PCOS Linked to Gluten Allergy

[here&there]

Very informative. I'm on a low-carb IR diet, which has improved my symptoms some, but I am planning to tinker with my diet a bit more to see if I am sensitive to gluten now that I've read this. Thank you for posting this!

[SophieVirgin]

I was actually just reading a series of messages in a celiac forum that discussed women's breast sizes increasing when they went gluten-free. They talked of breast tenderness and having to shop for bigger bras. I keep thinking going gluten-free will help with extra androgens. I keep getting a little too hopeful, but if this diet really does increase the estrogen enough to make one feel more womanly, why shouldn't we give it a shot?

[blessedblogger]

My theory, and feel free to disagree, is that the PCOS (or rather the source of the PCOS, your adrenal glands malfunctioning) is what triggers the Celiac Disease, not the other way around. Why? Because PCOS is an endocrine disorder, meaning your adrenal glands which control the release of hormones malfunction. When your hormones are out of whack your whole body is affected and ceases to work properly. It's sort of like your body is a highway and your adrenal glands are those electric signs on the side of the road telling your system what to do (detour, slow down, accident ahead) and the messages on the signs are the hormones. But if the signs malfunction and don't give your body instructions then you end up with a huge traffic jam. So your hormones are wonked out and your body starts to overreact (autoimmune diseases) or under-react (constant infections, slow to heal, etc).

I've found that most women start seeing major signs of PCOS at puberty, a time of major hormonal fluctuations, and then the cascade of corresponding autoimmune and endocrine disorders start showing up. For me it was PCOS>Severe Allergies>Hypothyroidism>Celiac Disease>? I discussed this previously and cited some sources/articles about it here:
http://www.soulcysters.net/links-bet...post1889986719

Regarding the gluten free diet, I do it out of necessity (and my favorite foods were bread and cheese so it was a major hurdle for me) but many people without Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance or other food allergies find that a gluten free diet helps not only to lose weight but to manage various endocrine/autoimmune disorders like Autism, Thyroid Disease, Cushings, Diabetes etc. A gluten free diet is naturally low in carbs and sugars since you have to cut out all the bread, pasta, cake etc. Some folks add it back in via alternative flours (like rice pasta, buckwheat muffins, soy flour cookies etc) but I've tried to avoid that since they are usually even higher in carbs than whole wheat flour and often contain other common allergens like eggs, soy, corn, milk, nuts etc. I'm not allergic to any of those things that I know of but I try to keep them at a minimum anyway. I would encourage everyone to try a gluten free lifestyle simply because it cuts the processed junk out of your diet and forces you to eat real homemade food. If anyone needs recipes or help figuring out what is and isn't GF feel free to ask me

P.S. Celiac Disease afflicts roughly 1 in 100 people and is on the rise like many other autoimmune diseases. Perhaps because of all the hormone disrupter in our food/water/soil/air or perhaps because like corn, rice and a whole host of other foods, much of todays wheat is genetically modified so it has 90% more gluten than the wheat your grandparents ate.

[abygol]

Wow thanks for posting. this is informative!

[cjshanks]

My theory, and feel free to disagree, is that the PCOS (or rather the source of the PCOS, your adrenal glands malfunctioning) is what triggers the Celiac Disease, not the other way around. Why? Because PCOS is an endocrine disorder, meaning your adrenal glands which control the release of hormones malfunction. W

I tend to think it is the other way around and the food intolerance may cause PCOS, but who knows which theory is right. If you have celiacs or gluten intolerance your body is being malnourished and your intestines often have inflammation, this causes your adrenal glands to work over time and become fatigued as they try to balance the stress occurring in the body. Menstrual disorders and weight gain that diets and exercise are don't put much of a dent in are 2 of many symptoms of adrenal exhaustion. So I think it may be the other way around, much of the research I have done points to that being the case, gluten ends up being the root cause. I will let you all know how going off the medications works for me. I am going to try life w/ a gluten free and glyceminc index diet only and w/out birth control pills and metformin, so far it is going well, no symptoms have returned and my ovaries have improved. A great book to read is "The Gluten Effect" by founders of the Health Now Clinic, a clinic in CA devoted to finding the cause of an illness rather than medicating symptoms.

[februarystar]

I tend to think it is the other way around and the food intolerance may cause PCOS, but who knows which theory is right.

What about those of us (like me) who have no food intolerances, but have PCOS?

I think if there is a connection (and perhaps there is) its gonna be a chicken-egg scenario that may never be solved.

[Mrs.Buckman]

I have absolutely no idea if it was the gluten free diet (which lasted only a week) or the lack of fast food for 7-8 weeks....but I got my BFP on August 13th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My progesterone levels are low, but not low enough to indicate I will miscarry so they have me on supplements but its so great to see my HCG levels rising every couple of days and it really does encourage me to eat healthier for my little one. Did anyone else get a BFP without really being sick but whose appetite has gone way down? Its like I'm starving all the time but when I sit down to eat I can take 3-4 bites and I'm done. My hubby says he doesn't know why he bothers feeding me lol.

[oldhousegirl]

I have a close friend who cut all wheat/gluten from her diet, and she's lost tons of weight and feels better (she does not have PCOS). I can eliminate bread and crackers and cakes and cookies, but I'm afraid the problem for me is pasta and pizza --it's not like I eat it every day, but I am Italian married into a large Italian family and these foods bring me tremendous joy. I'm afraid I'd rather have the extra weight than give up those 2 things.

[blessedblogger]

I have a close friend who cut all wheat/gluten from her diet, and she's lost tons of weight and feels better (she does not have PCOS). I can eliminate bread and crackers and cakes and cookies, but I'm afraid the problem for me is pasta and pizza --it's not like I eat it every day, but I am Italian married into a large Italian family and these foods bring me tremendous joy. I'm afraid I'd rather have the extra weight than give up those 2 things.

You don't have to eliminate any of those foods. If you have Celiac Disease or an intolerance to wheat/gluten there are gluten free mixes (I have a GF pizza dough mix in my pantry right now) available and can be eaten in moderation. If you don't have any medical reason to quit gluten you can still eat any bread products you like, but in moderation. The idea of the GF diet being good for everyone (and specifically PCOSers) isn't the removal of gluten, it's the removal of all those carbs from the processed flours and sugars that pack on the fat and worsen the affects of insulin resistance. So if you want to have pizza and pasta, have pizza and pasta, once every two weeks, not every single night. I love steak but I'm on a strict diet and have issues with how the animals are treated and processed. So I have steak (about 6oz) every 60 days or so. All things in moderation.

[Mrs_Fluffy]

Thanks for posting this information. Celiac disease runs in my family and I've long suspected that I'm starting to have symptoms of it. I always feel better when I cut out wheat, but I never thought it was related to PCOS, other than my difficulties with weight gain.

I recently went on a catabolic diet, which consists of mostly raw fruits and vegetables eaten with meat, fish and eggs. I cheated on one day, ate a sandwich and a chocolate cup cake, this caused me to gain a whopping 5 pounds in one day! Talk about bloat! I feel absolutely miserable and am more determined now not to cheat again.

[Mrs_Fluffy]

I have a close friend who cut all wheat/gluten from her diet, and she's lost tons of weight and feels better (she does not have PCOS). I can eliminate bread and crackers and cakes and cookies, but I'm afraid the problem for me is pasta and pizza --it's not like I eat it every day, but I am Italian married into a large Italian family and these foods bring me tremendous joy. I'm afraid I'd rather have the extra weight than give up those 2 things.

I make a pasta-free casserole that tastes just like lasagna. It is absolutely delicious. All you have to do is make your lasagna like you normally do, and instead of lasagna noodles, use thin slices of grilled or baked zucchini. It is absolutely delicious.

Another trick to cure the Italian cravings is to pour your pasta sauce over cooked cauliflower. I have also heard of making zucchini noodles by cutting your zucchini into thin strips, and drying them out on a cookie sheet in your oven or using a food dehydrator. The zucchini noodles are a little too involved for me though.

[udnamnes]

Hi,

I don't want to discourage anyone, but this didn't really work for me. I was diagnosed a Celiac several years before being diagnosed with PCOS, so I can say from experience that at least for me, the Celiac diet didn't really help. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables and few, if any carbs and still have all the PCOS symptoms, sadly.

That is not to say that going gluten-free cannot help, but while it helped my malabsorption issues, it didn't help control my PCOS.

[Leigh2005]

Great thread here! Upnamnes-I don't think going gluten free "cures" pcos, but I think it helps tremendously.......

I went gluten and dairy free in Jan. of 09. 17lbs literally melted off of me and I'm the thinnest I've been in my whole life. When I went in for an u/s as I'm doing fertility treatment the tech almost didn't believe me that I've been diagnosed with PCOS...."you have an extremely mild case then", she said. I know to me my cysts looked much smaller.

Anyway, I completely agree with this theory of gluten being related to pcos. The gaining 5 lbs after one bran muffin says it all for me. Now, when I accidentally have even the slightest bit of wheat I get sharp pains in my upper abdomen. One time I accidentally had A LOT (chinese/didn't know about wheat in soy sauce) and was doubled over in pain for a good hour off and on.

I'm REALLY trying hard now to stop eating SUGAR! I like candy a lot, but I know it's not helping my system regulate itself by me putting in all of that sugar. I'm alsg going to try to cut out carbs too.....rice, brown rice noodles have gotten me through my carb cravings.......but like many said earlier....I FEEL SO much better. The only time I get bloated now is when I eat too much popcorn/fiber

[SophieVirgin]

I decided to cut out wheat/gluten for the entire month of September to see how I felt, and it's probably due to not eating white bread or sugary cookies, but I've lost like 7 pounds and my skin finally feels hydrated. It's quite the adjustment finding new carbs that are okay to eat, but if I'm at work and suddenly get hungry I eat one of those Larabars that are gluten free and made with real food. The skin on my face is softer and smoother already, and the hairs on my chest that I tweezed a week ago haven't grown in yet! (TMI alert)- the black hair that I tweeze on my left breast I pulled out two days ago because I had forgotten about it, and it didn't hurt to pull it out because there was nothing attaching it to the inside of my skin. It's as though its root died or something. Here's to a sugar free lifestyle! I'm down to 129 pounds!

[Ktb0605]

Wow, this is so informative...I'm kind of excited to try the whole gluten free route!

I know that the major grocery stores carry a ton of gluten free items...is that were everyone here that does follow the gluten free diet shop? Or do you order from online...