Imagine being admitted to a psychiatric hospital and accused of being a pathological liar because no matter how carefully you follow the high-carb diet prescribed by your physicians, you continue to lose weight. In the introduction to his book, How Doctors Think, Dr. Jerome Groopman shares the story of a woman who was misdiagnosed with anorexia nervosa. The patient was ready to give up when one last doctor discovered villous atrophy and determined that it was celiac disease—not an eating disorder—that was causing her malnourishment.
Today the Gluten Free RN explores the reasons why celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are often mistaken for anorexia nervosa. She shares the limited research in the field, as well as the symptoms related to malnourishment that may be caused by gluten, including several mental health disorders.
Listen in as Nadine covers the use of PWAG (people who avoid gluten) as a derogatory term and shares her frustration with labels like 'orthorexia nervosa' which imply that gluten-sensitive patients are obsessed with healthy food: 'I avoid gluten like the plague because it is, in fact, the plague for those of us who have celiac disease.'
The use of PWAG as a derogatory term
The new term orthorexia nervosa
The concept of food as medicine
Anecdotal evidence of celiac disease misdiagnosed as anorexia
Why celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are misdiagnosed as eating disorders
The prevalence of celiac disease
How gluten affects a celiac patient
Nadine's recommended variation of a Paleo diet
The study of celiac disease and eating disorders
The issues associated with malnourishment
The anger and contempt Nadine has experienced as the Gluten Free RN
The mental health issues associated with malnourishment
The effect of gluten on epithelial tissue
The consequences of gluten getting through the blood-brain barrier
The shocking statistics around psychotropic medication in the US
Nadine's advice for parents of children who miss multiple days of school
The process of a gluten detox
The benefits of maintaining a gluten-free diet
The foods Nadine recommends as part of a super-good, high fat diet
Why Nadine chooses not to eat if there is any risk of gluten contamination in her food
The places where gluten hides
How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, MD
"The Interaction Between Eating Disorders and Celiac Disease: An Exploration of 10 Cases" in the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
"Orthorexia and Anorexia Nervosa: Two Distinct Phenomena? A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Orthorexic Behaviours in BMC Psychiatry
"Predictors of Orthorexic Behaviours in Patients with Eating Disorders: A Preliminary Study" in BMC Psychiatry
"Eating Disorders and Celiac Disease: A Case Report" in The International Journal of Eating Disorders
'Your Skin on Gluten' on YouTube
Melodies of the Danube Gluten-Free Cruise with Nadine
Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism
