Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) and Celiac Disease

I recently went to the doctor, explaining to them that I'm still not pregnant, after almost 2 years now of actively trying, and that I wanted a vitamin panel done.  I was also concerned about my adrenals, stating that it must be the cortisol (the stress hormone) issue that's preventing me from losing weight and fully calming down.

So they ran a million tests... and ran a micro-nutrient test with SpectraCell Laboratory.

I fully expected to have some deficiencies, but I knew I would generally be okay, considering I do supplement.

Since I am Celiac, I'm not surprised to find deficiencies, although your average person could always have vitamin deficiencies, like vitamin D3.

I was really blown away to find out I am very deficient in vitamin B5, also known as pantothenic acid.

Pantothenic acid is found in EVERYTHING that mammals (including humans) eat. It is a very very important  vitamin that helps the co-enzyme A function properly, the adrenals keep up to their best, and help your brain function a bit better.  If your adrenals don't function properly, you don't function properly and your body goes into distress mode.  My TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was sky high, after decreasing after going gluten free, shocking the hell out of me.  My DHEA-S and testosterone levels were well above where they should be, indicating there's a heavy duty adrenal issue happening.  Not to mention my infertility... which is directly related to B5 deficiency as well.

But here's the problem and why I never even CONSIDERED that I could have a deficiency:

Pantothenic acid is literally found in EVERYTHING, like I mentioned earlier.  To find someone with a B5 deficiency means they have either been literally starving, or they are an alcoholic. (which I am neither)

But.

Back in the day, they used to treat Celiac Disease with pantothenic acid, to help the patient feel better.  Because of the drastic gastrointestinal issues and malabsorption that is so common among Celiacs, those B vitamins are up for rejection in the Celiac system, which does include B5.  It is also noted, in that article I linked to, that a vitamin B5 deficiency does cause atrophy of the villi in the intestines. If a subject does not feel completely better, nor return to complete normalcy, or only half way responds to a gluten free diet, try B5.

After 5 days of having taken at least 1000mg a day of pantothenic acid, I can truly say that I have experienced an upswing in my mood and most importantly, my ability to focus.  My intelligence is huge to me, and to lose that in the last couple years because I was unable to focus properly was very hard on my self esteem.

Yet... I continue on... hopefully in a few months I can get pregnant as my body regulates.

Celiac and Infertility - How It All Came About

Celiac affects so many people (they estimate 1 in 133 people and even more are just gluten intolerant, not Celiac) yet it's almost never diagnosed, so I'm happy to spread the word.

I'm going to give you a couple links, otherwise I'll end up typing out a whole book for you to read. lol

www.celiaccentral.org/Celiac-Diseas...

www.livestrong.com/article/420766-m...

These are good starters.

Basically what causes the infertility is not the Celiac disease itself, it's the malnutrition. Celiac damages your intestinal lining, making it so that you don't absorb the proper vitamins to be able to carry a child. 

I did not always know I had Celiac... all I knew is that when I was young, I was put in the hospital due to a huge lymph node infection in my neck (it was huge enough where you couldn't see my jaw line, and I have a square face with a strong jaw) and after that hospital visit, I started getting these random rashes. Doctors could never figure out what the rash was, and it would come and go throughout my life. I didn't have the major digestive issues until I was about 28... when I started drinking beer. Before that, I had been a rum drinker, if I drank, which is gluten free, and I also tended to avoid wheat products because of how I just generally felt yucky after eating them and they made me gain weight very quickly. My rash reappeared as I drank beer and ate wheat things I shouldn't be eating... I ended up gaining some 70lbs within a year. It was RIDICULOUS. 

So, about 6 months after my first miscarriage in 2010, I started feeling terrible. I had been suffering from depression since 2009, and my health started failing, even though I had normally been very healthy and rarely got sick. I went to the doc, and they found my TSH levels were elevated, so they checked my thyroid, checked me for PCOS.... and everything came out normal and healthy except my very high TSH. I kept thinking "NO WAY am I healthy! I feel like crap!" My cycles were all over the place, I was skipping, and they were getting lighter suddenly.

I have a friend who has Celiacs... so she educated me on it a bit, because I was curious. 

One day I put it together that I had my digestive issues after having beer ALWAYS. My skin issue flared up massively after having beer and I had never put it together.

So... I did my research and got tested... I have something called Dermatitis Herpetiformis (not herpes, even though the name looks like it. lol Trust me, I freaked when I saw that) which is directly related to Celiacs. Because I have that, I have Celiacs. 

I went gluten free in December 2011, and my skin issue has since disappeared and never come back. My digestive functions are all normal now... and truly, with a little bit of humor here... I can't tell you how nice it is to not have to race to the bathroom. haha

ANYWAYS. Since going gluten free... I have found I have some major issues. Systemic Candida (yeast) tore me up considerably, and I'm still fighting it with enzymes and heavy duty probiotics. That same Candida is likely why I still haven't been able to hold a pregnancy because 9 months gluten free, I should be able to get pregnant. I have read other women are likely to get pregnant within 6 months of going gluten free, assuming there are no other issues. My cycles have finally "somewhat" regulated... but I have a theory that my lining is no good and won't hold the embryo so I believe I miscarry within a couple days.

So... for you, this is what I would suggest from all my research I have done with malnutrition and hormonal issues created from it:

Have your vitamin D checked. Mine was insanely low and I have discovered in my research that the majority of the American population is very low in vitamin D. Take a daily supplement of 10,000iu for 3 months, and it'll bring you back up. You may feel even better... just then maintain it at 5000iu. See this link for you... www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-cond...

Take your vitamin E and Vitamin A. 

Have your B vitamin levels checked. Once I went gluten free, my B vitamins leveled out on their own. I don't even have to supplement. 

Also, if you can, have Zinc levels checked, or you can check if you have these symptoms of a deficiency: (this link is great... has a ton of symptoms in there that a lot of women I know have...) www.womenshairlossproject.com/hair-...
If you decide to start supplementing with zinc, take no more than 100mg a day, otherwise it may make you nauseous. I take a 50mg supplement with my multivitamin.

I also am an advocate for magnesium supplementing as well. Even as little as 100mg supplement can help your adrenals handle your stress and cortisol levels. Cortisol signals your body is in a stressful situation, and won't get pregnant if you are that stressed, in order for nature to survive. :)

I have also very recently found out that vitamin C helps with estrogen levels so you can help make good lining. :)

And... last, but likely the most important: probiotics ESPECIALLY if you have ever been on antibiotics before. Your internal bacterial flora is important to your health, and antibiotics kill the good and the bad. Get a probiotic that as many cultures and as many strains of bacteria as possible. A normal healthy person has 100 trillion bacteria colonies within their system. I take a probiotic right now that has 35billion cultures in each pill with 33 different strains of bacteria, twice a day. If you take a probiotic and it causes a general "flu-like" feeling or diarrhea, it's working. That feeling will go away in 1-3 weeks as your body resets itself. If it's too uncomfortable, skip a day of probiotic dose to give your body a break and ease into them slowly.

Well, I still wrote you a book... hahaha

My infertility hasn't resolved itself yet... but I'm working on it. If I can figure it out, I hope I can share the knowledge with others. Allopathic (what we practice here in America with our regular doctors) medicine doesn't recognize the power of nutrition a lot, so my doctor hasn't been much help. lol But I have been told that since my Celiac was likely activated when I had that major lymph node infection when I was 7, there is probably a lot of damage to reverse and it may take my body years to get to normal. But that is just my own situation.

If you have any questions... any, no matter how TMI (I am a self proclaimed "poop" expert... because truly, your poop says a lot about a person's health)... please feel free to ask. I love it when people ask so I can share what I have learned.

Best of luck... Jess

GF Review: Bob's Red Mill GF Homemade Wonderful Bread mix

So, I have been aching for some bread... specifically, sandwich bread.  I want an amazing sandwich.  Being gluten free, this is not so easy.

How do you get GF bread? Well, you can either make it, or you can buy it.  When you buy it from the store, it's frozen.  So your immediate need for an amazing sandwich MUST wait until it has thawed, which is usually overnight in the fridge.

Something bothers me about purchasing frozen sandwich bread... I can buy the frozen GF hot dog buns from Udi's and keep it in the fridge and wait.

Go here to get some... and check out the rest of their site!

 
... but I just haven't tried their bread yet for some reason.  I would rather bake it.

Go here to get some!

So... Bob's Red Mill is your classic natural ingredient company that offers many products that are both gluten free and gluten filled.

I picked up their bread mix and told Hubs that I was going to make him some bread.

So I did... we don't have a bread maker, so I used the conventional oven directions.  For the oil, I used olive oil, not butter.  I didn't happen to have any good butter to use in it at the time, so I knew it was going to be a slightly different taste and won't be sweet... better for oils and pepper; your typical taste for italian breads.

If you have never made your own bread at home, DO IT.  The smell itself is so worth it.

This bread was pretty good... excellent to eat on it's own, or with butter on it. Hubs had some with peanut butter on it and also used a couple pieces for french toast, which he says tasted amazing.  He also attempted to have the amazing sandwich, that I have been aching for, using this bread and the bread falls apart.

This appears to be a complaint that most GF'ers suffer from... the bread falls apart.  With no wheat gluten in there, the bread is just not as pliable as we want it to be, and how other $.99 cent bread at the store is.

Other than that, it kept wonderfully in my fridge.  I didn't have a bread case or anything like that, so I wrapped it in plastic wrap and shoved it in the fridge.  We ate the last of it 5 days later... and it was still very good.  It was starting to get a little dry at that point.

This was an excellent beginner homemade bread.  The mix was easy.