Gluten and Your Urinary Health - EP003

12/19/16 • 26 min

In this episode of ‘Gluten Free RN,’ Nadine discusses the urinary system and urinary issues associated with the ingestion of gluten, gluten intolerance and/or celiac disease. If you are experiencing health problems related to the urinary system, it is possible that eliminating gluten and dairy will eliminate the problem.

Nadine utilizes anecdotes from her own experience and those of her friend and colleague Wendy Cohan, author of The Better Bladder Book, to illustrate the connection between diet and urinary health.

This episode explains how your urinary system works and outlines the difficulties you may be experiencing. Click and listen to learn how changing your diet could alleviate your pain!

What’s Discussed:

The symptoms of interstitial cystitis (IC)
The connection between gluten and IC
After adopting a gluten-free diet, colleague Wendy Cohan no longer has IC
Other urinary issues that may be caused by the ingestion of gluten
Kidney and brain stones
Repeat urinary tract infections
Bed wetting
The health problems specific to men that are caused by inflammation in the urinary system
Chronic prostatitis (CP)
Prostate cancer
Erectile dysfunction (ED)
When it is appropriate to treat urinary infection with antibiotics
Antibiotic stewardship means we use them judiciously
Why implementing a gluten-free diet may be better than taking medication for urinary issues
95% of female IC patients and 77% of male CP patients reported food sensitivities
The ways in which other body systems are affected by urinary issues
It is rare for these difficulties to occur in isolation
Large numbers of IC and CP patients report having additional symptoms, i.e.: irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia
The importance of addressing the underlying cause of your urinary issues
The components of the urinary system
What healthy urine looks like
The need for additional research to confirm the effects of gluten on urinary health

Resources Mentioned:

The Better Bladder Book: A Holistic Approach to Healing Interstitial Cystitis and Chronic Pelvic Pain by Wendy L. Cohan https://www.amazon.com/Better-Bladder-Book-Holistic-Interstitial/dp/0897935551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481754556&sr=1-1&keywords=wendy+cohan+the+better+bladder+book

Connect with Nadine:

Website http://glutenfreern.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/glutenfreern/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GlutenFreeRN

Email [email protected]

Books by Nadine:

Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism

Nadine utilizes anecdotes from her own experience and those of her friend and colleague Wendy Cohan, author of The Better Bladder Book, to illustrate the connection between diet and urinary health.

This episode explains how your urinary system works and outlines the difficulties you may be experiencing. Click and listen to learn how changing your diet could alleviate your pain!

What’s Discussed:

The symptoms of interstitial cystitis (IC)
The connection between gluten and IC
After adopting a gluten-free diet, colleague Wendy Cohan no longer has IC
Other urinary issues that may be caused by the ingestion of gluten
Kidney and brain stones
Repeat urinary tract infections
Bed wetting
The health problems specific to men that are caused by inflammation in the urinary system
Chronic prostatitis (CP)
Prostate cancer
Erectile dysfunction (ED)
When it is appropriate to treat urinary infection with antibiotics
Antibiotic stewardship means we use them judiciously
Why implementing a gluten-free diet may be better than taking medication for urinary issues
95% of female IC patients and 77% of male CP patients reported food sensitivities
The ways in which other body systems are affected by urinary issues
It is rare for these difficulties to occur in isolation
Large numbers of IC and CP patients report having additional symptoms, i.e.: irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia
The importance of addressing the underlying cause of your urinary issues
The components of the urinary system
What healthy urine looks like
The need for additional research to confirm the effects of gluten on urinary health

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Nadine:

Website http://glutenfreern.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/glutenfreern/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GlutenFreeRN

Email [email protected]

Books by Nadine:

Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism

Previous Episode

The Benefits of a Gluten-Free Diet for Pets - EP002

This week on ‘Gluten Free RN,’ Nadine explores gluten intolerance in pets. She looks at the health problems pets have experienced in increasing numbers in the last several decades and contends that a Paleo Diet is more appropriate for your furry friends than a diet that includes grains.

Nadine also explains the risk of cross-contamination and the importance of removing all products containing gluten (including pet food) from your home if you have a sensitivity to it.

Listen and learn the ways in which a gluten-free diet is more appropriate to your pet’s biology and get pet food brand recommendations from Nadine!

What’s Discussed:

How Nadine discovered the benefits of a gluten-free diet for pet health
As her gastrointestinal issues improved, so did Slugs’
Why grains are not appropriate for dogs and cats
Historically, dogs and cats are omnivores by instinct
A Paleo Diet including meat and plant matter will improve your pet’s health
The diseases pets have developed over the last several decades
Many of these conditions are similar to the health problems humans have developed
Why it’s difficult to test pets for gluten intolerance and celiac disease
A clinical trial is often the only way to determine if gluten is causing your pet’s health issues
The symptoms your pet might exhibit that could point to a gluten intolerance
The risks of cross-contamination for people who are exposed to the grain in their pet’s food
For a celiac patient, exposure to a bread crumb can trigger the same auto-immune reaction as an entire piece of cake
The foods you should never give your pets
The pet food brands with zero or very low (less than 10 ppm) gluten content
Animal Crackers has a huge selection of grain-free, high-quality pet food
How to test food for the presence of gluten

Resources Mentioned:

“Gluten-sensitive enteropathy in a family of Irish setters” by Sylvie C. Daminet https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1576718/?page=1

EZ Gluten Test Kit http://ezgluten.com/

Connect with Nadine:

Website http://glutenfreern.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/glutenfreern/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GlutenFreeRN

Email [email protected]

Books by Nadine:

Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism

Next Episode

Intro to Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance - EP004

This episode of ‘Gluten Free RN’ covers the basics of celiac disease and gluten intolerance – what those terms mean and what they might mean for you. Nadine explains which genes suggest a predisposition to gluten intolerance and what circumstances lead to a diagnosis of celiac disease proper.

Nadine talks you through what happens in your digestive tract that leads to gluten proteins attacking your organs and preventing your body from absorbing the nutrients it needs. She also outlines the foods and products you need to avoid to achieve ‘gluten-zero,’ as well as the foods you can enjoy as part of a gluten-free diet.

Listen in and learn where gluten is hiding and how to modify your diet to reverse the adverse effects of gluten!

What’s Discussed:

The definition of celiac disease and its chronic nature
- 30-50% of the population carries the genes
How a trigger event (i.e.: a cold, pregnancy, stress, an injury) initiates the autoimmune disorder
Options for getting tested for the genetic predisposition
The closed system of the digestive tractand how food is processed
- While some food is used for energy, much just passes through
Villous atrophy and the four stages of tissue damage
- Marsh 1: microvilli destroyed; body cannot break down sugar and milk
- Marsh 2/3: villi themselves fold over or atrophy; tight junctures between villi (that keep things your body can’t utilize in the GI tract and out of your bloodstream) open up
- Marsh 4: villi gone and only red, inflamed tissue remains; ‘leaky gut’
The effects of increased permeability of the intestinal wall
- Damaged immune system
- Rather than passing through the GI tract, gluten proteins get into bloodstream and wreak havoc on organs
- Body can’t absorb nutrients out of food
The importance of healthy intestinal tissue
- 70-90% of the immune system is in your intestines
The soldier analogy
- Healthy villi are like rested soldiers with loaded weapons on a clear day who can easily take out antigens that don’t belong
- Damaged villi are like soldiers on a bender with inadequate weaponry, operating in smoke and fire – they either don’t work at all or fire randomly at antigens
The long road to recovering from villous atrophy
- It takes 6 months to a year to reverse the damage
Grains to avoid that contain gluten
- Wheat
- Barley
- Rye
- Oats (due to cross-contamination)
Places where gluten may be hiding
Gluten-free foods
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Plain meats and fish (not breaded or beer battered)
- Beans/legumes
- Tree nuts
- Rice, corn and potatoes
- Quinoa and teff
- Dairy
What a gluten-free rating means
- The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) certifies products that contain less than ten parts per million