June 2003 | Online eNewsletter

Welcome to Sage Clinic's first email newsletter. We have created this newsletter to keep our patients, friends and family informed on health topics that are of special interest to us. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or feedback at info@sageclinic.com.

ARE YOU GLUTEN INTOLERANT? UNCOVERING THE "ICEBERG"
by Dr. Arjuna Veeravagu, ND

For centuries, wheat has been considered "the staff of life" by many cultures due to its countless applications in the human diet. Unfortunately for many people wheat, specifically its gluten component, hardly lives up to its lofty moniker. In fact, up to one third of the North American population may have an intolerance of gluten that is adversely affecting their health.

Conventional medical thought believes that the only people who are harmed by the dietary intake of the gluten are those with the severe gastrointestinal condition of celiac disease. This belief is a major medical oversight that has caused many gluten intolerant individuals to go undiagnosed and experience much unnecessary suffering. Only 1 in 30 people with the symptoms of celiac disease are correctly diagnosed. In addition, the people with classic celiac symptoms represent only a small fraction of the total gluten intolerant population. From these numbers it can be concluded that gluten intolerance is clinically identified in less than one percent of the intolerant population. These statistics have led to the widely accepted analogy that those diagnosed with the condition represent only the tip of a massive undiagnosed "iceberg" of gluten intolerance.

Sage Clinic offers thorough laboratory evaluation of gluten intolerance and clinical guidance with the elimination/reintroduction diet to accurately determine each patient's level of reactivity. Most doctors rely on blood tests to recognize the body's reaction to gluten (anti-gliadin antibodies) which are largely inaccurate for the majority of the gluten intolerant population. Sage Clinic utilizes more accurate saliva testing from Diagnostechs Clinical Laboratory and the recently developed stool testing developed by gastroenterologist and gluten intolerance expert Dr. Kenneth Fine, MD.

After an exhaustive literature review Dr. James Braly, MD, another gluten intolerance expert, found that almost 150 medical conditions are more frequently found in the gluten intolerant population. It is therefore possible that the intolerance may be a root cause of many seemingly unrelated symptoms and diseases.

If you are interested in determining if you have a gluten intolerance that is adversely affecting your health, contact Sage Clinic at (604) 697-0397 or info@sageclinic.com to schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Arjuna Veeravagu, ND. Dr. Veeravagu is available for phone consultations.

TOP TWENTY DIAGNOSES RECEIVED BEFORE GLUTEN INTOLERANCE

A survey of gluten intolerant patients was performed to determine which diseases and conditions are commonly diagnosed before the intolerance was recognized. The top twenty conditions are:

"Bread is very little conducive to trim vigor"
Arataeus, ancient Roman physician, 100 AD
From The Celiac Affection, the earliest written record of gluten intolerance.