Excerpts:
http://www.healthnowmedical.com/blog/20 ... our-liver/Liver Trouble Increases Your Risk of Celiac & Gluten Sensitivity
A large study performed in Sweden discovered that celiacs have a 2 to 6-fold increased risk of developing liver disease, and prior liver disease increases one’s risk of developing celiac 4 to 6-fold.
Celiac was found to be associated with an 8-fold increased risk of death from liver cirrhosis. Obviously this is nothing to take lightly.
A large Danish and Swedish study, including over 8,500 celiacs, found that a specific liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis, was increased 20-fold.
What Do Gluten & Your Liver Have in Common?
It’s actually quite fascinating to see the similarities between individuals with celiac disease and those with liver disease. They both have a “leaky gut” which means that the integrity of the small intestine has become compromised and toxins and pathogenic organisms that should remain in, and be excreted by, the digestive tract, now get out into the bloodstream.
When you think of it the connection makes sense. The leaky gut, a hallmark of gluten intolerance, pours toxins into the bloodstream. Where do toxins go to get detoxified? Primarily the liver. So there is no great leap of understanding necessary to see the connection between the two.
The study confirmed that “mild to moderate elevation” is the “most common and often only laboratory manifestation of liver injury in patients with celiac disease”. Now that all these researchers have proven it, and we know it, we just need our medical doctors to become aware of it and stop ignoring mild to moderate increases of liver enzymes.
A Gluten-free Diet Heals the Liver!
Happily, the results from instituting a gluten-free diet were outstanding – 75% to 95% of the patients with celiac disease showed normalization of their liver enzymes within a year of good adherence to the diet. Even those patients with structural changes to their liver (liver damage) showed normalization after adherence to the diet.
