Redefining Sickness
I am currently reading the excellent book Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall. Chapter 6 was especially riveting. In this chapter, she takes the reader through a historical timeline showing that celiac disease was once far more common than it is today. However, this change doesn’t mean that fewer people now suffer from digestive issues. Rather, over time, the definition of celiac disease shifted to mean simply “gluten intolerance.”
Before this redefinition, a doctor named Sidney Valentine Haas developed a new diet to help those suffering from celiac disease—then understood to include anyone with serious digestive problems such as chronic diarrhea, bloating, vomiting, or, more broadly, chronic indigestion. His diet aimed to restore the health of the digestive tract. It was revolutionary because it allowed people to eat certain carbohydrates, while previous approaches restricted them to only proteins and fats. At that time, carbohydrates were assumed to be the cause of digestive troubles. Dr. Haas discovered that patients with chronic indigestion could tolerate specific kinds of carbohydrates. In fact, many people recovered more effectively when these particular carbohydrates were included in their diet. The approach became widely adopted, and countless individuals saw their digestive health restored.
However, not long after, another group of scientists conducted a small study that ultimately sidelined Haas’s work—whether by accident or intention remains unclear. In their research, they concluded that gluten, not other starchy or sugary foods, was the main culprit. From then on, “celiac disease” was redefined to describe only those intolerant to gluten. Anyone suffering from chronic indigestion outside of that definition was now considered to have some other condition. As a result, Dr. Haas’s groundbreaking work on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet was largely abandoned in favor of the emerging “gluten-free” approach.
Elaine Gottschall explains that many people with chronic digestive issues, including those sensitive to gluten, experience better results when they avoid more than just gluten. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet excludes most carbohydrates except certain monosaccharides, with a few exceptions. If you struggle with chronic indigestion and want to explore this topic further, you might benefit from reading this insightful book.
Can't wait to read it Renee!
Leslie