Diet can be purchased for about $17 at www.amazon.com.
For more info contact June Milligan, specializing in wellness support acupressure/hypnosis at (775) 786-9111.
