Heart racing from gluten exposure - reactive hypoglycemia?

[Blossom]

Appreciate your comments @LadyRae , I should really get a celiac test done because I suspect I may have some sensitivity to gluten (it's not just the digestive issues, but mental and other issues as well), but then I have to eat gluten for an entire month and persist through any negative symptoms...

If you really want to test I think a better way to consume gluten might be wheat pasta with no other ingredients except wheat that could muddy the water so to speak. I’m celiac and I’ve definitely had periods of time where I consumed gluten with no obvious immediate reactions but there was still damage occurring. Since gluten causes an autoimmune response it can wax and wane like other autoimmune diseases and be very confusing. The reactions aren’t always the same even from meal to meal. Best wishes

 

[Korven]

If you really want to test I think a better way to consume gluten might be wheat pasta with no other ingredients except wheat that could muddy the water so to speak. I’m celiac and I’ve definitely had periods of time where I consumed gluten with no obvious immediate reactions but there was still damage occurring. Since gluten causes an autoimmune response it can wax and wane like other autoimmune diseases and be very confusing. The reactions aren’t always the same even from meal to meal. Best wishes

Thanks @Blossom , that is very valuable information. Yes my relationship with gluten is confusing since I can eat it without any immediate gut distress, but if I continue indulging over days/weeks I will notice more and more issues popping up.

I might as well mention the issues here if you think these sound like celiac?

- When I was a kid (eating bread, pancakes, and pasta all the time) I looked very sickly and anemic with dark blue eye circles. I remember testing my iron status at the doctor and I had very low iron, no idea what specific markers they were measuring though. I don't think I look quite as bad nowadays but still have the dark eye circles. Not sure whether gluten makes them worse or not.
- Mouth ulcers. I had these all the time before and they are a pain in the backside. If I eat well, meaning I avoid all gluten, I don't seem to get any mouth ulcers. Like clockwork I now have a painful mouth ulcer again after eating bread.
- Body folliculitis. Could be something else, but seems to be correlated with gluten intake.
- Terrible mood. I start feeling very stressed out and 'out of place' and unsettled.

What adds to the confusion is that there was one period in my life where I ate tons of gluten and still was quite healthy and robust. Maybe I have developed some sensitivity towards gluten later in life? I did use topical tretinoin on my face before and I know it's been linked with developing celiac disease.

 

[Santosh]

Hi I was wondering if anyone else gets low blood sugar symptoms (reactive hypoglycemia) from gluten exposure?

Through trial and error I have found out that gluten is not good for me, mainly because it puts me in a terrible mental state, but for some reason I keep trying to include it in my diet.

The last couple of days I have been eating lots of bread and now I'm experiencing unpleasant postprandial symptoms, mainly racing heart and heart palpitations. I haven't measured my blood sugar but this feels to me like reactive hypoglycemia and adrenaline kicking in to raise blood sugars. Before I had heart palpitations all the time and my diet was very gluten-heavy, basically pasta and bread 3x per day.

When I avoid all gluten I have none of these issues. The bread experiment is over.

Thanks.

Hmmmm no ... direct endotoxemia and allergy.
Add lots of raw garlic to your meal when it has fiber and gluten.

 

[Momma]

The opening post said nothing about gut distress; so i was not addressing that.

Looking at the egg, bread and butter meal- the fats in the yolk and butter are aiding the starch digestion as Peat has said. Therefore meals with more protein (three burgers) and less fat are an issue- on top of being protien heavy.

Eating “lots of bread” over the past several days without the fats is not the way to go. Even more so if you’re having digestion issues.

This was referenced above. I read years ago (therefore don’t remember) but im sure there are great insights from Ray.

Glycemia, starch, and sugar in context

Ray Peat

raypeat.com

 

[LadyRae]

Thanks @Blossom , that is very valuable information. Yes my relationship with gluten is confusing since I can eat it without any immediate gut distress, but if I continue indulging over days/weeks I will notice more and more issues popping up.

I might as well mention the issues here if you think these sound like celiac?

- When I was a kid (eating bread, pancakes, and pasta all the time) I looked very sickly and anemic with dark blue eye circles. I remember testing my iron status at the doctor and I had very low iron, no idea what specific markers they were measuring though. I don't think I look quite as bad nowadays but still have the dark eye circles. Not sure whether gluten makes them worse or not.
- Mouth ulcers. I had these all the time before and they are a pain in the backside. If I eat well, meaning I avoid all gluten, I don't seem to get any mouth ulcers. Like clockwork I now have a painful mouth ulcer again after eating bread.
- Body folliculitis. Could be something else, but seems to be correlated with gluten intake.
- Terrible mood. I start feeling very stressed out and 'out of place' and unsettled.

What adds to the confusion is that there was one period in my life where I ate tons of gluten and still was quite healthy and robust. Maybe I have developed some sensitivity towards gluten later in life? I did use topical tretinoin on my face before and I know it's been linked with developing celiac disease.

That sounds very suspicious for celiac, indeed. Celiacs that are eating gluten absorb very little nutrition from their food, as the little finger-like cilia have been completely worn down.

If I were you I would get a test soon, as you are still eating gluten. Once you cut it out for a while and notice how incredibly great you feel, it feels impossible to eat it again just for a test.

Before my cousin found out she was celiac, she was a sickly kid as well. She would get colds and the flu often and was tired a lot and I noticed that she took a lot of ibuprofen for headaches. She had dark circles under her eyes and slept a lot. It all came to a head for her when she was in her early twenties and got some sort of a skin infection near her left breast that just wouldn't heal. She actually had to have that breast removed because of an abscess. In this process they finally tested her for celiac.

If you have any suspicion at all I would get tested because untreated celiac disease will shorten your life and raise your risk for many many diseases.

I did a little researching yesterday online and there was a recent large study showing that even in non-celiacs, people who show no adverse reaction to gluten, under a microscope they are still experiencing inflammation from gluten and zonulin. I read several articles referencing the study but I couldn't find a link to the study itself.

It's kind of like alcohol, most people can have some and don't experience any ill effects. Some people drink alcohol and feel terrible. But the bottom line is that alcohol is still inflammatory...

 

[Blossom]

Thanks @Blossom , that is very valuable information. Yes my relationship with gluten is confusing since I can eat it without any immediate gut distress, but if I continue indulging over days/weeks I will notice more and more issues popping up.

I might as well mention the issues here if you think these sound like celiac?

- When I was a kid (eating bread, pancakes, and pasta all the time) I looked very sickly and anemic with dark blue eye circles. I remember testing my iron status at the doctor and I had very low iron, no idea what specific markers they were measuring though. I don't think I look quite as bad nowadays but still have the dark eye circles. Not sure whether gluten makes them worse or not.
- Mouth ulcers. I had these all the time before and they are a pain in the backside. If I eat well, meaning I avoid all gluten, I don't seem to get any mouth ulcers. Like clockwork I now have a painful mouth ulcer again after eating bread.
- Body folliculitis. Could be something else, but seems to be correlated with gluten intake.
- Terrible mood. I start feeling very stressed out and 'out of place' and unsettled.

What adds to the confusion is that there was one period in my life where I ate tons of gluten and still was quite healthy and robust. Maybe I have developed some sensitivity towards gluten later in life? I did use topical tretinoin on my face before and I know it's been linked with developing celiac disease.

Yes, I had all of those issues myself from childhood and used retin-a for many years as well. I personally think it would be optimal if you could get tested.

 

[Momma]

Peat says celiac is estrogen and stress related iirc. And diabetes- stress / cortisol and PUFA.
If the organism is stressed with a down regulated metabolism; i would address those issues immediately. Low stress high thyroid are on the Mount Rushmore of Peat’s life’s work. Once those pillars are addressed, one can reassess from there.

 

[Blossom]

Peat says celiac is estrogen and stress related iirc. And diabetes- stress / cortisol and PUFA.
If the organism is stressed with a down regulated metabolism; i would address those issues immediately. Low stress high thyroid are on the Mount Rushmore of Peat’s life’s work. Once those pillars are addressed, one can reassess from there.

Thanks for bringing Peat’s perspective to the thread. I remember first reading his insights about celiac and it helped me understand the reasons behind why I developed it in the first place which was helpful. No matter how much attention I put towards balancing my hormones and increasing my metabolism I’ve never been able to reverse the celiac unfortunately. I don’t want to make it sound impossible but I also don’t want people to fall into the trap of thinking that it’s an easy fix and wind up making themselves sick(er) persisting with eating gluten. I don’t mean this to be offensive to Peat’s memory in the least because I’m very grateful to him for sharing his knowledge.

 

[Momma]

Thanks for bringing Peat’s perspective to the thread. I remember first reading his insights about celiac and it helped me understand the reasons behind why I developed it in the first place which was helpful. No matter how much attention I put towards balancing my hormones and increasing my metabolism I’ve never been able to reverse the celiac unfortunately. I don’t want to make it sound impossible but I also don’t want people to fall into the trap of thinking that it’s an easy fix and wind up making themselves sick(er) persisting with eating gluten. I don’t mean this to be offensive to Peat’s memory in the least because I’m very grateful to him for sharing his knowledge.

Totally understand. That’s why I stated reassess.
We have a middle school niece with celiac. It’s challenging. Super petite. Underweight and height. She’s also a soccer phenom and i have to wonder about what the stress is doing to her (especially hormonally) before even her first period.
We are whole people. It’s never just one thing is it, but our system as a whole. I think about this all the time with my thorn in my flesh.

 

[Blossom]

Totally understand. That’s why I stated reassess.
We have a middle school niece with celiac. It’s challenging. Super petite. Underweight and height. She’s also a soccer phenom and i have to wonder about what the stress is doing to her (especially hormonally) before even her first period.
We are whole people. It’s never just one thing is it, but our system as a whole. I think about this all the time with my thorn in my flesh.

Sorry, I just assumed korven had the hormone and metabolism angle worked out since he’s been around here a while. I truly wish the best for your niece. I’m glad she was diagnosed early in life.

 

[Peachy]

Thanks I haven't heard that explanation before @Peachy, I think there might be something to it since bread does produce a very unique body sensation for me, settling like you say. But sometimes it also makes me feel very bad if I overdo it. Does dairy proteins give you the same settling effect (since it also has opioid peptides)?

I’m not sure. I think I just like cheese because it’s salty, fatty and yummy.

 

[Korven]

I personally think it would be optimal if you could get tested.

I agree, if I could get a confirmed celiac diagnosis I believe that would deter me from ever trying to eat gluten again. I will try to hold out for 3 weeks more.

I know it's not productive to ponder on "what-ifs", but if I actually have celiac (and lots seem to point in that direction, damn these mouth ulcers!) I wonder what my life would have looked like if just a doctor could have given me the diagnosis earlier on in life. I have always wondered what was/is wrong with me when comparing myself to my healthy peers, it's not normal to get sick 24 times per year (yes I would literally be home sick every other week with a fever/flu as a kid).

 

[Korven]

Before my cousin found out she was celiac, she was a sickly kid as well. She would get colds and the flu often and was tired a lot and I noticed that she took a lot of ibuprofen for headaches. She had dark circles under her eyes and slept a lot. It all came to a head for her when she was in her early twenties and got some sort of a skin infection near her left breast that just wouldn't heal. She actually had to have that breast removed because of an abscess. In this process they finally tested her for celiac.

If you have any suspicion at all I would get tested because untreated celiac disease will shorten your life and raise your risk for many many diseases.

I must have missed this part but that sounds eerily similar to my own experience. I've also had skin infections that never heal and leave scarring... wtf... definitely need to go get tested now. Thanks for bringing this to my awareness,.

 

[Momma]

This will be it from me. Genuinely hope you find your answers.

Im surprised by the embracing of the main stream narrative. There is a chance it’s correct of course. But being a part of the RPF differs from a Chris Kresser narrative.

The thread open with no mouth sores etc. No years of symptoms, but a possible blood sugar reaction. More data was revealed as the Celiac talk started. Could be right. Could be wrong.

The piece of data that makes me question is no reaction to eggs butter and bread.

I think Peat explains why this occurred with the burger meat in this short clip.

I do this to offer a different idea for anyone who visits here in the future- not to minimize anyone here.


View: https://youtu.be/t36nSzvhGdg

 

[Korven]

This will be it from me. Genuinely hope you find your answers.

Im surprised by the embracing of the main stream narrative. There is a chance it’s correct of course. But being a part of the RPF differs from a Chris Kresser narrative.

The thread open with no mouth sores etc. No years of symptoms, but a possible blood sugar reaction. More data was revealed as the Celiac talk started. Could be right. Could be wrong.

The piece of data that makes me question is no reaction to eggs butter and bread.

I think Peat explains why this occurred with the burger meat in this short clip.

I do this to offer a different idea for anyone who visits here in the future- not to minimize anyone here.


View: https://youtu.be/t36nSzvhGdg

Sorry I realize I am presenting this information in a rather unstructured way, I wasn't trying to mislead you or anyone else. At first I just wondered if someone else here had a similar postprandial reaction to gluten and if it could be an allergy or BS related, and then I stumbled upon the "celiac" diagnosis that seems to match perfectly with many of the peculiar symptoms I have experienced in the past. Appreciate you sharing Rays perspective on celiac, I know he doesn't subscribe to the mainstream ideas about how autoimmune diseases work, but rather that they are a result of high estrogen/cortisol. I am a descendant of a long line of hypothyroid, stressed people so that would actually make a lot of sense.

 

[Momma]

Sorry I realize I am presenting this information in a rather unstructured way, I wasn't trying to mislead you or anyone else. At first I just wondered if someone else here had a similar postprandial reaction to gluten and if it could be an allergy or BS related, and then I stumbled upon the "celiac" diagnosis that seems to match perfectly with many of the peculiar symptoms I have experienced in the past. Appreciate you sharing Rays perspective on celiac, I know he doesn't subscribe to the mainstream ideas about how autoimmune diseases work, but rather that they are a result of high estrogen/cortisol. I am a descendant of a long line of hypothyroid, stressed people so that would actually make a lot of sense.

No worries at all. I wish health for all. Healthy people raise healthy children- and that’s my heart.

 

[Blossom]

I agree, if I could get a confirmed celiac diagnosis I believe that would deter me from ever trying to eat gluten again. I will try to hold out for 3 weeks more.

I know it's not productive to ponder on "what-ifs", but if I actually have celiac (and lots seem to point in that direction, damn these mouth ulcers!) I wonder what my life would have looked like if just a doctor could have given me the diagnosis earlier on in life. I have always wondered what was/is wrong with me when comparing myself to my healthy peers, it's not normal to get sick 24 times per year (yes I would literally be home sick every other week with a fever/flu as a kid).

The reason I’m all for a person having prolonged health issues suspicious for celiac getting tested is because it took me until age 42 to get diagnosed. Even then the testing wasn’t done correctly the first time so my family thought the doctor was wrong and they were very unsupportive of me going gluten free. I went through another 4.5 years of family drama, stress and more health issues from continuing to eat it off and on until finally getting the proper testing and diagnosis in 2016. If it were just me I would have stayed gluten free and not had further testing but I did it for my family. By then I of course had long term nutrient deficiencies, low metabolism, weight issues, chronic fatigue, hormone imbalances and more to deal with that took quite a while to heal and in some ways I’m still healing so in my view it’s better to know as soon as possible. I’m not sure why it’s a controversial subject …Regardless of what causes it and I’m sure it’s numerous factors beyond the ‘genes’ it still good to know. Best wishes to you.

 

[Jonk]

Sorry I realize I am presenting this information in a rather unstructured way

You don't need to apologize. I recognize your username and I just want to say that it's really helpful reading you and some others doing real personal investigative work to figure out health issues. Looking at health through a Ray Peat lens is invaluable in my opinion, but we still need to do the "heavy lifting" ourselves. It doesn't matter if that veers into the mainstream sphere, which I don't think Ray Peat was against by principle as much as specific aspects of it.

 

[Korven]

The reason I’m all for a person having prolonged health issues suspicious for celiac getting tested is because it took me until age 42 to get diagnosed. Even then the testing wasn’t done correctly the first time so my family thought the doctor was wrong and they were very unsupportive of me going gluten free. I went through another 4.5 years of family drama, stress and more health issues from continuing to eat it off and on until finally getting the proper testing and diagnosis in 2016. If it were just me I would have stayed gluten free and not had further testing but I did it for my family. By then I of course had long term nutrient deficiencies, low metabolism, weight issues, chronic fatigue, hormone imbalances and more to deal with that took quite a while to heal and in some ways I’m still healing so in my view it’s better to know as soon as possible. I’m not sure why it’s a controversial subject …Regardless of what causes it and I’m sure it’s numerous factors beyond the ‘genes’ it still good to know. Best wishes to you.

Late reply but thanks Blossom, I now realize that undiagnosed celiac can really wreak havoc in the body if not detected early. I hope you continue to heal from the damage caused by gluten exposure.

Update:

I did get an antibody test done and I had normal-low levels of IgA antibodies, i.e. not indicative of celiac. However I had been eating gluten only sporadically, e.g. couple beers on weekends, some bread here and there, occasional pasta dishes, experimenting with wheat bran, and I don't know if that is enough gluten exposure to produce antibodies. Perhaps it was a mistake not going "all-in" on gluten and then getting the test, since I still have doubts whether I actually have celiac or not.

I decided to stop eating all gluten and the heart issues completely went away. I recently went on holiday and (foolishly) indulged in some pastries, bread and beers and predictably the heart palpitations/chest discomfort came back again. Could it perhaps be that wheat-containing foods causes GERD for me? I know that can cause chest discomfort.

Anyways, I think I can conclude that wheat doesn't seem to agree with my body. I very much do enjoy wheat but I enjoy being healthy even more.

 

[jet9]

Same here, and it’s not only wheat - but all grains (oats, etc) - they are worst health offender for me (worse than pufa). 10 years free :)