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Replies to "Thank you, John. :) I was actually referred to an out of town rheumatologist and I..."
@moxie928 I'm gluten free. I had to diagnose that problem 18 years ago when my doctor wouldn't listen to me and there were not many gluten free foods, and a lot of doctors didn't accept celiac disease as a real problem. The problem is a protein in wheat and other grains does cause an autoimmune problem that attacks the intestines and destroys the finger like villi that are the absorptive surface. When you loose those, you'll have problems and deficiencies caused by malabsorption. You can have this for awhile and not know it, but it also causes a leaky gut because of inflammation. That happened to me, and I became allergic to lots of foods due to my leaky gut, so I'm limited in what I can eat, and socially that's difficult when I have to be so careful. That's not something I can change. The foods you list are common allergens for people. The problem with soy is that it has too much of the the Omega 6 or 9 that causes inflammation (and mimicks female hormones) rather than the omega 3's that reduce inflammation. My environmental allergy doctor says to avoid soy. This type of doctor and functional medicine doctors look at the biochemistry of what happens in the body and they try to balance that for optimal health and prevent problems rather than prescribing drugs to treat symptoms. I look up drug side effects and want to know if they damage hearing or vision. I'm an artist and I rely on my color vision. I always test a new prescription carefully and assess if I'm having a reaction to it. Sometimes a doctor will say to keep taking it when you alert them to a problem, but that is your choice. There might be something else that works that is less dangerous, or a supplement that could prevent the damage. It's is worth asking, and worth getting second opinions and making educated choices. FYI- gluten free foods that use other highly refined carbohydrates instead of wheat will cause the same blood sugar spikes as wheat that promote the risk of diabetes. Eating plain meat and vegetables and avoiding grain products is all you really need. I said that for others who might be reading as you've said you're vegan. A few grains are gluten free like rice or oats, but they have to be grown in dedicated fields because cross contamination occurs when a few stragglers grow and are harvested with the crop. If you can cut back on processed foods and eat like they did in the 1800's you'll probably feel better. They did eat wheat, but our wheat today has been so hybridized and changed that it isn't the same thing anymore.
@moxie928 when I was researching treatments and diets that would help with my small fiber peripheral neuropathy I ran across a really good book called the Wahls Protocol by Dr. Terry Wahls. She has MS and used diet and nutrition to eliminate most of her symptoms of MS although it's not a cure. She went from a wheelchair to riding a bicycle - great story. You can read about her here:
https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/ She also has some great TED Talks - one you might like is Minding your mitochondria | Dr. Terry Wahls | TEDxIowaCity.