Everyone with autoimmune disease from time-to-time will feel drained, unbelievably tired and sometimes heavy eyed. Coeliacs may feel like this before they are diagnosed, just after they are diagnosed or when they have 'lapsed' (please try never to lapse and think that it is safe and all right to eat grains) or if they have accidentally ingested gluten.
Firstly, it is important to overhaul the diet and to see whether there is any possibility that gluten is being consumed in some guise or other .. sauces, stock cubes, drinks of any description, instant meals .. check everything, every label and if you are not sure of any of the ingredients - don't eat the contents. Of course, you can always check here with us as someone is bound to know if it is safe or not!!
Our best defence will always be knowledge, of which we cannot ever have too much and with that thought in mind - I would like to add a link to a site that I came across by accident as I think you may all find it interesting. The site is called 'Doctor Yourself Dot Com' - it is a site that has been created for Homesteading Health; here is their page on Chronic Fatigue:
What I have noticed over the years is that once it was claimed that only tiny amounts of vitamins and minerals were required to keep the body in well-working order. Vitamin C was as low as 30 mcgs even though man is the only biped that doesn't manufacture his own vitamin C. In fact, there are only around three animals including ourselves that do not make their own vitamin C. Chimpanzees our closest relative according to DNA data make 3000 mcgs per day within their bodies.
I think it is important to watch for changes in research information and try and keep each other informed.
It is surprising and useful to check out new information and clinical trials into everything that may be of help to our particular requirements.
As you appreciate information to add to your knowledge just as I do - I thought you may like to look at this - it is only linked to vitamin C but is quite informative and broadens the thoughts on vitamin usage:
I found the article interesting, but it lacked the depth necessary to really understand what's happening. The reason vitamin C helps so much is because it reves up and boosts liver function in phase one of detoxification. B vitamins help in phase two. If your liver is functioning properly, your automimmune system is stronger. However, vitamins, minerals and diet are just a few of the tools necessary to fight ME/CFS. It's a very complex problem... just like Fibromyalgia and Lupus. Personally, I hope that better understanding of these illnesses comes sooner rather than later!
i agree it's far more complex than the article suggests and we are all different and require varying treatments as we're not deficient in the same things plus there can be other illness wrapped into CFS. Taking giant doses of vit C won't cure everyone especially if your intestinal absorption is not optimal. I'd rather see a professional nutritionalist that follow a mimimalist gudie like this. Much safer as some supplement counteract others and you must have a regime tailored to your needs exactly.
Nothing said here is anything really that new to me but I have been ill and doing my own research for over ten years.
I think this article underlines what everyone already knows, but the food agencies will not admit to, the food is becoming less and less natural and is contaminated with artificial flavours etc, also the ground in which food is grown has been abused so that all the vits/minerals old age man got through eating just is not there any more.
our govt is happily selling good farming land to developers, but land (such as dartmoor) which needs acres to feed just 1 sheep and cannot be food farmed is protected, we are running out of nutrient rich land! So yes we do need to top up our vitamins and minerals and more and more people are becoming deficient< I do not know if the science in this report is good or bad but I do feel those of us whose bodies are unwell need the support of extra vits/minerals--- but on the cautionary side I am aware that an overload of some can be very harmful and a little knowledge may do more harm than good
I have always taken cod liver oil. It was prescribed to all children when I was little and then because of a change in government it was withdrawn. As soon as I started work I began purchasing it once more and have taken it more or less ever since. Thankfully now it is available in capsule form as the liquid repeats after it has been swallowed. Cod liver oil though is usually referred to as a food supplement as it is a natural source of vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E. There is a warning when self-dosing on vitamin D, especially if it is a synthetic version as they contain chemicals that the body cannot break down.
I think it is good to gather the advice of a physician but I have only ever once, at least in our area, heard of a doctor prescribing vitamin tablets and that was high dose vitamin B complex for someone with a severe bout of shingles.
I think most doctors do not appear to approve of either supplements of vitamins or minerals with the exception of iron and folic acid for use in pregnancy. Doctors, I believe follow the WHO guidelines and this often changes depending on world health findings after long periods of time. It will probably take years before enough evidence is gathered world wide before there are definite guidelines into the amount of extra vitamins it is really safe to consume and who would benefit from taking them.
It is always best to try and obtain as many vitamins and minerals from the food sources that we eat. Sadly, because we are coeliacs we are likely to be deficient in vitamin B because much of it comes from the grains we cannot eat. Years ago apparently, the people of Britain were thought to be the healthiest people in the world because they had the highest consumption of vitamin B especially from barley.
Just a little added note: millet is quite a good natural source for a wide variety of vitamins and minerals - there is a guide list of everything that is contained in millet listed just past half way donw this Wikipedia page:
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Just began GF/DF eating..tips?
Gluten Content from Barley Malt in Cereals