How Celiac Disease Affects the Body Ep. 125

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the myriad of symptoms associated with celiac disease?
We'll unpack the signs, symptoms, and long-term impacts of living with celiac disease - everything from bloating and diarrhea to the less obvious indicators like depression and infertility.

I'm not just spotlighting the challenges though. I discuss some strategies so you can live a full, healthy life despite a celiac diagnosis.

I'm committed to ensuring you're not going through this battle alone.

Want to know how I've nailed living with Celiac Disease? Ultimate Celiac System has all my exclusive tips, secrets and insights.
Find out how Ultimate Celiac System can support your Celiac journey here
https://belindawhelantraining.com/ultimate-celiac-system

Wish you could get gluten free meals on the table fast that the whole family will love? Check out Meal Plans Made Easy
https://belindawhelantraining.com/gluten-free-meal-plans-made-easy

 Join my free community and grab your copy of 11 Mistakes People Make Living Gluten Free here www.belindawhelan.myflodesk.com/11mistakes

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Music Credit bensound.com 

Chapters

• 0:00 Living With Celiac Disease
• 11:21 Testimonial

Transcript

Speaker 0: 0:24

Okay, so on today's show we're going to talk about how celiac disease affects the body. So I wanted to talk about this because many people touch on how celiac disease affects us before we get a diagnosis. So talking about those signs and the symptoms and then you know when you accidentally get gluten, how it affects you. But I wanted to talk about it today with you in those areas. But also after a diagnosis and how that can affect you in the long term if you don't get on top of things with your celiac disease diagnosis and how to live a really, you know, positive and effective life with celiac disease. So many of us know the common symptoms of celiac disease and some of those you know they include things like brain fog and fatigue and bloating, diarrhea. You know lots of the gastrointestinal side effects and then there's things that a lot of people don't even relate to celiac disease, so things that can be causing a lot of trauma within families, so things like miscarriage and infertility, things like that. So these can be a symptom of undiagnosed celiac disease. So once you do get a celiac disease diagnosis, you can overcome these areas in your life. I'm going to talk about that in a moment Now when people come to me and they confirm that they've cut out the gluten out of their diet and they're still feeling a little bit rubbish.

Speaker 0: 1:55

Generally, what happens is they have lactose intolerance. So you might have cut out gluten and you might be finding that now you've got other food intolerances. So that's a fun one for us, isn't it? So for me, in the early days I did suffer from consuming dairy and I didn't really realize it too soon, and then, a few years back, I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance, but it wasn't really bad. So this whole time I didn't have bad lactose intolerance. It was only a few years back that it got real bad, and now I can't have lactose. It just messes with me big time. So I've yeah, I've since had to overcome that. So that could be a thing that you need to look at as well. But if you're brand new to celiac disease, lactose is something that your body will struggle to break down because the villi is so damaged. So I've talked about this in previous episodes as well, and I teach this to my clients and my students. So that is something that we can touch on more if you want support in that area.

Speaker 0: 3:05

But you know there's other problems that we get from a celiac disease diagnosis as well, and they can be things like weight loss and weight gain, depending on where you are on the spectrum. For me, I lost weight. I lost I think it was two dress sizes, so I went down to quite an unhealthy weight before I got my diagnosis. And once I got my diagnosis, I was able to absorb the nutrients from my food. So I would say that, yes, my diet did change because I had to eat a gluten-free diet, but as far as healthy food, I was already eating healthy food. So my actual diet as such didn't change to be like healthier or anything like that. It was already healthy. It was just a matter of going on a gluten-free diet. So I truly believe that my weight gain was simply because my body was absorbing nutrients, whereas a lot of people report that they gain weight after their celiac disease diagnosis. But it's above and beyond a healthy range, so that can be tied into what you are consuming. So you might have changed the way that you're eating and you're eating unhealthy gluten-free food. So that can be a problem if you don't get on top of that. I did do an episode recently where I talk about if the gluten-free diet is healthy. So go back and have a listen to that one if you haven't already Now.

Speaker 0: 4:27

Another problem that we see in people with celiac disease is depression, and this can be before a diagnosis as well as after a diagnosis, and the reason for this is because of a change in your brain and a change in your gut, so your gut and brain access talking to each other, so that can be something to look at. But then we do know that people do feel depressed after a celiac disease diagnosis and I have talked about this previously as well, so you can go back and listen to more on that and why that happens. But there are situations that I do feel that the body is affected after a diagnosis, and these can be things such as anxiety, stress levels, social isolation, poor food choices and your quality of life. So these areas do affect your body, so let's talk about those. So, when it comes to anxiety, what I see time and time again in my clients and my students is they have so much anxiety around their food. They feel anxious around eating out, around their diet, around asking for their needs. And if that's you, please know that this does get better and you can ease your anxiety through knowledge and through confidence. So once you get a hold of your celiac disease diagnosis and how to ask for safe food, how to look after yourself in your own kitchen, how to speak to your family and friends in a way that you're going to get the support that you need, that anxiety eases For me. In the early days, I struggled so much with asking for what I needed and I would always pass the buck to my husband because he was always so much more confident in, you know, making sure that I got what I needed, whereas I was a little bit more timid and a little bit more standoffish that I wasn't advocating for myself enough in the very early days. Now it's not a problem at all. I have all the confidence in the world to ask for and confidently ensure that I'm getting what I need. So if anxiety is an area for you that you need support with, I can definitely help you with that one. So please make sure you reach out to me if you want any support with that.

Speaker 0: 6:51

Next one is stress, and I guess the stress side of it comes in because we have to be thinking constantly about our life, don't we? We can't live as easily like spontaneity. We can't be as spontaneous as most people. So if you feel like you are constantly stressed because you know you can't just up and go out with your friends or you can't just up and go for a meal easily, that can trigger that stress response in you. Or you know your children might be me, you, with gluten on their food and it triggers this stressful response. I totally, totally get that. And again, that's an area where you need to get on top of it so that you can live a fuller life with celiac disease, because stress is good, it keeps us safe, it keeps us alive.

Speaker 0: 7:46

But to some extent stress can be too much Like stress. Too much stress is detrimental. So you need a little bit of stress. You need to be at that level of stress that it's keeping you safe and making sure you're not eating gluten and not getting sick from cross contact and things like that, but not to the extent where it's causing you issues in your life. Okay, I hope that makes sense.

Speaker 0: 8:10

And then when we talk about social isolation, this can also lead to depression. So if you are socially isolated because you are scared to go out and eat or you're scared to go visit friends, then that's a situation that you need to overcome in a way that you feel comfortable and confident. So, for example, let's just say that you are too scared to go to friends' houses because you might accidentally get gluten. Maybe in the beginning you need to start by taking your own food to their house and just say you know this is this is hard for me at the moment. I'm still trying to get this under wraps. I don't expect you to know how to feed me safely, so I just thought I'd bring my own food and I'm just happy to eat. That that could be a way to help you get out of the house and feel less socially isolated from your friends, your family and people that you enjoy spending time with. So that's something to think about as well. It is good to be around other people, you know it gets us out of the house, it makes us feel better, it increases those happy endorphins and it is good for your mental health as well. So very, very important to be around other people.

Speaker 0: 9:20

Now, poor food choices is one that is very near and dear to me, because I see so many people making poor food choices after a celiac disease diagnosis. And the thing is when you start to make better food choices. It has that beautiful flow on effect of making you feel better and helping your body heal and nourish you and all of the amazing things that come with that. Again, I've done an episode on this, so go and have a listen to that about eating healthy and whether the gluten free diet is a healthy choice. So, and then quality of life. So quality of life is a huge one.

Speaker 0: 9:57

So if, if you have a poor quality of life, it does affect you in so many ways. So when we get rid of that anxiety, when we get rid of that stress, when we're making better food choices, when we're socializing, travelling, doing all of these things that we enjoy and we're meant to do with our life, it improves our quality of life dramatically. And you know, we don't have to let celiac disease hold us back then, and we don't have to feel like we're missing out and we don't have to feel like, you know, woe is me. I'm the poor one with celiac disease that can't do anything. You don't have to live like that. That is not what you are put on this earth to do. You are here to live a full life and if you need support in that, then I highly highly recommend that you go through ultimate celiac system I'll drop a link below because I'm able to help you in all of these areas to improve your health and your life and to be able to live life to its fullest and have the confidence in all of these areas that we just touched on.

Speaker 0: 11:02

So if that's something that you want my support in, then please just head to BelindaWheelandcom and learn a little bit more about ultimate celiac system, because it is a game changer of a program, and I did have some feedback from one of my students recently who I'll just quickly share with you.

Speaker 0: 11:22

She took her son to the dietitian at their hospital and she let me know it was a complete waste of time and she got more information, more support, more value, more guidance from me within ultimate celiac system. So that is a massive testimonial in itself that I'm so grateful for that. I was able to help her and her son with both of their celiac disease diagnosis. So if you want my support again, please reach out to me at any time via Instagram and yet check out my program on my website, belindawheelandcom, and learn a little bit more about how that program can support you and could be a game changer for you moving forward. Otherwise, I hope this episode has given you some guidance and some info of how celiac disease can affect the body and how you can overcome these areas moving forward. Have a great week and I'll talk with you again very, very soon. Take care Bye.