For anyone here who does have a diagnosis of autoimmune disease, I hope you will take a moment to read a little about gluten sensitivity/celiac disease.
Celiac disease is the only autoimmune disease where the cause is known (adverse immune system response to dietary gluten (wheat, barley, rye). The treatment is a gluten free diet.
Some research has shown that the earlier that gluten sensitivity is diagnosed and treated, the less likely someone will go on to develop other autoimmune disease. Gluten sensitivity has been linked to other autoimmune diseases, and there are reports of other autoimmune diseases responding to a gluten free (and sometimes "other free") diets, including thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, autoimmune liver disease, Sjogrens, lupus, and more.
Both gluten and casein (cow's milk) sensitivity has been suspected as a trigger in type 1 diabetes, but unfortunately there is no turning the clock back on that once the damage has been done. However, google up "zonulin diabetes" and you will read about a promising new drug that may help prevent diabetes in susceptible individuals. This research is in its infancy, really.
There are case reports of lupus, MS, and even ALS being misdiagnosed... when the actual culprit is gluten sensitivity. The Direct-MS website promotes a gluten, casein and legume free diet for those with MS, and I have met several whose MS has remitted with dietary changes.
So, if there is a chance that PCOS is autoimmune, there most definitely is a chance that gluten sensitivity might be involved. The research on gluten sensitivity is in its infancy, and it is only been in the last ten years that they've realized that celiac disease is COMMON with a prevalence of 1 in 100, and that gluten sensitivity can cause wide ranging neurological and other disease even without a positive celiac disease diagnosis.
If there is a PCOS/gluten connection it is early on the radar screen. But, gluten sensitivity and its possible connection to other autoimmune disease is not so far fetched.
For those who are interested in whether this might apply to them... you can read on. And, anyone with any autoimmune disease should be paying attention here. I suggest browsing the right bar of
The Gluten File for any autoimmune disease or symptoms that might apply to you personally, such as infertility, migraines, fibromyalgia, etc.
I recently pulled out some of the references to explain the whole idea of HOW gluten/casein sensitivity might apply to other autoimmune diseases besides celiac disease, here. So for anyone interested in the research... here it is!
http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/...ad.php?t=23702
The Direct-MS website has also done a good job explaining it, particularly in this presentation:
Nutritional Strategies for Controlling Multiple Sclerosis
http://www.direct-ms.org/presentatio...ion/index.html
They are narrated slides and move
very slowly. You can start at
slide 27 if you want to jump to where they start talking about food proteins. Gluten, cow's milk, legumes. Emphasis on cow's milk.
WHO SHOULD BE SCREENED FOR GLUTEN SENSITIVITY? Let's set aside, for a moment, whether or not PCOS is autoimmune and whether or not it is associated with gluten sensitivity, and concentrate on all the other autoimmune diseases mentioned here within this thread. Anyone with
any autoimmune disease should consider being tested for gluten sensitivity (and perhaps other food sensitivity as well).
At Risk Population for Gluten Sensitivity/Celiac Disease
I don't plan to set up shop here or anything to sell this to anyone. I debated whether or not to stop in to post but after reading about all the autoimmune disease mentioned here in this thread...I couldn't help but stop by to offer some of the research that is out there on gluten sensitivity and autoimmune disease in general, much of it filed into The Gluten File.
Hope this helps somebody. Chances are pretty good that it could.
Cara