Can keto cause celiac disease?


(Steven Judd) #1

One of my friends is trying to do a ketoish diet, but he doesn’t want to go all in because he had heard that it might cause gluten sensitivity or diabetes. I have yet to see anything to suggest this might be the case. Has anyone heard this before?


(*Rusty* Instagram: @Rustyk61) #2

I would invite him to do his own research first. Read and then read some more. I’m still a novice but I can tell you, that It does not cause diabetes or Celiac.


(Tom) #3

Celiac is an autoimmune disease, currently postulated to be related to a couple of different genetic markers (HLA DQ2 and DQ6, if memory serves, but don’t hold me to that). There are also hypotheses about gut permeability playing a role in allowing molecules that happen to resemble the molecular markers on various tissues, like our gut wall, our thyroid, etc, into our body instead of being broken into smaller bits. Once present, our immune system recognizes them as intruders, and thus proceeds to hunt and destroy anything with that molecular marker, leading to damage to the gut (celiac), thyroid (Hashimoto’s), bones (RA), or even nerves (MS). The science is still emerging, but considering the number of people who find relief from the above disorders by following a keto plan (either because of a reduction in inflammation, or because keto can = avoiding gluten), I’d say there’s no worry.

Also, some people (including myself) report GI upset if they go off-plan and eat stuff they don’t normally consume. I suspect this is more a function of the body’s altered microbiome and/or an altered production in certain digestive enzymes that were attuned to a given diet (as these enzymes are regulated by feedback loops). Once a wildly different diet is introduced, say, we eat bread for the first time in ages, the relative lack of amylopectin-cleaving enzymes (which had been downregulated d/t a sustained lack of amylopectin intake) as well as a lack of gut microbes that prefer chowing down on the remnants of bread, would lead to a bunch of undigested materials prone to fermentation/other sorts of putrifaction—> GI upset.

tl;dr: Keto won’t cause these diseases, but going off-plan can cause some GI distress that might make a person think they now have a sensitivity.


Very Concerning Article Claiming Keto Diet Causing Afib in Rats and Humans
(Elle Renegar) #4

Awesome reply.


#5

DQ2 or DQ8, DQ6 is narcolepsy There may also be some DQ7 issues

Also, even if you have the gene, about 30% of Europeans have it but only about 1% have celiac.

I do not think it will cause celiac but if you already have mild celiac, then not eating grains may make it more difficult to eat grains in the future. I have a child with celiac and while we were waiting for her endoscopy results this was something that came to my attention. Reports from people on celiac forums indicating that 6 months in to being gluten free they are more sensitive than before they started.

I had an experience similar to what @acrunchyfrog was describing when I went off plan. I was extremely not happy and my digestion was terrible. Since I was desperate to get back on plan after a day I have no idea if I did or did not have an increased carb sensitivety but eating carbs does not agree with me in other ways so it does not matter to me


(Tom) #6

Ah, I knew I’d run across DQ6 before, probably from my nights in sleep medicine.

How are they defining their amounts of sensitivity? Are they avoiding just wheat, or other grains as well? Are they knowingly returning to a foodstuff that’s harmful to them, or are these incidental exposures? Not that I expect you to have all these answers, I had a lot of questions come to mind.


#7

I am not a true celiac but I do test for gluten intolerance and my colitis has been SO MUCH BETTER since I gave up gluten, and then ultimately, all carbs. I’m in a colitis flare right now and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s because I had more carbs than I should have over the holidays.

Am i now MORE intolerant of carbs than before I gave them up? Not sure, but I’d rather live without the gluten than keep my colitis in a constant state of inflammation.
Sue


(Charlie Kathopoulis) #8

Very well said


#9

These were not scientific studies but anecdotal reports and this is based on recollection of what they said. I believe they were talking about incidental exposure. Pre diagnosis they might have gotten a mild stomach ache, now they really react.

Here is a link to a similar post


#10

My super unscientific opinion: could it just be a matter of relativity? I was watching a YouTuber who was talking about eating carbs and how much flatulence she noticed and heart burn. This made me realize the same thing by having someone else point it out. So it’s like for years dealing with heart burn and flatulence and thinking it’s normal, then experiencing life without it on Keto then eating some carbs and it returns to about the same level but much more noticeable because of the stark contrast. Anyway.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #11

There is a well-known doctor (whose name escapes me at the moment) who has books, a Web site, and a YouTube channel promoting a plant-based diet, who claims that eating meat causes diabetes. There is one epidemiological study I’ve heard of that showed a mild correlation, but no randomized controlled study has ever supported this hypothesis.


#12

You may be right about that

I posted this two nights ago

I rarely get any stomach issues any more. The gas was not terrible and pre keto would have not even been noteworthy


(KCKO, KCFO) #13

Just adding, keto helps suffers of those diseases, instead of causing them.

People with true celiac do not just develop it, they have always had it, often drs. do not recognize it. You might have a sensitivity to gluten, which is what I have. That is DRAMATICALLY different from celiac disease, which eating wheat can cause hospitalization or even death if not treated in time. If you follow a keto or even no grains paleo type WOE you won’t be eating wheat, so what does it matter?


#14

While some very young children have it, mostly there are ages of onset. Childhood, 20s, 50s and later. You are born with the gene but so are 30% of Europeans. This gives you the potential to develop it but it is an autoimmune disease which is usually triggered by something. The body attacks the protein in wheat believing it to be invasive in some way. Some people develop Hashimotos Thyroid or Crhones instead as they are related diseases


#15

From the perspective of someone with Celiac’s, prior to going gluten free I was always in pain of one type or another. While actively eating gluten, I could eat some and feel relatively ok (other than my chronic pain problems, and sporadic acute intestinal pain). After stopping gluten, all the pain went away. Now if I accidentally have some, there is an immediate reaction (intestinal pain) followed by wide spread pain the next day.

This is probably what could happen here. Its not they never had a problem with it, its that Keto has exposed the problem.

If they returned to eating gluten then there would be an adjustment period and things would “return to normal”.

but if you feel better on Keto/Gluten Free, why would you?


(Sarah ) #16

I have celiac disease, and all the stuff that has to happen for full blown celiac disease to occur, has nothing at all to do with keto. That being said, there are tons of people who just dont do well with wheat or gluten. Its no different than dairy, or cabbage, or soy, or lots of other foods that just dont sit well with some people. It is possible that as your friend becomes more aware ofr his diet and how he feels, he is noticing which foods seem to be easier on his GI tract. Bonus though, if he continues with keto, he will likely never consume any wheat or gluten, and that may be the end of it.


(Wanda Tate) #17

Well I am no doctor but I did not develop celiacs until after Atkins. No one else in my family has been diagnosed. Might be a coincidence…


(Brian) #18

McDougall says it but I’m quite certain there are a number of others saying the same thing. Some of them go so far as to say that sugar doesn’t cause diabetes. With statements like that, I typically don’t read any further anymore. Been there, done that, spent many hours trying to reconcile that stuff. Walked away and never went back.


(Jessika Nilsson) #19

I discovered my gluten intolerance after I had gone strict LCHF (almost keto) and been glutenfree for a while. And then I opted to eat a small piece of cake at my bonus dad’s birthday, and it did not go down well :sweat: Some suspicions arose then, especially as my big sister was diagnosed with Celiacs when she was about 1 years old, and with some experimentation and later a gluten challenge it was concluded that I was gluten intolerant as well…

But I don’t think going LCHF or keto will trigger gluten intolerance, rather it’s more easy to discover how good you feel without and then how bad it makes you feel when you eat it again. At the end of the gluten challenge I was feeling bad constantly but it wasn’t as noticeable anymore as it was constant and almost was normal, instead of directly after meals and then feeling slightly better again as in the beginning…
So in my family we’re kind of wondering how long I might not have been tolerating gluten all that well, instead of blaming LCHF/keto for causing it.


(KCKO, KCFO) #20

Celiac disease is related to your genes. And gluten intolerance is different from celiac disease. I have gluten intolerance but do not have celiac. I can eat wheat without fear of dying or ended up in hospital, a true celiac would be in very real danger. I would just have stiffer joints and maybe a tummy ache for a few hours. Big difference. When I went keto I saw just how big a difference eating something you are intolerant of and stopping consuming it can be.