I’ve Got Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease
No doctor or anybody else for that matter seems at all bothered.
I did ask Dr. Google, if there was a link between pancolonic diverticular disease and coeliac disease and this paper entitled Prevalance Of Celiac Disease In Subjects With Diverticular Disease Of The Colon was indicated.
This was the conclusion of the researchers.
The results show an inverse relationship between
diverticular disease of the colon and celiac disease. These data
support that the presence of celiac antibodies may have a
preventive role in the development of colon diverticular disease.
The mechanism of the presented finding is still unclear. More
research is needed.
I can accept that conclusion.
Click this link to see what the NHS says about Diverticular Disease and Diverticulitis.
It’s not very helpful, but just a bit frightening.
Could it be, that my strong immune system is protecting me?
I have a few extra thoughts.
Living With Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease
I have now been living with Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease for around six months.
But I don’t feel that much different to say, when I was 18, 50 or 70.
In the mid-1990s, I was diagnosed as a coeliac using the new genetic test, in a couple of days between blood test and letter on the mat. So surely, at fifty, I must have had coeliac antibodies in my blood.
I asked Dr. Google how the standard coeliac test worked and got this reply.
The standard coeliac disease test involves a two-step process: blood tests to detect antibodies, followed by an intestinal biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. The blood test looks for specific antibodies produced when the body reacts to gluten, while the biopsy examines a tissue sample from the small intestine for damage characteristic of coeliac disease.
My excellent now-retired GP, told me, that the antibodies test was usually all that was needed.
So have I had coeliac antibodies in my blood, virtually all my life and have these played a preventive role in the development of colon diverticular disease?
So was I protected from a disease with a long and complicated name, by another disease, I didn’t know that I had?
Using AI To Inveestigate Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease
I have been impressed by th answers Google has given for other things using AI, so I’ve been asking a few questions on uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease.
Question: Does Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Make You Want To Poo?
AI Overview
Yes, uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease, also known as Symptomatic Uncomplicated Diverticular Disease (SUDD), can cause a change in bowel habits, which may include a feeling of needing to poo. This change can manifest as constipation or diarrhea, or a pattern of constipation followed by diarrhea.
From personal experience I’ll go along with that.
Question: Does Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Make You Want To Drink More Fluids?
AI Overview
Yes, individuals with uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease are often advised to increase their fluid intake. This is because adequate hydration helps soften stools, which can ease the passage of waste and reduce strain on the inflamed colon. Additionally, when experiencing a flare-up of diverticulitis, it’s common to be placed on a liquid diet to allow the colon to rest and heal, further emphasizing the importance of staying hydrated.
No doctor has told me to drink more fluids or suggested I go on a liquid diet. But I do drink a lot of fluids, including two or three bottles of low-alcohol beer per day.
Question: Is Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Helped By A Gluten-Free Diet?
AI Overview
A gluten-free diet is not specifically recommended or beneficial for uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease. While a high-fiber diet is generally recommended to manage and prevent diverticular disease, there’s no evidence to suggest that eliminating gluten from the diet provides any particular advantage.
As I am coeliac, I’m on a strict gluten-free diet anyway, and have been for the last thirty years.
I’m not particularly on a high fibre diet, but an experienced dietician told me to eat a small can of beans a week to lower my cloresterol levels. And it worked!
But from what I found earlier, it does appear that coeliac disease does help to protect you from uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease.
Question: Is Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Helped By Five Portions Of Fruit And Vegetables Per Day?
AI Overview
Yes, eating five portions of fruits and vegetables per day is generally recommended for individuals with uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease, as part of a balanced, high-fiber diet. This dietary approach can help to soften stools, reduce the risk of constipation and straining, and potentially prevent further complications.
I try to stick to a diet like this with a lot of non-alcoholic fluids.
Question: Is Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Linked To Gallstones?
AI Overview
Yes, there is evidence suggesting a link between diverticular disease of the colon and gallstones, with some studies indicating a higher prevalence of gallstones in individuals with diverticular disease. Specifically, one study found that 45% of patients with diverticular disease had gallstones, compared to 22% in a control group, though this difference was only statistically significant in women.
I had gallstones and I described their removal in Goodbye To My Gallstones.
As the answer mentioned women and coeliac disease is more common, in the female of the species, I wonder if that accounts for the results quoted in the AI Overview.
Do Coeliacs Like Ocado?
I have been doing most of my food and grocery shopping with Ocado for a few months now!
My first shop was on the 16th of August this year and I have now done a total of fourteen shops.
What is interesting, is that all substitutions made by Ocado has involved products that are gluten-free.
So do coelics and those on a gluten-free diet use Ocado a lot?
That would explain why gluten-free products run out more often. This also applies to products that don’t have a gluten-free label, but are known to be gluten-free from the ingredients.
The Americans Who Think RFK Can Make Them Healthy Again
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
They are poor, sick, jobless and trust no one. But people in one of the most deprived parts of the US are putting their faith in a man who doesn’t believe in vaccines
These three paragraphs introduce the article.
The phone signal vanishes as you drive over the ridge into the purple valley and down to the town of Paw Paw, West Virginia, population 410.
Being born here deals a person a certain hand. A life six years shorter on average than those from California. A likelihood that you’ll be poor and suffer from disease (one in three adults here have a disability).
A high chance of addiction from the opioid epidemic that was brought here by rapacious pharmaceutical companies that has left the valley peppered with children brought up by grandparents.
It is a powerful piece from Louise Callaghan.
These are my thoughts.
As a coeliac myself, I do wonder if there is an epidemic of coeliac disease in Paw Paw.
Coeliac disease is genetic, so once it gets in a close community, it can spread through marriage and childbirth.
My coeliac disease came from my father, who was never diagnosed, but he got it through the generations from his great-great-grandfather, who was a tailor from Konigsberg in East Prussia.
If a coeliac is going to a country, where gluten-free foods are unavailable, they are advised by doctors to take steroids like Dexamethasone. American doctors regularly prescribe this steroid to coeliac patients, as it does work to a certain extent.
Everybody in Paw Paw should be tested for coeliac disease and those with the disease should go on a gluten-free diet.
But I suspect a plan like this wouldn’t go down well in Paw Paw.
I’m Getting Fed Up Being Coeliac
I’m not getting fed up with the benefits.
- The inability to get serious doses of the covids, as was shown by the University of Padua and I documented in Risk Of COVID-19 In Celiac Disease Patients.
- The lower rate of cancer, compared to the general population as has been shown by Nottingham University.
- Coeliac diease and the B12 injections I take, indirectly helped my recovery from the stroke I had. But that was just luck!
I haven’t had a dose of the covids, but I have had all my vaccinations.
But increasingly, restaurant chains like Carluccio’s and Le Pain Quoitidien are closing only to be replaced by chains that don’t even pay lip-service to coeliacs.
Some chains, even treat being gluten-free as a fad. That is an insult to people like me and the doctors and other medical staff, who diagnosed us.
I’m getting feed up as more and more vcoeliac-friendly cafes and restaurants close.
Coeliac disease indirectly killed my son and probably my paternal grandfather and is present in at least 1-in-100 of the UK population.
We should identify all of those, who have the genes, using the genetic test, which is only a simple blood test costing a few pounds.
Mushroom Management On TfL Buses
Transport for London or as all Londoners abuse them as TfL, are getting the masters at applying mushroom management to running the buses. Especially at the weekends.
For those of you not familiar with the last century term, it means keeping everybody in the dark and throwing in lots of manure. As in the 1970s, I used to live next door to a mushroom factory, I know it at least works with fungi, but I’m not sure of it’s effectiveness with fleets of buses about moving passengers.
Most Saturdays, I take a 141 bus to Moorgate and have a full English gluten-free breakfast in the Leon cafe there, as I like to set myself up for the weekend.
The 141 bus may be one of the least reliable buses in the capital, but last Saturday, I was dropped close to Liverpool Street station and yesterday, I was dropped under the Barbican.
No warning, advice or apology about the change of plan.
But then like the Mayor, TfL are never in the wrong.
Today was different!
After taking a 56 bus from near my house to the Angel I had another full English gluten-free breakfast in the Leon cafe there, before taking the Northern Line to Euston station.
I was hoping, I could take a trip somewhere, but there were extensive engineering works, so I just came home from Euston on the Overground via Willesden Junction station.
I ended up at Hackney Central station, where I did a bit of shopping in the excellent M & S Food shop.
Normally, I just get a 38 bus home from the side of the station, but there weren’t any around.
Again, there was no warning, advice or apology. Just loads of people looking for non-existent buses.
It was a full three hours before I completed my round trip.
Transport for London has no respect for its passengers.
Normal businesses would go bust, if they treated their customers like this.
Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets With Spicy Honey Sauce
Colonel Sanders would have a fit at Leon’s latest recipe.
I regularly eat Leon’s gluten-free chicken nuggets, but today was a first for me, as I had a portion of their latest chicken nuggets in a spicy honey sauce.
They were different, but I quite liked them!
I shall be having them again.
Are Best Before Dates Reliable?
This picture shows one of Marks and Spencer’s gluten-free All Butter Fruit Scones, that has been all dressed up and is ready to eat.
It no longer exists, as I have just eaten it.
It tasted fine, despite having a best before date of the 7th August, 2024.
Gluten And Heart Disease
Type “Gluten And Heart Disease” into Dr. Google and you find two major peer-reviewed studies.
This study is entitled Effects Of A Gluten-Reduced Or Gluten-Free Diet For The Primary Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease.
These are the authors’ conclusions.
Very low-certainty evidence suggested that it is unclear whether gluten intake is associated with all-cause mortality. Our findings also indicate that low-certainty evidence may show little or no association between gluten intake and cardiovascular mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction.
There would appear to be no strong link, between gluten and heart disease.
This British study is entitled Long Term Gluten Consumption In Adults Without Celiac Disease And Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease: Prospective Cohort Study.
These were the authors’ conclusions.
In these two large, prospective cohorts, the consumption of foods containing gluten was not significantly associated with risk of coronary heart disease. Although people with and without celiac disease may avoid gluten owing to a symptomatic response to this dietary protein, these findings do not support the promotion of a gluten restricted diet with a goal of reducing coronary heart disease risk. In addition, the avoidance of dietary gluten may result in a low intake of whole grains, which are associated with cardiovascular benefits. The promotion of gluten-free diets for the purpose of coronary heart disease prevention among asymptomatic people without celiac disease should not be recommended.
As before there would appear to be no strong link between gluten and heart disease.
To me, this is the most important sentence.
In addition, the avoidance of dietary gluten may result in a low intake of whole grains, which are associated with cardiovascular benefits.
So can we do something about it?
Enter The First Great Ethiopian Marathon Runner
I used to run a bit (badly) at school and my three heroes were Chris Brasher, Bruce Tulloh and Abebe Bikula.
The Ethiopian; Abebe Bikula was a double Olympic marathon champion.
- In 1960, he won in Rome, running barefoot.
- In 1964, he won in Tokyo, a few days after leaving hospital after having his appendix removed.
Both wins were in world record time.
Since 1964, three Olympic men’s marathons have been won by Ethiopians.
Ethiopian women have also won two gold and one bronze medals since the women’s marathon was inaugurated in 1984.
And then there’s the Kenyans, who’ve won a hatful of marathon medals.
Their competence is generally put down to living at altitude and I wouldn’t disagree with that.
My Experience Of Kenya
Soon after C died, I went on holiday to Kenya.
In one part of the holiday, I was riding horses in the Masai Mara and in the other I was glamping.
The second part was upmarket and one evening the chef approached me to find out more about my gluten-free diet. At breakfast next day, he presented me with a couple of rolls made from a local flour, which was probably something like millet or perhaps, teff from Ethiopia.
I had no adverse reaction. and he said, I could eat like a true African, as Western flour had no place in the local diet.
Conclusion
If we are worried about the lack of whole grains in gluten-free food, then perhaps we should add gluten-free whole grains from East Africa.
As a manager in a Marks and Spencer store, told me that they used Ethiopian flour in their gluten-free breads, I suspect this is already happening.
Gluten-Free Egg Sandwiches From Boots
This morning, I had to pick up a prescription from Boots on Moorgate in London.
I use them, as they are by the 141 bus stop, that I can use to get home, so I pass their outlet regularly throughout the week.
After picking up my prescription, I looked at their small food counter. I was actually looking for milk, as I am out and nowhere on the West side of Moorgate sells small one pint bottles.
They didn’t have any, but they did have two flavours of gluten-free sandwiches; cheese and egg.
So I bought a pack of the egg sandwiches.
These pictures show the one, I have just eaten for lunch, with a beer and a banana.
Note.
- In the last picture, the Adnams 0.5 % Ghost Ship can, is marked with the gluten-free symbol.
- The only allergens noted on the sandwich packet are egg and mustard.
- The bread looks like it could be Genius, which is a brand of gluten-free bread, that I trust.
- The packaging can be recycled.
The sandwich was excellent, but then on past experience at the Tate Gallery and Blackburn Cathedral cafe, gluten-free egg sandwiches are a good combination of flavours.
So next time, I’m hungry, I’ll march into Boots.
How I Was Imprisoned In A Pizza Restaurant And Driven Home By The Metropolitan Police
At lunchtime today, I received a phone call, saying that my GP’s surgery could see me at 16:30 this afternoon, to discuss my lack of sleep, arthritis and various strains and pains.
My middle son; Henry had expressed a desire to be at such an appointment, so I said, that if he could chauffeur me to the GP, he could come along.
His diary co-operated and he duly arrived outside my house at 16:00.By the time of the GP’s appointment, we had parked conveniently outside the surgery and we had been ushered into the GP’s consulting room.
We had a good meeting and by just after five, we had broken up and agreed a comprehensive plan for the diagnosis of my problems.
Henry had three problems of his own.
- He had legal work to do for the morning.
- He needed to do some bits of shopping.
- He also said, that he was feeling rather hungry.
- I too was hungry and needed to do some shopping.
So I suggested we drive to Southgate Road and see if we could get a pizza in Sweet Thursday.
- They do gluten-free pizzas, so I would have no dietary worries.
- In previous meals, I have found the quality excellent.
- There are shops nearby, where we could shop, if we needed.
As I approached the restaurant, I decided we had made the right decision, as there was a parking space about twenty metres from the restaurant.
We both had similar meals.
- Ham and mushroom pizzas, although mine was gluten-free.
- I drunk a zero-alcohol Lucky Saint, whilst Henry had a Diet-Coke.
- We both finished off, with two scoops of appropriate ice cream.
It was only, when we had paid and tried to leave that we got a very big surprise.
Parked in front of the restaurant with its disabled ramp extended, like some beached airliner was a 141 bus, that was empty of passengers.
- There was broken glass at the front of the bus.
- Was this evidence, that the bus had hit something or somebody?
- The police had strung white tape everywhere.
- There were half-a-dozen police cars and ambulances blocking Southgate Road.
Henry’s car wouldn’t be going anywhere for some time, as it was blocked in by two ambulances and a police car with flashing blue lights.
- So, Henry and I each had a coffee, to pass the time.
- We also made friends with others trapped in the restaurant.
- Henry also obtained information from the police, that no-one would be moving, until it was known that no-one would be moving until the full state of the injuries of the person hit by the bus was known.
So Henry and I just sat there with several others on the hard chairs in front of the restaurant.
In the end, for me, it was over very quickly.
- I live about a kilometre North of the incident.
- Some were walking from the incident to the Balls Pond Road to get a bus.
- I am fairly sure, Henry had told the police, that it was far too far for me to walk with my arthritic hip.
I was put in the back of a police car and ferried home, at about 21:45.
Thanks to the Metropolitan Police.
I have some further thoughts.
Do I Drink Enough?
Since lunchtime, I have drunk the following.
- 4 x 330 ml – Adnams Ghost Ship 0.5 % Beer
- 1 x 330 ml – Lucky Saint 0.5 % Beer
- 300 ml – Assorted water and juices.
- 1 cup – coffee.
Is that enough?
I certainly slept better last night!
The Anonymous Widower 