I've seen a lot of people on this site talk about the importance of a
wheat/gluten free diet. How exactly does gluten play into the lyme
complex? Should you still avoid it even if you are not allergic?
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Many of us have gluten intolerance due to the Lyme infection. It can cause it.
Others are on the diet because gluten can cause inflammation...or because they feel better on the diet. You could have an issue with gluten and not know it until you try the diet.
www.celiac.com for more information.
Posted by 4Seasons (Member # 14601) on :
This is how my LLMD explained it to me:
Those of us with Lyme tend to have leaky gut issues due to both the Lyme and the antibiotics.
The gluten molecule is "uniquely bullet shaped" and gets wedged between the cells in our guts, furthering the leaky gut problem.
Since about 80% of our immune system is in our gut, in order to have a strong immune system that can help fight our infections, we need to do everything we can to make it strong. Therefore, my LLMD recommends all his patients stay away from gluten.
Posted by WhitneyS (Member # 25666) on :
Lyme can also trigger Celiac Disease. 1/10 people with Lyme have it and only 1/100 non-lyme people have it, so there is a big connection.
Posted by Helprin56 (Member # 27076) on :
Thank you. I've been curious about this for a while.