February 27, 2025 • 26 mins
When you think of celiac disease or gluten intolerance, what comes to mind? Stomach pain, bloating, and digestive issues, right? But what if I told you that gluten can affect your body in ways that have nothing to do with your stomach?
From brain fog and fatigue to skin rashes and joint pain, the symptoms of gluten intolerance and celiac disease can show up in unexpected places—making them harder to recognize.
In today’s episode, I’m breaking down some of the less obvious signs of gluten intolerance and celiac disease, so you can spot the red flags you might be overlooking. Whether you're curious about your own symptoms or want to help a loved one, this episode could be the key to uncovering answers!
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Episode Transcript
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Carrie Saunders (00:00):
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode.
This podcast is based on mypersonal experiences and isn't
medical advice.
When you think of celiacdisease or gluten intolerance,
what comes to mind?
Stomach pain, bloating anddigestive issues?
Probably right, but what if Itold you that gluten can affect
(00:21):
your body in ways that havenothing to do with your stomach?
What if I told you that glutencan affect your body in ways
that have nothing to do withyour stomach?
From brain fog and fatigue toskin rashes and joint pain, the
symptoms of gluten intoleranceand celiac disease can show up
in unexpected places, makingthem harder to recognize.
In today's episode, I'mbreaking down some of the less
(00:43):
obvious signs of glutenintolerance and celiac disease
so you can spot the red flagsyou might be overlooking.
Whether you're curious aboutyour own symptoms or want to
help a loved one, this episodecould be the key to uncovering
the answers.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, k Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
(01:04):
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
(01:25):
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about someof the less obvious signs of
celiac disease and glutenintolerance.
Many of these signs andsymptoms people dismiss and
think it's something else that'sbothering them or some other
(01:47):
ailment or some other problemwith themselves.
But celiac disease and glutenintolerance, it can affect your
whole body.
Celiac disease, as we know, isan autoimmune disorder, meaning
it can affect your entire body,not just your digestive system.
In gluten intolerance, whilenot an immune reaction, it can
(02:09):
still cause widespreadinflammation that impacts
various systems in your body.
Because these reactions affectdifferent parts of the body,
symptoms can appear inunexpected ways, often leading
people to dismiss them ormisdiagnose them as other issues
in their life or other ailments.
So one of the first uncommonsymptoms of celiac disease and
(02:33):
gluten tolerance is brain fogand difficulty concentrating.
So if you feel like your brainor your mind is in a fog, if you
have trouble focusing, troubleremembering things.
It could be due to gluten.
Gluten can cause inflammationin the brain, leading to
cognitive issues, oftenmisdiagnosis, adhd, anxiety or
(02:58):
just simply being tired.
I know for me, over the manyyears of me, you know, trying to
figure out that I had celiacdisease, I felt like over time
it was something that grew uponme.
This brain fog was somethingthat grew upon me.
I didn't even know it was thereuntil I'd been off gluten for
(03:19):
about two to three weeks andthen it felt like the whole
world was in high definitionagain.
Two to three weeks and then itfelt like the whole world was in
high definition again and itfelt like I had slowly started
developing looking through thelittle tiny old tube TVs of like
the 70s and 80s.
And then, once I finally gotoff gluten and knew that that
was my problem, oh my goodness,the whole world changed in front
(03:39):
of me.
I could see and process so manymore things in my environment
around me.
So if you feel like you're notquite yourself or not quite what
you used to be, it's possible.
It may not be age or some otherailment.
It could be simply the foodthat you're feeding your body
and it could be brain fog fromsomething like gluten or some
(04:01):
other food intolerance you mighthave from something like gluten
or some other food intoleranceyou might have.
Also, if you are fatigued orhave low energy levels, this is
another uncommon sign of celiacdisease or gluten intolerance.
Chronic fatigue, even after afull night's sleep, can be a
sign of malabsorption of yournutrients.
So when your body isn'tabsorbing nutrients due to
(04:25):
damage in the small intestine,it can greatly affect you in a
tiredness manner.
Many people with celiac diseaseare low in iron, vitamin B and
also magnesium, whichcontributes to exhaustion.
So if you're much more tiredthan you used to be, especially
if you consider like maybe whatyou used to be as a teenager or
(04:45):
in your 20s or your 30s you know, obviously depends on how old
you are now but if you feel alot more tired than you used to
be, it could be something wrongwith your system.
A malabsorption or a vitaminissue which could be related to
C-like disease could be relatedto something else, but it's
worth getting checked out.
Don't just accept that oh well,I'm getting older, so now I'm
(05:06):
more tired.
Don't accept that that could beactually something else you can
actually do something about andfix.
So pay attention to your energylevels and for your fatigue,
something that really got me too.
That was an early, early signthat we had no idea.
When I was a little girl, I wasalways diagnosed with eczema and
(05:29):
skin issues.
I had such sensitive skin.
So if you have skin rashes,itchy skin, that could be a sign
of gluten intolerance or celiacdisease.
There's a specific skin issuecalled dermatitis herpetiformis.
Of whom saying that?
Right, this is a pretty bigword.
It is caused by celiac disease.
(05:51):
It is characterized by itchy,blistering rashes that often
appear on the elbows, knees orscalp.
I personally had this on my face.
I had it on my nose.
I did have it on my elbows andmy knees as well, but I had it
on my nose and actually on mycheeks.
I was diagnosed misdiagnosedwith rosacea.
(06:12):
I didn't have rosacea, I hadceliac disease.
We found out later.
I remember my little kidssaying mom, why is your face
getting so red?
What are those blisters on yournose?
I had no idea at the time thatI had celiac and that was what
was causing it.
As soon as we realized I hadceliac and I went off gluten,
(06:32):
all those things started slowlydisappearing and I stopped
having these skin issues I had,and even without this condition,
gluten intolerance can causered, dry or itchy patches that
are often mimic eczema.
So your eczema potentiallycould not be eczema and it could
be a food intolerance, likegluten food intolerance.
(06:55):
Or if you're celiac, like meand you have these blistering
things on your skin that soundsreally gross on your elbows and
your knees and stuff it could bea sign of celiac disease.
There's also another one thatpeople don't realize as well.
It's called chicken arm.
So if the backs of your upperarms kind of feel and look like
(07:18):
the skin of a chicken, that'slikely due to a vitamin A
deficiency.
That's what happens when youhave a vitamin A deficiency and
that's another vitamin you couldbe low on if you have a celiac
disease.
So pay attention to that.
Whenever I know somebody whodoesn't know they have celiac
because maybe they don't butmaybe they do and I notice the
(07:38):
rash like that then I let themknow just in case.
So they can check out and, youknow, go to their healthcare
provider and see for themselveswhether they actually have
celiac.
Because it's such an easydisease, relatively speaking, to
fix.
We fix our diet.
It's not some crazy thing wehave to take all these kinds of
(08:00):
medicines or do all these crazythings.
We just simply fix our diet.
So if I can help one otherperson, I will mention it so
they can talk to their doctorabout it.
Another common thing that is notcommon but people don't realize
that it actually happens isjoint pain and muscle aches.
Inflammation triggered bygluten can cause joint and
muscle pain and it oftenresembles arthritis.
(08:23):
So if you have stiffness orswelling without a clear injury,
gluten could be a factor.
I know one of my kids' friendsfrom high school.
He actually had C-TAC anddidn't know it and it presented
as extreme youth arthritis.
His family had no idea how muchpain he was in until he finally
(08:47):
started telling them and theystarted doing some digging.
And his dad actually has glutenissues as well and it was
actually celiac disease that wascausing this extreme youth
arthritis in him.
So as soon as he went offgluten the world changed for him
.
He felt so much better.
So if you have arthritis, it'spossible it's related to gluten.
(09:10):
It obviously can be otherthings too, but it's worth
checking out.
You might as well.
It's an easy test to check itout and see.
Here's something that alsoaffected me quite a bit and I
didn't realize it because itcrept on me over the years
slowly Mood swings, anxiety anddepression.
Over the years, slowly, moodswings, anxiety and depression.
(09:31):
Gluten can affect theneurotransmitters like serotonin
and it can contribute toanxiety, depression and mood
swings.
Studies show a higherprevalence of mental health
issues in people withundiagnosed celiac disease.
For me, I was becoming more andmore and more angry and I
(09:51):
suppressed it because I am ingeneral not an angry person and
I wasn't sure what was wrongwith me.
I wasn't sure why I was havingthese angry thoughts inside.
I wasn't sure why I was havingthese angry feelings.
I wasn't so sure why I was soshort to temper when I didn't
used to be so short to temper.
If you actually know me inperson, you know I'm a pretty
(10:13):
generally easygoing person and Ireally don't get mad.
It takes a lot for me to getmad.
Now, when I do get mad, myfamily, including my kids, will
say Mom's scary when she getsmad.
But before I got diagnosed withceliac disease I had these
feelings, these angry feelingsinside me that I had no idea
where they were coming from.
After going off gluten they'reall gone.
(10:36):
Now I only get angry because Imight actually have a really
good reason, not becausesomebody did something silly
that annoyed me and then I gotangry because of something silly
, you know, something that wouldnot normally anger a person.
So if you start having moodswings, anxiety and depression
and you can't figure out whyit's possible, it could be
gluten that is bothering yoursystem and causing some problems
(11:00):
in your brain.
So gluten issues can actuallycause a hormonal imbalance as
well.
Gluten issues can actually causea hormonal imbalance as well,
especially in women.
It can really lead to problemslike irregular periods, severe
PMS, infertility or difficultyconceiving.
For me personally, it createdsevere PMS and really severe
(11:22):
first or second day of my period.
I would have a period for sevendays, no less seven days.
The first two days were reallyheavy.
That first day, if I didn't eatconstantly all day or sleep, I
couldn't function.
I just couldn't function at all.
I had the worst cramps in theworld and I just felt awful
(11:45):
unless I ate all day, and Ithink it's because I didn't have
the nutrients my body shouldhave had on a normal day.
And then, on the first day of aheavy period, my body was
really severely reacting to thelack of nutrients in my system
and also in men, it can causeproblems with testosterone
levels and overall energy.
(12:06):
So gluten can affect ourhormones and we don't even
realize it.
Another thing that gluten canaffect is headaches and
migraines.
Frequent headaches and ormigraines, especially those that
seem to have no clear trigger,can sometimes be linked to
gluten consumption, and removinggluten has helped many people
(12:28):
reduce or eliminate theirchronic headaches.
For me, I started gettingmigraines in my teenage years.
We attributed it to my hormonesand we also attribute it to the
weather, because it would manytimes be correlated with a shift
in storm systems.
Now, as I got older, you know,these were still going on.
(12:51):
So it wasn't just my, you know,teenage hormones that was
causing it.
I was having migraines all thetime and I would have them more
often in the spring and summer,so they were still correlated
with storm fronts moving through.
However, when I went off glutenbecause I had celiac disease,
the number of migraines I get isgreatly reduced.
(13:13):
I might have one or two a yearwhere I was having sometimes one
or two a week.
So gluten for me wasexasperating a condition I
already had, which was atendency to have migraines to
begin with due to hormones andor due to storm systems, and
(13:35):
removing gluten has so muchchanged my life and made it so
much for the better as far asmigraines and headaches go,
because I will have some ofthose clusters in the spring and
fall, still with these.
You know storm systems that goin and out and the barometric
pressure changing rapidly on me,but I don't get them like I did
before.
I have much less severe.
(13:56):
I'm actually can function withmy migraines now and I don't get
them nearly as often.
They are so so much lessfrequently.
So if you know somebody or ifyou're one that has frequent
migraines or headaches, it couldbe gluten related.
Now I did find out later in mylife, whenever we found out I
actually also have a soysensitivity, that soy is another
(14:18):
one of my migraine triggers.
So now that I don't eat soy orgluten, my migraines are even
less than they used to be aswell.
Now, one that's really reallynot well known I feel like.
This other symptom is numbnessand tingling in your fingers and
your toes.
Some people with celiac diseaseexperience this numbness and
(14:40):
tingling, or a pins and needlessensation in their hands and
their feet.
This is due to nerve damagecaused by prolonged inflammation
and nutrient deficiencies.
I had this pretty extremelywhenever I was pregnant with my
third child.
We did nerve testing.
All my nerves were fine andacting normal and they didn't
(15:01):
know what was wrong.
They thought, oh, maybe thebaby's laying on some of your
nerves, right?
Well, after I had my thirdchild, I still had this numbness
in my fingers and my toes, notrelated to anything that we can
figure out at all.
Now that's actually a vitamindeficiency.
When you have the numbness andtingling in your fingers and
(15:23):
toes in this situation, you canhave other reasons for numbness
and tingling in your hands andfeet, but for me it was a
vitamin deficiency.
Whenever I went off gluten frombeing you know diagnosis celiac.
Over time I realized, hey, wait, I'm not having those episodes
of my toes and my feet and myhands going numb anymore.
(15:45):
And I did some research and yes, it is linked to a vitamin B
deficiency and one of thevitamin Bs and celiac disease
can exasperate this because wedon't absorb our vitamins
properly.
So this is something that Ifind that a lot of people don't
realize is it can cause thatneuropathy in your body and that
(16:06):
numbness in your hands and yourfeet.
Obviously, like I said, thereare other reasons, like diabetes
and other things.
That's very serious and severeas well, but it is an uncommon
symptom of celiac disease aswell, and we touched on this one
a little bit.
But iron deficiency and anemiais also a celiac symptom an
undiagnosed celiac symptom.
(16:27):
So if you're constantly tired,pale, short of breath, iron
deficiency anemia could be toblame.
In celiac disease, damagedintestines prevents the
absorption of iron and othernutrients, leading to anemia.
That doesn't improve withsupplements.
For me, when I was a little girl, I remember my grandmother
taking me to the doctor andtelling the doctor she's always
(16:51):
complaining of being tired.
She's always tired all the time.
You know I had all this energybut at the same time I was also
exhausted all the time.
Little did we know back thenthat I had celiac and we
probably could have fixed this along time ago.
I had celiac and we probablycould have fixed this a long
time ago and one of mychildren's former girlfriends.
(17:12):
She actually was anemic, anemicall the time.
She was passing out all thetime.
My son was like have you beentested for celiac?
Maybe you have celiac disease.
Turns out she actually did.
They tested her and she waspositive for celiac.
So listen to your body.
That's going to be like.
The theme of this whole podcastis listen to your body and make
(17:36):
sure you dig for answers.
And we were thankful she dugfor answers.
Now she can be choose to be amuch healthier person now
because she knows she has celiactoo.
And another uncommon thing isdental problems.
Now, this doesn't happen toeverybody.
This is why these are some ofthe uncommon symptoms of celiac
and gluten intolerance, becausethey don't all affect everybody.
(17:57):
For me, dental problems didn'taffect me until my 30s or so.
Once I'd really beenmalnourished for a very long
time.
And we rarely think of ourteeth when it comes to
considering gluten.
But weak enamel, frequentcavities and mouth ulcers can
all be signs of celiac disease.
Now I had mouth ulcers all thetime as a little girl.
(18:20):
We always attributed it to twoacidic foods like pineapple or
strawberries or something likethat, because it would get us
aspirated whenever I was heavilyeating those types of foods.
But mouth ulcers are actuallyanother sign of celiac disease.
People don't realize.
My oldest had cavities in hisbaby teeth and he was celiac and
(18:43):
we figured that out when he wasin, I believe, fifth grade.
It was, and you know, once wegot him off gluten His teeth.
He hasn't had cavity issuessince we took him off gluten
Another amazing thing for himtoo and not only dental problems
, but it also can affect yournails and your hair.
(19:04):
So for him, three months aftergoing off gluten, after we found
out he had celiac, he went togo to clip his nails.
Granted, he's in fifth grade,he's what?
11 years old at this time.
He had always been clipping hisnails with those itty bitty,
tiny baby nail clippers I'mtalking the newborn nail
(19:24):
clippers.
He comes out of the bathroomhe's like mom, I can't clip my
nails.
I'm like what do you mean,buddy?
He showed me the nail clippershe was using and he couldn't
clip them.
He he showed me the nailclippers he was using and he
couldn't clip them.
He was finally getting enoughnutrients after three months of
(19:46):
going gluten-free that his nailshad grown out and were stronger
.
So weak teeth and weak nails aresome undiagnosed symptoms of
celiac disease as well.
It was crazy that we had toactually get real fingernail
clippers out for our child, thatwe've never had to get real
fingernail clippers out.
We always thought, oh, he'sjust got weak teeth, oh, he's
just got weak nails.
We just dismissed it, having noidea he had this underlying
(20:07):
disease that we could easily fixwith diet.
So why are these symptoms oftenmissed it?
So why are these symptoms oftenmissed?
Many of these symptoms arecommon in other health
conditions, which can leaddoctors to overlooking gluten as
a culprit.
You know, many of thesesymptoms I just talked about can
be related to other things,such as diabetes or other types
(20:31):
of issues.
People often see multiplespecialists neurologists,
dermatologists, therapistswithout connecting the dots.
I know for me personally.
I saw a gastroenterologist.
He diagnosed me with IBSwithout even testing me for
celiac disease.
This was before I had my thirdchild, so this was probably
(20:52):
eight years before I actuallygot diagnosed with C-ac disease.
I knew something was wrong withmy body, but he even didn't
even test me.
I'm still upset about that tothis day, because he was
actually the right doctor toactually test and confirm this
right.
I saw my primary care doctor.
I saw allergists.
(21:13):
We couldn't figure out why Ihad all these allergies.
Whenever they would do allergytesting, I was allergic to two
types of mold, that's it.
Nothing else Not grass, nottree, not pollen, anything.
Yet I always had a stuffy nose.
I always was so tired, I alwayshad like asthma.
I had all these allergysymptoms that went away when I
(21:36):
went off gluten.
So many times we have to seemultiple specialists to get the
right diagnosis and that's why Ikeep emphasizing listen to your
body and press for answers.
It took a long time for me toget my diagnosis.
This can unfortunately delaydiagnosis for years, just like
it did for me diagnosis.
This can unfortunately delaydiagnosis for years, just like
it did for me, leading to moresevere complications over time.
(21:59):
I am the shortest person in myentire family.
All of my first cousins and mymother and my father were normal
to tall height.
I'd barely make 5'3".
I probably would have beentaller if we'd known that I had
celiac disease from an early age.
It stunted my growth.
(22:20):
Very likely.
It's also, you know, long-termdamaged me.
So if you suspect that glutenmight be the cause of some of
these symptoms, then in you oreven in a loved one, don't
ignore them.
That's kind of the theme here.
You need to get down to theroot of the cause.
Talk to your doctor abouttesting for celiac disease, but
(22:42):
remember you need to be activelyeating gluten for tests to be
accurate and you many people sayyou need to be eating it for
two to three months for it to beaccurate.
And if tests come back negativebut you still feel better
without eating gluten, you mayhave non-celiac gluten
sensitivity, which is still justas real and worth addressing as
(23:03):
well.
A lot of doctors I talk to nowespecially and I've been going
to an allergist because I'mstill having some allergy
problems.
Again they've come back again,but this time now I'm allergic
to decimites and I'm also havingsome sensitivities to certain
foods like eggs and tomatoes andbananas and peaches and plums
(23:23):
and you know all these thingsyou wouldn't think about and
he's tested me for these, forallergies, and he's done several
different types of tests pricktests as well as blood tests and
they've come back negative.
But he's a smart enough doctorthat says well, if it's
bothering you, then youshouldn't be eating it.
You know he is also advocatingfor me to listen to my body,
(23:47):
which I find very refreshing ina doctor that he's listening to
me and listening to everything Ihave to say and saying, okay,
we did these tests, we can'teliminate that, you're not
allergic to it, these testsaren't perfect, so if it's
bothering you, then youshouldn't be eating it.
So again, we're going back tolistening to our body.
So gluten doesn't just affectyour stomach.
(24:09):
It can impact your brain, yourskin, your hormones and even
more so if you're strugglingwith symptoms that don't seem to
have a clear cause, glutencould be the missing piece of
the puzzle.
So I encourage you to work withyour doctors to help figure
this out.
Listen to your body, advocatefor yourself and don't stop
looking for answers until youfeel your best.
(24:31):
You deserve to live a life freefrom the symptoms that are
holding you back, just like Ideserved it, and I am so happy
to have figured out so much ofmy problems from things I'm just
simply eating.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
(24:53):
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode, and we will see younext week.
(25:13):
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode.
This podcast is based on mypersonal experiences and isn't
medical advice.
When you think of celiacdisease or gluten intolerance,
what comes to mind?
Stomach pain, bloating anddigestive issues?
Probably right, but what if Itold you that gluten can affect
(00:21):
your body in ways that havenothing to do with your stomach?
What if I told you that glutencan affect your body in ways
that have nothing to do withyour stomach?
From brain fog and fatigue toskin rashes and joint pain, the
symptoms of gluten intoleranceand celiac disease can show up
in unexpected places, makingthem harder to recognize.
In today's episode, I'mbreaking down some of the less
(00:43):
obvious signs of glutenintolerance and celiac disease
so you can spot the red flagsyou might be overlooking.
Whether you're curious aboutyour own symptoms or want to
help a loved one, this episodecould be the key to uncovering
the answers.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, k Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
(01:04):
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
(01:25):
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about someof the less obvious signs of
celiac disease and glutenintolerance.
Many of these signs andsymptoms people dismiss and
think it's something else that'sbothering them or some other
(01:47):
ailment or some other problemwith themselves.
But celiac disease and glutenintolerance, it can affect your
whole body.
Celiac disease, as we know, isan autoimmune disorder, meaning
it can affect your entire body,not just your digestive system.
In gluten intolerance, whilenot an immune reaction, it can
(02:09):
still cause widespreadinflammation that impacts
various systems in your body.
Because these reactions affectdifferent parts of the body,
symptoms can appear inunexpected ways, often leading
people to dismiss them ormisdiagnose them as other issues
in their life or other ailments.
So one of the first uncommonsymptoms of celiac disease and
(02:33):
gluten tolerance is brain fogand difficulty concentrating.
So if you feel like your brainor your mind is in a fog, if you
have trouble focusing, troubleremembering things.
It could be due to gluten.
Gluten can cause inflammationin the brain, leading to
cognitive issues, oftenmisdiagnosis, adhd, anxiety or
(02:58):
just simply being tired.
I know for me, over the manyyears of me, you know, trying to
figure out that I had celiacdisease, I felt like over time
it was something that grew uponme.
This brain fog was somethingthat grew upon me.
I didn't even know it was thereuntil I'd been off gluten for
(03:19):
about two to three weeks andthen it felt like the whole
world was in high definitionagain.
Two to three weeks and then itfelt like the whole world was in
high definition again and itfelt like I had slowly started
developing looking through thelittle tiny old tube TVs of like
the 70s and 80s.
And then, once I finally gotoff gluten and knew that that
was my problem, oh my goodness,the whole world changed in front
(03:39):
of me.
I could see and process so manymore things in my environment
around me.
So if you feel like you're notquite yourself or not quite what
you used to be, it's possible.
It may not be age or some otherailment.
It could be simply the foodthat you're feeding your body
and it could be brain fog fromsomething like gluten or some
(04:01):
other food intolerance you mighthave from something like gluten
or some other food intoleranceyou might have.
Also, if you are fatigued orhave low energy levels, this is
another uncommon sign of celiacdisease or gluten intolerance.
Chronic fatigue, even after afull night's sleep, can be a
sign of malabsorption of yournutrients.
So when your body isn'tabsorbing nutrients due to
(04:25):
damage in the small intestine,it can greatly affect you in a
tiredness manner.
Many people with celiac diseaseare low in iron, vitamin B and
also magnesium, whichcontributes to exhaustion.
So if you're much more tiredthan you used to be, especially
if you consider like maybe whatyou used to be as a teenager or
(04:45):
in your 20s or your 30s you know, obviously depends on how old
you are now but if you feel alot more tired than you used to
be, it could be something wrongwith your system.
A malabsorption or a vitaminissue which could be related to
C-like disease could be relatedto something else, but it's
worth getting checked out.
Don't just accept that oh well,I'm getting older, so now I'm
(05:06):
more tired.
Don't accept that that could beactually something else you can
actually do something about andfix.
So pay attention to your energylevels and for your fatigue,
something that really got me too.
That was an early, early signthat we had no idea.
When I was a little girl, I wasalways diagnosed with eczema and
(05:29):
skin issues.
I had such sensitive skin.
So if you have skin rashes,itchy skin, that could be a sign
of gluten intolerance or celiacdisease.
There's a specific skin issuecalled dermatitis herpetiformis.
Of whom saying that?
Right, this is a pretty bigword.
It is caused by celiac disease.
(05:51):
It is characterized by itchy,blistering rashes that often
appear on the elbows, knees orscalp.
I personally had this on my face.
I had it on my nose.
I did have it on my elbows andmy knees as well, but I had it
on my nose and actually on mycheeks.
I was diagnosed misdiagnosedwith rosacea.
(06:12):
I didn't have rosacea, I hadceliac disease.
We found out later.
I remember my little kidssaying mom, why is your face
getting so red?
What are those blisters on yournose?
I had no idea at the time thatI had celiac and that was what
was causing it.
As soon as we realized I hadceliac and I went off gluten,
(06:32):
all those things started slowlydisappearing and I stopped
having these skin issues I had,and even without this condition,
gluten intolerance can causered, dry or itchy patches that
are often mimic eczema.
So your eczema potentiallycould not be eczema and it could
be a food intolerance, likegluten food intolerance.
(06:55):
Or if you're celiac, like meand you have these blistering
things on your skin that soundsreally gross on your elbows and
your knees and stuff it could bea sign of celiac disease.
There's also another one thatpeople don't realize as well.
It's called chicken arm.
So if the backs of your upperarms kind of feel and look like
(07:18):
the skin of a chicken, that'slikely due to a vitamin A
deficiency.
That's what happens when youhave a vitamin A deficiency and
that's another vitamin you couldbe low on if you have a celiac
disease.
So pay attention to that.
Whenever I know somebody whodoesn't know they have celiac
because maybe they don't butmaybe they do and I notice the
(07:38):
rash like that then I let themknow just in case.
So they can check out and, youknow, go to their healthcare
provider and see for themselveswhether they actually have
celiac.
Because it's such an easydisease, relatively speaking, to
fix.
We fix our diet.
It's not some crazy thing wehave to take all these kinds of
(08:00):
medicines or do all these crazythings.
We just simply fix our diet.
So if I can help one otherperson, I will mention it so
they can talk to their doctorabout it.
Another common thing that is notcommon but people don't realize
that it actually happens isjoint pain and muscle aches.
Inflammation triggered bygluten can cause joint and
muscle pain and it oftenresembles arthritis.
(08:23):
So if you have stiffness orswelling without a clear injury,
gluten could be a factor.
I know one of my kids' friendsfrom high school.
He actually had C-TAC anddidn't know it and it presented
as extreme youth arthritis.
His family had no idea how muchpain he was in until he finally
(08:47):
started telling them and theystarted doing some digging.
And his dad actually has glutenissues as well and it was
actually celiac disease that wascausing this extreme youth
arthritis in him.
So as soon as he went offgluten the world changed for him
.
He felt so much better.
So if you have arthritis, it'spossible it's related to gluten.
(09:10):
It obviously can be otherthings too, but it's worth
checking out.
You might as well.
It's an easy test to check itout and see.
Here's something that alsoaffected me quite a bit and I
didn't realize it because itcrept on me over the years
slowly Mood swings, anxiety anddepression.
Over the years, slowly, moodswings, anxiety and depression.
(09:31):
Gluten can affect theneurotransmitters like serotonin
and it can contribute toanxiety, depression and mood
swings.
Studies show a higherprevalence of mental health
issues in people withundiagnosed celiac disease.
For me, I was becoming more andmore and more angry and I
(09:51):
suppressed it because I am ingeneral not an angry person and
I wasn't sure what was wrongwith me.
I wasn't sure why I was havingthese angry thoughts inside.
I wasn't sure why I was havingthese angry feelings.
I wasn't so sure why I was soshort to temper when I didn't
used to be so short to temper.
If you actually know me inperson, you know I'm a pretty
(10:13):
generally easygoing person and Ireally don't get mad.
It takes a lot for me to getmad.
Now, when I do get mad, myfamily, including my kids, will
say Mom's scary when she getsmad.
But before I got diagnosed withceliac disease I had these
feelings, these angry feelingsinside me that I had no idea
where they were coming from.
After going off gluten they'reall gone.
(10:36):
Now I only get angry because Imight actually have a really
good reason, not becausesomebody did something silly
that annoyed me and then I gotangry because of something silly
, you know, something that wouldnot normally anger a person.
So if you start having moodswings, anxiety and depression
and you can't figure out whyit's possible, it could be
gluten that is bothering yoursystem and causing some problems
(11:00):
in your brain.
So gluten issues can actuallycause a hormonal imbalance as
well.
Gluten issues can actually causea hormonal imbalance as well,
especially in women.
It can really lead to problemslike irregular periods, severe
PMS, infertility or difficultyconceiving.
For me personally, it createdsevere PMS and really severe
(11:22):
first or second day of my period.
I would have a period for sevendays, no less seven days.
The first two days were reallyheavy.
That first day, if I didn't eatconstantly all day or sleep, I
couldn't function.
I just couldn't function at all.
I had the worst cramps in theworld and I just felt awful
(11:45):
unless I ate all day, and Ithink it's because I didn't have
the nutrients my body shouldhave had on a normal day.
And then, on the first day of aheavy period, my body was
really severely reacting to thelack of nutrients in my system
and also in men, it can causeproblems with testosterone
levels and overall energy.
(12:06):
So gluten can affect ourhormones and we don't even
realize it.
Another thing that gluten canaffect is headaches and
migraines.
Frequent headaches and ormigraines, especially those that
seem to have no clear trigger,can sometimes be linked to
gluten consumption, and removinggluten has helped many people
(12:28):
reduce or eliminate theirchronic headaches.
For me, I started gettingmigraines in my teenage years.
We attributed it to my hormonesand we also attribute it to the
weather, because it would manytimes be correlated with a shift
in storm systems.
Now, as I got older, you know,these were still going on.
(12:51):
So it wasn't just my, you know,teenage hormones that was
causing it.
I was having migraines all thetime and I would have them more
often in the spring and summer,so they were still correlated
with storm fronts moving through.
However, when I went off glutenbecause I had celiac disease,
the number of migraines I get isgreatly reduced.
(13:13):
I might have one or two a yearwhere I was having sometimes one
or two a week.
So gluten for me wasexasperating a condition I
already had, which was atendency to have migraines to
begin with due to hormones andor due to storm systems, and
(13:35):
removing gluten has so muchchanged my life and made it so
much for the better as far asmigraines and headaches go,
because I will have some ofthose clusters in the spring and
fall, still with these.
You know storm systems that goin and out and the barometric
pressure changing rapidly on me,but I don't get them like I did
before.
I have much less severe.
(13:56):
I'm actually can function withmy migraines now and I don't get
them nearly as often.
They are so so much lessfrequently.
So if you know somebody or ifyou're one that has frequent
migraines or headaches, it couldbe gluten related.
Now I did find out later in mylife, whenever we found out I
actually also have a soysensitivity, that soy is another
(14:18):
one of my migraine triggers.
So now that I don't eat soy orgluten, my migraines are even
less than they used to be aswell.
Now, one that's really reallynot well known I feel like.
This other symptom is numbnessand tingling in your fingers and
your toes.
Some people with celiac diseaseexperience this numbness and
(14:40):
tingling, or a pins and needlessensation in their hands and
their feet.
This is due to nerve damagecaused by prolonged inflammation
and nutrient deficiencies.
I had this pretty extremelywhenever I was pregnant with my
third child.
We did nerve testing.
All my nerves were fine andacting normal and they didn't
(15:01):
know what was wrong.
They thought, oh, maybe thebaby's laying on some of your
nerves, right?
Well, after I had my thirdchild, I still had this numbness
in my fingers and my toes, notrelated to anything that we can
figure out at all.
Now that's actually a vitamindeficiency.
When you have the numbness andtingling in your fingers and
(15:23):
toes in this situation, you canhave other reasons for numbness
and tingling in your hands andfeet, but for me it was a
vitamin deficiency.
Whenever I went off gluten frombeing you know diagnosis celiac.
Over time I realized, hey, wait, I'm not having those episodes
of my toes and my feet and myhands going numb anymore.
(15:45):
And I did some research and yes, it is linked to a vitamin B
deficiency and one of thevitamin Bs and celiac disease
can exasperate this because wedon't absorb our vitamins
properly.
So this is something that Ifind that a lot of people don't
realize is it can cause thatneuropathy in your body and that
(16:06):
numbness in your hands and yourfeet.
Obviously, like I said, thereare other reasons, like diabetes
and other things.
That's very serious and severeas well, but it is an uncommon
symptom of celiac disease aswell, and we touched on this one
a little bit.
But iron deficiency and anemiais also a celiac symptom an
undiagnosed celiac symptom.
(16:27):
So if you're constantly tired,pale, short of breath, iron
deficiency anemia could be toblame.
In celiac disease, damagedintestines prevents the
absorption of iron and othernutrients, leading to anemia.
That doesn't improve withsupplements.
For me, when I was a little girl, I remember my grandmother
taking me to the doctor andtelling the doctor she's always
(16:51):
complaining of being tired.
She's always tired all the time.
You know I had all this energybut at the same time I was also
exhausted all the time.
Little did we know back thenthat I had celiac and we
probably could have fixed this along time ago.
I had celiac and we probablycould have fixed this a long
time ago and one of mychildren's former girlfriends.
(17:12):
She actually was anemic, anemicall the time.
She was passing out all thetime.
My son was like have you beentested for celiac?
Maybe you have celiac disease.
Turns out she actually did.
They tested her and she waspositive for celiac.
So listen to your body.
That's going to be like.
The theme of this whole podcastis listen to your body and make
(17:36):
sure you dig for answers.
And we were thankful she dugfor answers.
Now she can be choose to be amuch healthier person now
because she knows she has celiactoo.
And another uncommon thing isdental problems.
Now, this doesn't happen toeverybody.
This is why these are some ofthe uncommon symptoms of celiac
and gluten intolerance, becausethey don't all affect everybody.
(17:57):
For me, dental problems didn'taffect me until my 30s or so.
Once I'd really beenmalnourished for a very long
time.
And we rarely think of ourteeth when it comes to
considering gluten.
But weak enamel, frequentcavities and mouth ulcers can
all be signs of celiac disease.
Now I had mouth ulcers all thetime as a little girl.
(18:20):
We always attributed it to twoacidic foods like pineapple or
strawberries or something likethat, because it would get us
aspirated whenever I was heavilyeating those types of foods.
But mouth ulcers are actuallyanother sign of celiac disease.
People don't realize.
My oldest had cavities in hisbaby teeth and he was celiac and
(18:43):
we figured that out when he wasin, I believe, fifth grade.
It was, and you know, once wegot him off gluten His teeth.
He hasn't had cavity issuessince we took him off gluten
Another amazing thing for himtoo and not only dental problems
, but it also can affect yournails and your hair.
(19:04):
So for him, three months aftergoing off gluten, after we found
out he had celiac, he went togo to clip his nails.
Granted, he's in fifth grade,he's what?
11 years old at this time.
He had always been clipping hisnails with those itty bitty,
tiny baby nail clippers I'mtalking the newborn nail
(19:24):
clippers.
He comes out of the bathroomhe's like mom, I can't clip my
nails.
I'm like what do you mean,buddy?
He showed me the nail clippershe was using and he couldn't
clip them.
He he showed me the nailclippers he was using and he
couldn't clip them.
He was finally getting enoughnutrients after three months of
(19:46):
going gluten-free that his nailshad grown out and were stronger
.
So weak teeth and weak nails aresome undiagnosed symptoms of
celiac disease as well.
It was crazy that we had toactually get real fingernail
clippers out for our child, thatwe've never had to get real
fingernail clippers out.
We always thought, oh, he'sjust got weak teeth, oh, he's
just got weak nails.
We just dismissed it, having noidea he had this underlying
(20:07):
disease that we could easily fixwith diet.
So why are these symptoms oftenmissed it?
So why are these symptoms oftenmissed?
Many of these symptoms arecommon in other health
conditions, which can leaddoctors to overlooking gluten as
a culprit.
You know, many of thesesymptoms I just talked about can
be related to other things,such as diabetes or other types
(20:31):
of issues.
People often see multiplespecialists neurologists,
dermatologists, therapistswithout connecting the dots.
I know for me personally.
I saw a gastroenterologist.
He diagnosed me with IBSwithout even testing me for
celiac disease.
This was before I had my thirdchild, so this was probably
(20:52):
eight years before I actuallygot diagnosed with C-ac disease.
I knew something was wrong withmy body, but he even didn't
even test me.
I'm still upset about that tothis day, because he was
actually the right doctor toactually test and confirm this
right.
I saw my primary care doctor.
I saw allergists.
(21:13):
We couldn't figure out why Ihad all these allergies.
Whenever they would do allergytesting, I was allergic to two
types of mold, that's it.
Nothing else Not grass, nottree, not pollen, anything.
Yet I always had a stuffy nose.
I always was so tired, I alwayshad like asthma.
I had all these allergysymptoms that went away when I
(21:36):
went off gluten.
So many times we have to seemultiple specialists to get the
right diagnosis and that's why Ikeep emphasizing listen to your
body and press for answers.
It took a long time for me toget my diagnosis.
This can unfortunately delaydiagnosis for years, just like
it did for me diagnosis.
This can unfortunately delaydiagnosis for years, just like
it did for me, leading to moresevere complications over time.
(21:59):
I am the shortest person in myentire family.
All of my first cousins and mymother and my father were normal
to tall height.
I'd barely make 5'3".
I probably would have beentaller if we'd known that I had
celiac disease from an early age.
It stunted my growth.
(22:20):
Very likely.
It's also, you know, long-termdamaged me.
So if you suspect that glutenmight be the cause of some of
these symptoms, then in you oreven in a loved one, don't
ignore them.
That's kind of the theme here.
You need to get down to theroot of the cause.
Talk to your doctor abouttesting for celiac disease, but
(22:42):
remember you need to be activelyeating gluten for tests to be
accurate and you many people sayyou need to be eating it for
two to three months for it to beaccurate.
And if tests come back negativebut you still feel better
without eating gluten, you mayhave non-celiac gluten
sensitivity, which is still justas real and worth addressing as
(23:03):
well.
A lot of doctors I talk to nowespecially and I've been going
to an allergist because I'mstill having some allergy
problems.
Again they've come back again,but this time now I'm allergic
to decimites and I'm also havingsome sensitivities to certain
foods like eggs and tomatoes andbananas and peaches and plums
(23:23):
and you know all these thingsyou wouldn't think about and
he's tested me for these, forallergies, and he's done several
different types of tests pricktests as well as blood tests and
they've come back negative.
But he's a smart enough doctorthat says well, if it's
bothering you, then youshouldn't be eating it.
You know he is also advocatingfor me to listen to my body,
(23:47):
which I find very refreshing ina doctor that he's listening to
me and listening to everything Ihave to say and saying, okay,
we did these tests, we can'teliminate that, you're not
allergic to it, these testsaren't perfect, so if it's
bothering you, then youshouldn't be eating it.
So again, we're going back tolistening to our body.
So gluten doesn't just affectyour stomach.
(24:09):
It can impact your brain, yourskin, your hormones and even
more so if you're strugglingwith symptoms that don't seem to
have a clear cause, glutencould be the missing piece of
the puzzle.
So I encourage you to work withyour doctors to help figure
this out.
Listen to your body, advocatefor yourself and don't stop
looking for answers until youfeel your best.
(24:31):
You deserve to live a life freefrom the symptoms that are
holding you back, just like Ideserved it, and I am so happy
to have figured out so much ofmy problems from things I'm just
simply eating.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
(24:53):
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode, and we will see younext week.
(25:13):
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
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