Can this Ingredient Sabotage your Success?

A 21-year cohort study in Finland evaluated 2,427 participants, ages 24 to 39, for any possible complications of untreated celiac disease.   Participants received a medical exam and each was asked an extensive list of questions.  Serology testing for Anti-tissue Transglutaminase Antibodies (IgA-tTG) and IgA Endomysial Antibodies (IgA-EMA) detected silent celiac disease in 21 of the participants.  These serology tests are usually only positive when a person has classic celiac lesions: a combination of villous atrophy, crypt hyperplasia, and chronic inflammation of the intraepithelial lymphocytes and duodenum.  In other words, their guts have been significantly damaged.  A person with silent celiac disease often has no obvious symptoms.  They are usually diagnosed through serum screening programs. 

The participants were very similar to the other subjects in the study.  An unusual and previously unreported finding in this study linked silent celiac disease to a risk for underachievement.  The participants with silent celiac disease were found to be less successful in their educational and working lives compared to the control group.  Fewer completed college or university or worked in professional or managerial positions.  As a whole, they were less likely to be successful with an occupation or when compared at a socioeconomic level.  While evaluating the children and teenagers, the researchers discovered that they were more likely to have disruptive behavioral problems or suffer from depression.  The authors of the study believe that these findings added a new concern in the debate of population screening for celiac disease.   

Celiac disease is now believed to be the most common and neglected life-long, genetic disorder in both Europe and the United States.  The majority of cases are atypical and undiagnosed.  It is estimated that 40% to 50% of the general population has at least one of the genes that predisposes them to developing celiac disease. 

Could eliminating gluten from your diet optimize your potential?

   

Wishing you a happy, healthy day!
♥  michelle

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