Dehydrated? Blame Celiac

I recently returned from a Birthday trip to Las Vegas.  So much fun. While I was there, I drank 6 large bottles of Figi water from our hotel room.  So weird!  My friends only had at most 2 or 3.

When I came back I noticed that I was still really dehydrated and had an almost constant headache.  I didn’t know what it was from, but I was feeling so sick at work that I got on Google.  Right away I saw that there is a correlation between Celiac and dehydration.   Below is an article that I found helpful.  The author suggests drinking lots of water, being very careful to avoid allergens, and eating more salt because I guess it helps to absorb the water.  I am going to try the salt idea.  The author also says that she would cough a lot which I have been too.

Food Intolerance?
by Anne Marie Dunphy

full article available at http://www.celiac.com/articles/21771/1/Celiac-Disease-Asthma-amp-Dehydration/Page1.html

I recently had an unfortunate health experience related to celiac disease.  I learned long ago that it’s my responsibility to manage my own health, so I came up with a strategy that was successful…

I have celiac disease. I manage it… through my diet. However, if I ingest anything with gluten… I have a sever reaction that starts within five minutes… I avoid gluten at all costs.

Although I am a remarkable person (like all of us), my health history has been quite unremarkable. Nothing was ever wrong with me and I wasn’t allergic to anything…

Imagine my surprise when… the symptoms of celiac disease manifested themselves.  (Note: I was going through an acute stressful time in my life when this occurred.)  Along the way, other unexpected food allergies have presented themselves as well. 

...I’ve also realized that I’m thirsty all the time.  It seems that no matter how much water I drink, I can’t seem to quench my thirst.  I even sleep with water next to my bed and drink several glasses throughout the night and still wake up thirsty.  The water goes right through me and doesn’t seem to be absorbed.

Both my mom and my grandmother suffered from asthma; my grandmother dealt with it her whole life.  When I have an asthmatic reaction, my wheezing and coughing sound just like theirs!  I remembered them being armed with their inhalers and their steroids at all times.  I also remembered that these medical weapons didn’t stop the asthma attacks or the wheezing or uncontrollable coughing.  They only dealt with the symptoms, not the underlying problem.  Mom’s asthma went away when she started eating a gluten free diet…

 

I realized there was a relationship between several factors: celiac disease, since I had no allergies until it manifested itself; cow’s milk, which I knew was a highly allergic food; asthma, as the allergic reaction, and dehydration, because of the incessant thirst.  By understanding how all of these factors related to each other, I thought I could figure out a strategy to 1) get myself into a healthy state quickly and 2) prevent this health crisis from happening again. 

Research 

…There is also a relationship between celiac disease, asthma and dehydration.  People with celiac disease are often very thirsty even after drinking lots of water.  And so are people with asthma.  If fact, many doctors now think that asthma is a symptom of the body managing its water supply.

This is how it works…

Water is needed for every function of the body. Our bodies are 75% water and our brains are 85% water.  Because of the water used in breathing, digestion, enzyme and hormone production, immune function, toxin removal and so on, we need to replace that water frequently throughout the day or our health will suffer.

When we start to dehydrate, histamine production increases to conserve water in our bodies.

This is vital since our lungs must remain moist to work properly.  Excess histamine, a defense against losing more water, makes it difficult to breath and triggers an asthma attack.  Histamine also stimulates mucous production to help seal in moisture, but that also leads to increased breathing difficulties.  Histamines are also important for immune function, but during dehydration they are mostly used to look for water.  If dehydration becomes chronic, the immune system will suffer; allergies, both inhalant and food allergies, will result because histamine is important for the proper balance of Tcells, antibodies and so on.

Common problem foods for people with asthma are dairy and gluten.  Both are very hard to digest and require a lot of water to break down.  If there is not enough water in the digestive tract when food is taken in, water will be pulled from other parts of the body and localized dehydration will result.  This can lead to asthma, among other problems.

Allergy symptoms of any kind are a sign that we need to drink more water.  Antihistamines and most medicines, either directly or indirectly, actually are counterproductive for the body because they further dehydrate the body and shut off the body’s search for water.  Pain, inflammation and digestive problems are also typically signs of dehydration.  Dehydration is a common cause of migraines, for example.

And then I unexpectedly learned about salt…

Salt is the other half of the hydration equation.  Salt is vital for the generation of hydroelectric energy and transmission of nerve impulses in all the cells.  Salt acts as a natural antihistamine through salt-sensing nerves on the tongue and plays a major role in regulating water.  Without enough salt, water is not absorbed.

My Strategy

The first step was to get myself in a healthy state.  My re-hydration plans included continually drinking filtered water even through the night, teaspoons of honey to soothe my raw throat when needed and pinches of pink Australian sea salt (a Christmas gift from my wonderful mom) on my tongue throughout the day and night when I felt I needed it, although any sea salt would do.  I also had vegetable juice and fruit juice for additional fluids.

I noticed the salt working in a couple of hours.  I was beginning to absorb the water…  It took about two days before the thirst went away.  It was great waking up without a parched throat.  The coughing was still uncontrollable, especially at night, but instead of a constant, non-productive coughing and horrible wheezing, the mucus was beginning to become looser.  It took another three nights before I could sleep lying down, but the mucus had really broken up.  The coughing was actually allowing the mucus to get out of my lungs.  It took about six days to feel like myself again.  I did gain about five pounds.  But I lost it quickly and it was fat lost, not precious water.  Besides, there’s nothing glamorous about walking around in a dehydrated, sickly state.

The second step is to not let this happen again.  I’m now drinking no less than 10 eight-ounce glasses of water every day with a pinch of salt on my tongue if I feel I need it.  I need about ¼ teaspoon of salt for every quart of water I drink.  After a lifetime of poor medical advice, I now know that salt is my friend.  If I drink coffee or wine or if I get the nutty idea to exercise, I have to drink more water.  And no more milk and cream – at least until I’m stabilized for awhile.

If I feel an asthma attack coming on, the best treatment is to drink 2-3 cups of water and put a pinch of sea salt on my tongue.  This will provide my body with the water it needs and the salt will send a signal to my brain to relax the bronchioles by letting it know relief is coming.