Dissecting Celiac Disease Through the Integrative Lens
Episode 153
In this week's episode, Dr. Nicole Rivera dives into Celiac Disease, what really is it vs. the perceived perception of the disease. Dr. Nicole clarifies the disease and the diagnostics behind it, as well as some of the flaws in the current way of diagnosing. Tune in we get a clearer picture behind the right testing If you’re ever diagnosed. Interested in learning more about Dr. Nick & Dr. Nicole’s courses, memberships, or private work? Learn more at Integrative You . Have a quick question, Would you like to schedule a call, or just want to say hi? Text us at 732.913.0009. Our mission to innovate humans & Healthcare does NOT start and stop with us! This is why we are also dedicated to helping other practitioners in evolving healthcare too! If you are a healthcare leader and are looking to up-level your clinical + business excellence Learn more about our course membership: Limitless Healthprenuer and start boldly disrupting this industry! Noteworthy Time Stamps: 01:15 Technical definition of Celiac Disease 03:07 The pandemic of people suffering from gluten intolerance 06:36 You can have gluten sensitivity but no celiac disease 10:24 A patient’s story 17:38 Deciphering your infections 18:41 Get the right testing 25:10 Your approach needs to be changed
Topics: celiac, disease, gluten, integrative, testing, unknown, allergy, nicole
Key takeaways from this episode
- ### Dissecting Celiac Disease Through the Integrative Lens
- Understand the precise medical definition of Celiac Disease versus perceived gluten intolerance.
- Learn about the prevalence of gluten sensitivity and its distinction from Celiac Disease.
- Recognize the importance of getting the correct diagnostic testing for Celiac Disease.
- Discuss how an integrative approach requires a shift in how we view and diagnose conditions like Celiac Disease.
Pull quotes
Imagine if medicine actually looked at you as a whole opposed to looking at you as a bunch of separate systems.
Nick and Dr. **Unknown:** Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine, to learn about what the limitations are with testing, and what you can do to start your health journey.
So today we're going to be getting into a topic that I think a lot of people have heard of at this point, uh, and that's actually celiac disease.
Transcript
**Unknown:** I've been up all night, no sleep. Imagine if medicine actually looked at you as a whole opposed to looking at you as a bunch of separate systems. Dive into Integrative Wellness Radio with Dr. Nick and Dr.
**Unknown:** Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine, to learn about what the limitations are with testing, and what you can do to start your health journey. Sometimes I tend to lose myself when I'm out here on my own. So today we're going to be getting into a topic that I think a lot of people have heard of at this point, uh, and that's actually celiac disease. I mainly wanted to cover this topic because I do feel like there is a lot of convoluted information out there in reference to celiac and really what it is, uh, truly versus what is the common understanding by the public.
**Unknown:** And also to really go in depth a little bit more about how the diagnostics behind celiac can also be flawed and you might need more information to know if you truly have celiac or not. So getting into the technical definition of celiac, you know, I think this is part of where the controversy comes in because when you're really looking, uh, at celiac, and if you just simply Google it, it's pretty much referencing that celiac is solely a major gluten allergy that starts to create damage in the gastrointestinal system. And when you're dealing with celiac, the difference is, is that you can have a gluten allergy and not have celiac, or you can have a gluten allergy that is inducing inflammation and damage to the villi of your gut, which is celiac. But the way that it's also explained is that celiac, uh, the damage that's happening to the villi is strictly because of the gluten allergy.
**Unknown:** And from what I see in clinical practice, it's just not that cut and dry because usually there is a cascade of different things that will happen in order to stress the gastrointestinal system in the first place to even induce the sensitivity or the allergy to gluten, which then will move into creating inflammation, which will then start to create a lot more problems and damage to the villi. So when it comes to the technical definition, a- and when you Google it, like I said, and it's pretty much telling you that celiac is primarily a gluten allergy, that is not the full picture. There is also going to be damage that is happening to the villi, which we're gonna get a little bit more into why that happens. So it's not just a gluten intolerance.
**Unknown:** So another big layer to this is why are so many people dealing with gluten sensitivities or gluten intolerances in the first place? And part of the puzzle here is that gluten in the US at this point is actually hybridized. So really what I mean by that is the wheat that used to grow a hundred years ago that came from nature is, is tainted. It's, it's been compromised at this point.
**Unknown:** So most of the wheat that we consume in the US has been hybridized. It's actually been various strains of wheat that they have brought together through genetic engineering, and that is the primary wheat that we consume. So many of my patients that, you know, I work with and we discover that celiac is part of the puzzle, or we discover that gluten is part of the puzzle as an allergen, you know, we obviously discuss a gluten-free diet. But a lot of them start to get a little discouraged in the sense that they're like, "Oh, I'm going on a trip and I'm gonna go to France, or I'm going to go to Italy and I want to eat the pasta or the croissants." And my answer is, "Eat them." And usually they're, you know, they look at me deer in headlights and like, "What do you mean?
**Unknown:** I, I can't eat that stuff. It will, you know, it will kill my stomach." And I go, "Try a little bit and see how you do because in other countries they are not hybridizing the wheat and many people have no issues with tolerating it. So do not c- take that and run with it for those of you that are not my clients. But, um, you know, the point that I'm trying to make is that when you're dealing with wheat, not all is created equal, and a lot of the wheat we do consume in the US is, is hybridized.
**Unknown:** So that makes it a lot harder for our bodies to digest it, primarily because it's almost presumed as being foreign. It's not presumed as being food. So the immune system doesn't know exactly what to do with it. So at times it can start to attack the food opposed to digesting it.
**Unknown:** So when it comes to those of you that are listening because you've been diagnosed with celiac, um, you know, you've probably been run through a battery of different types of tests. And the patients that I see that come to me with the celiac diagnosis, everyone is a little bit different with how they were diagnosed. So I always ask in depth, you know, "Okay, how did they diagnose you? Was this strictly through blood work?
**Unknown:** Was this through food allergy testing? Was this through an endoscope or a colonoscopy and a biopsy?" Because there's many different ways that you can go. So when you're trying to get clarity on what testing is correct and what's gonna give you the full picture, it gets confusing. So I'm going to go through and I'm gonna really just pinpoint the major, major things you need to know about the testing you may already have had or the testing that you are embarking on.
**Unknown:** So number one is there are certain blood tests that are classified as celiac panels that you can run through LabCorp, Quest, whatever your in-network lab is.And they're considered celiac panels, celiac comprehensive panels, and they're gonna run a co- a variety of different things. So it's going to run, uh, gliadin, antibodies for gliadin, which is a protein in wheat. So that's really going to help you understand, are you having a major reaction to wheat? And then it's also going to run other markers called transglutaminase and another marker called endomysial, IgA specifically.
**Unknown:** So these other markers are going to give you a more, more of an indicator for the celiac because, again, you can have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, but that does not equate 100% to celiac. So when you look at this blood panel, and you see that various markers, including the transglutaminase, including the endomysial antibody, including the gliadin antibodies which has to do with the wheat, when all of those are out of range, it's safe to say that the person has celiac disease. But if you're only seeing the gliadin or the wheat antibodies out of range, that's really just signifying that the person has a, an allergy to that food. It's not necessarily going to indicate that they 100% have celiac disease.
**Unknown:** So I think this is extremely important because I cannot tell you how many people bring their previous blood work to me, and I'm seeing that they really just have a wheat allergy, but they've been told that they have celiac. And you might be thinking, "Well, what's, you know, what's the big difference because at the end of the day I have to give up the wheat no matter what?" But when you really are looking at the bigger picture behind the patient, and you are more in this functional medicine or integrati- integrative medicine model, you're going to treat quite differently, uh, according to having celiac versus just having a gluten allergy. Because at the end of the day, we wanna figure out the root cause. We wanna understand what is causing the disruption in the gastrointestinal system in the first place.
**Unknown:** And again, we're gonna go more in depth about that. I just wanna go a little bit more in depth about these, uh, the tests. So for those of you that had a celiac test, you had this test that included the gliadin and the, uh, transglutaminase, uh, and you did it through Quest or LabCorp, and it ... nothing came up.
**Unknown:** Everything looked normal. And you're like, "You know, I don't, I still feel like I have an issue with the gluten," or, "I still feel like I have an issue potentially with, with celiac," there is a lot more comprehensive panel by a company called Cyrex Labs. It's C-Y-R-E-X. And Cyrex is a fantastic company for really getting to the bottom of autoimmunity, so they do a lot more comprehensive testing in the world of autoimmunity.
**Unknown:** So they actually have a panel, uh, that is called Array 3X, and it's classified as their wheat gluten proteome reactivity and autoimmunity panel. And when you look at this panel versus the panel that has been run through either your LabCorp or Quest, you're gonna see it's quite different. And what I mean by that is it is testing various forms of gliadin. It is testing for various types of the transglutaminase.
**Unknown:** It's testing for wheat, gluten, gliadin. It, it's literally covering every single aspect of what could be a trigger for the celiac. So this is definitely a more accurate and more comprehensive panel. So for those of you that are really struggling gastrointestinally and really wanna get to the bottom to know if you truly have celiac, this is a fantastic panel for you to look at.
**Unknown:** Again, it is the Array 3X by Cyrex Labs. So that's a little bit less traditional is going that route because Cyrex Labs, unfortunately it is a private lab, so you do have to pay out of pocket for it. It's very well worth it. Uh, but most of the time if you are strictly working in the conventional system, and you're working with a gastroenterologist, um, the first line of testing is going to usually be an, uh, endoscope colonoscopy and then also a biopsy.
**Unknown:** And most of the time, the biopsy is happening, um, with the endoscope. So y- they're usually, uh, biopsying the upper portions of your, uh, intestines. So this is actually a recent scenario that I had in, on my practice Integrative Wellness Group, and we had a patient who came in, and she says, "I have celiac disease." And I was like, "Okay, you know, how were you diagnosed?" Et cetera. So we went in depth about it, and she did not ...
**Unknown:** She actually never had the blood test. So she never had the celiac panel run neither through Cyrex or even just, uh, LabCorp or Quest. So from there, uh, we talked about the endoscope that she did, and we talked about the biopsy that they did. And they did the biopsy, and they said, "Yes, you have celiac." So through our testing, what I actually found after running blood work and a variety of other in-house tests that we have is that she actually didn't have celiac.
**Unknown:** She actually had something called autoimmune pernicious anemia, and I did a whole podcast on this for those of you that are interested. But autoimmune pernicious anemia or pernicious anemia in the first place is actually a B- major B12 deficiency. But when it's autoimmune, what it's saying to us is that the cells that are in your stomach/duodenum, uh, which is ... Your stomach is, like, your left ribcage area.
**Unknown:** It's the very, very, uh, start of your gastrointestinal system, and your duodenum is the very start of your small intestine. So you have parietal cells in those areas, and parietal cells are the primary cells that help you to absorb B12. So if those cells become damaged because your immune system is, is compromising that area, that's when you can actually start to have damaged parietal cells, and you do not absorb B12 anymore. So usually you're gonna find that your-Uh, energy is gonna be tanked, but in addition to that, you also might find that your hormones are off, or even just your mood is really off, and you're feeling quite low, and maybe even depressed.
**Unknown:** So B vitamins are essential for a lot of functions in the body. So i- if you are someone who's extremely fatigued, or you know that you have low B12 through other lab testing you've done, you definitely wanna get checked for this autoimmune pernicious anemia, especially if you have gastrointestinal complaints. So really back to my story is that this patient definitely had a gluten sensitivity, primarily because of other things that were going on in her gastrointestinal system, but she actually didn't have the autoimmune attack on the villi of her intestines. She primarily had an autoimmune attack that was on the parietal cells of her stomach.
**Unknown:** And the reason why this was happening for her was because she actually had a bacterial infection in her stomach that is called H. pylori. And for those of you that have never heard of H. pylori, but maybe you suffer from GERD, reflux, indigestion, heartburn, y- you're taking Tums, you're taking Pepto-Bismol, you're taking those types of acid blockers or even Nexium or, or Protonix, you really need to be checked for H.
**Unknown:** pylori, uh, as an infection that can be infecting your stomach. So to really bring this full circle and to understand the root cause of either this autoimmune pernicious anemia or the root cause of celiac is there are always, always, always going to be infections that are involved. And if you really think about the common sense of this, if you have an infection that you get exposed to, maybe it's a bacteria, maybe it's a parasite. Yes, we're all exposed to parasites.
**Unknown:** It's just the way that it is. It could be from pets. It could be from contaminated water. It could just be from a bad cut of meat or sushi .
**Unknown:** If you are exposed to these types of organisms through all of those avenues that I just described, and you get one of these infections that gets into your gastrointestinal system, and it starts to create problems, your immune system is going to send in a fleet in order to resolve the infection. That is the job of your immune system. It's, "Okay, you're foreign. You are damaging the system.
**Unknown:** I'm gonna come in, and I'm gonna wipe you out. I'm gonna get rid of you." So if you have this infection that makes its way into, say, the villi of the gut, or it makes its way into those parietal cells, or it just burrows itself into the tissue, you're going to then have the immune system attacking the infection in the tissue. But because it's in whatever tissue it is, it's going to start to damage that tissue, and that on blood work, on biopsy, on, on endoscope, that is going to appear as an autoimmune condition. But modern medicine tells you that it just happens.
**Unknown:** Your immune system just starts to attack your body, and we don't really know why. In celiac, they pretty much say it's the wheat that is causing the immune system to attack the villi. And there's some validity to that because if you're consuming something that is so irritating and inflammatory to the body, of course you're gonna have an immune reaction. But more importantly is I've never worked with one person with celiac or even just gastrointestinal complaints in general that did not have infections in their gut.
**Unknown:** And for some of you listening, that might make a lot of sense, and some of you might be like, "I don't get it. How do we get infections in our gastrointestinal system?" And we are exposed to bacterias, parasites, fungus with every single thing that we eat. So being exposed to infections is not a foreign concept by any means. It's more so if you get exposed to an aggressive organism or pathogen that gets into your gastrointestinal system and starts creating a lot of damage.
**Unknown:** And that is very, very common, especially with parasite infections because parasites, th- they consume the food that we're consuming. They sto- they start stealing a lot of our nutrients. They start stealing a lot of our calories as well. So w- that might sound appealing to some people, but it's not, I promise .
**Unknown:** Uh, so for those of you, you know, listening to this, is parasites are something that we all have, and it's something that you need to kind of wrap your head around because I think that we think of parasites, and we think, "Oh, did I drink the water in Mexico, and did I get really sick?" And with where our farming industry is at at this current moment, and the unfavorable practices, and the fact that a lot of these animals are in, uh, close quarters, and they're, you know, they're not really grazing, they're not out in the field, they're not even in sunshine. A lot of these animals are sick with these types of infections, and as we eat them, we're then getting exposed to these infections. So having parasites, having bacteria in your gastrointestinal system is not uncommon. It's just a matter of deciphering do you have these infections, where are they located, and what is the strategy to get them out of the body to have your gastrointestinal system recover and also to eradicate out the sensitivities and the allergies that you have, that you've developed.
**Unknown:** And I think that that's something that a lot of people don't really understand is that allergies are not forever. When you have that stamp put on you that you have celiac disease, it's just told to you that you will never eat gluten or wheat ever again in your life, and that's just it for you. But if you really dig to find the root cause-If there isn't an infectious component there, then you're gonna really be able to understand why it developed in the first place, and secondarily have the tools in order to work on it and resolve it. So for those of you listening, I know that the best part of these podcasts is always, like, okay, what do I do?
**Unknown:** What next? And, you know, number one is you need to get the right testing. You need to decipher, do you just have a gluten sensitivity, or do you fully have celiac? And either way, if you have the gluten allergy or if you have celiac or both, you need to decipher, do you have gastrointestinal infections, and where are they, and what are they?
**Unknown:** And this could be done through a variety of testing. This could be done through a stool sample. Um, I really am amazed how little a stool sample is actually used in the field of gastroenterology. Uh, we use colonoscopies and, and endoscopies as one of our first lines of, um, analysis.
**Unknown:** But for those of you that have had those, uh, types of diagnostic testing, and you're like, "You know, nothing came up, but I know that my gut is not normal, and I know it doesn't feel good. But nothing came up on my testing." So when you do this visual look at the gastrointestinal system, really you can maybe see some inflammation. You can see the inflammation if it's really bad, but you're not gonna see a mild inflammation. And you're really going to only be able to see if there are polyps, if there are ulcerations, if there is cancer.
**Unknown:** But you're not gonna see bugs. You're not gonna see mold. You're not gonna see fungus. You're not gonna see yeast.
**Unknown:** You're not gonna see parasites. You're not going to see those things on those types of tests. So that is extremely, extremely important for you to understand, that just because your colonoscopy or your endoscopy was clear, it does not exclude you from this conversation that you 100% don't have those infections. So utilizing, uh, stool analysis is extremely, extremely important.
**Unknown:** And it's not even just about doing the traditional stool sample that they do through your, your LabCorp or Quest because when you're doing it through those traditional labs, they're usually testing for one or two items. So if you have chronic diarrhea, they're going to be like, "Okay, let's see if this person has a Clostridium difficile," which is called C. diff. So they'll tell- take your stool sample, and they'll send it out, and they'll test it for that one bacteria.
**Unknown:** There are other companies that exist, like Doctor's Data. That's one of my personal favorites. But Doctor's Data will run 1,200 strains of bacteria when they run your stool sample. So it's very important to know that not all the tests are created equal, and it's very important to make sure that you're getting a test that is screening for various, uh, organisms.
**Unknown:** So Doctor's Data is a really fantastic test that you can utilize, and you could definitely request this potentially through your gastroenterologist, but you can definitely request this if you are working with a functional medicine practitioner. Uh, another thing too is, you know, determining the root cause is once you know the root cause, and you know what areas of the gastrointestinal system are the most compromised and also what types of infections are involved, you can really be strategic about your treatment. And I really wanna drive home that strategy is so, so, so important because in the very beginning of my practice, I would find these infections with my patients, and I would put them on a supplement regimen in order to eradicate those infections. And it was very simple and straightforward, and that was, that was the approach.
**Unknown:** And we had certain people that did fantastic, and then we had other people that didn't. And what I really started to dig deeper into is understanding more about how physiology works, number one, but also how other systems interact with your gastrointestinal system. And really at this point at Integrative Wellness Group and with, you know, the approach we take with our patients is we have a major, major focus on helping the ma- the filtration systems of the body to work again. So if we're gonna help you to eradicate certain infections out of your gastrointestinal system, we really wanna make sure that you have a properly functioning liver and gallbladder because those are major detox organs for the body.
**Unknown:** And if you don't have a gallbladder, that's okay. We can still work around that. Um, we also wanna make sure that you have properly functioning lymphatic drainage. So a key thing that I ask in my co- initial consultation to my patients is, "Do you sweat?" And if you're that person that doesn't really sweat, you just glisten, which I know that seems like the best thing ever because, you know, sweating is not always super glamorous, especially for females.
**Unknown:** But if you're someone who doesn't sweat, that's a huge sign that your lymphatic system, so the lymph nodes of the body, are quite congested with it could be toxins, it could be, um, infections, it could be a lot of different things. But you absolutely have to make sure that the drainage systems of the body are working as you would start to eradicate out some of these gastrointestinal infections. Because the last thing that you wanna do is start killing things, essentially, and they have nowhere to go. They have nowhere to leave the body.
**Unknown:** And when I explain this to patients, they're like, "Wow, this makes a lot of sense as to why my previous approaches didn't work," because they were put on these cookie-cutter, uh, protocols for, you know, uh, they were t- given antiparasitics or antimicrobials, antibacterial supplements, herbs, et cetera, and they didn't have the capabilities to really flush the organisms out.And this is when people describe Herx reactions. And for those of you that have not heard that term before, Herx reactions are pretty much bad detox side effects. I always tell people I really- I can't stand the term Herx, primarily because if you are having a negative reaction or a Her- quote unquote Herx reaction, it usually means that there are missing pieces to the strategy of you healing. So that might be certain organ systems are not supported completely, or your supplement protocol is not appropriate for you.
**Unknown:** There's a lot of different things to consider, but do not read about, you know, cleaning out your gastrointestinal system online and listen to other people talk about their Herx that they had for a month, but that's normal, 'cause it's not normal. It means that your approach needs to be changed, and you need to work with a professional to really understand what that looks like because it's very difficult to navigate information right now. I think we're- we have an extreme abundance of information on the internet, but it also can be extremely confusing, and you could be listening to people that have zero credentials. So it's very important to really know, um, you know, have a really, really strategic approach, so just keep that in mind.
**Unknown:** So for those of you too that are familiar with the supplement herb world, you know, you may have tried things on your own in the past. Um, but when you're dealing with certain types of supplements, herbs, antiparasitics, antifungals, et cetera, it's not just about using those. It's not just about going in and using things like artemisinin, uh, to, to kill off parasites or wormwood because you also have to make sure that you're considering if there are appropriate types of binders in the mix. Binders include things like chlorella, um, zeolite, uh, activated charcoal because especially if you know, if you've had testing in the past, and you know that you have parasite issues, I know this is gonna be a little bit mind-blowing for people, but parasites, like I mentioned before, they have a tendency to eat things.
**Unknown:** So they will eat your food, they will eat your nutrients, but they will also eat other things you're exposed to. So they will eat mold, they will eat fungus, they will eat bacteria. So when you go in, and you're trying to take antiparasitics like wormwood or artemisinin, and you're trying to kill off these parasites, they could potentially be unleashing other organisms. So again, it comes back to the strategy.
**Unknown:** Are you taking binders? Are you taking these antiparasitics? Are you taking antibacterial agents? Like, are you making sure the immune system is supported in this process?
**Unknown:** So again, it's strategy, strategy, strategy. And for us, you know, we don't guess anymore. We use a specific style of muscle testing called autonomic response testing, which was created by Dr. Klinghardt, who is a brilliant, brilliant man.
**Unknown:** And so we test, we muscle test for every single supplement. And tho- those of you that can relate to this, 'cause I know that I can relate to it, but before we ever did muscle testing, you know, I used my knowledge, which I have a lot, uh, to create protocols, and I put myself on protocols before, and some protocols made me feel terrible, and, you know, again, you think, "Oh, well, I'm cleaning stuff out, so this must be normal." And then I had other protocols that I just felt like did nothing. And when we started utilizing the muscle testing, we pretty much eliminated the Herx reaction, AKA those negative side effects. And we also made sure that people were having changes right away.
**Unknown:** They were actually having a protocol that was effective for them. And those protocols, it never ceases to amaze me how different they are. You can look at a person side by side, and both of them have a similar, a similar case, and they also have maybe similar infections, but their protocol is completely different. So it's very, very interesting when you're getting that specific on the body and customizing to the person because everyone needs a very, very different approach.
**Unknown:** Uh, so for those of you listening and are really looking for something that you can get started with, uh, this is not going to fix the root cause, but some herbs that are really important to know about that are really soothing, that are just really helpful when you're having a flare or your gastrointestinal system is extremely irritated. But, um, these can come in obviously food form, or you can also be consuming them in a supplement form as well. But ginger is fantastic. I think many of us have heard of ginger being a great digestive aid.
**Unknown:** Um, there is also dandelion root. There are many people these days that are doing dandelion root instead of coffee. Um, so that's one way you could do it is as like a dandelion herbal tea. Uh, marshmallow root is another one.
**Unknown:** There are certain teas that contain marshmallow root, but it is something that you could take as a supplement. And lastly, there's feverfew. Um, one of my favorite products is a product by Standard Process called Digest Forte, and it actually contains all of those ingredients. But you can single them out and get them on th- on their own.
**Unknown:** But Digest Forte is just such a fantastic product because anytime somebody's having a, a irritation in their stomach or cramping or a stomach ache, they pretty much can use the Digest Forte, and it will eradicate out, um, most of those symptoms. Again, this is not going to get rid of your parasites. This is not going to get rid of your bacteria. This is not going to fix your food allergy to gluten.
**Unknown:** But it will help just as a soothing agent until you can get the proper testing and the proper strategy for your, your healing protocol.Uh, so the last thing that I want to go over is for those of you that know that you have celiac, and you have now moved away from gluten, but now you are maybe consuming a lot of gluten-free, just please be careful with going gluten-free because there is gluten-free everywhere nowadays. And a lot of the gluten-free products are using poor ingredients. Uh, there is many, many companies that are pretty much, uh, instead of using the gluten, they are creating pastas, breads, and crackers, and pretzels that are all corn-based. And in this country, we're dealing with a huge issue with our corn production, and most of it is genetically modified.
**Unknown:** And for those of you that don't know what that means, it's just, just think of it as being very toxic. Uh, so if you are gluten-free, please be conscious of the corn that could be in the products that you're now consuming, and also be conscious of certain grains. Uh, there are many grains, and this is like everything from rice to quinoa, uh, to oatmeals that can be very high in molds. And this is just something that happens in the growing process, but it's just not monitored properly in the US.
**Unknown:** So there is a lot of fungus that naturally grows on crops. But in many other countries, they screen for dangerous fungus, and they make sure to resolve it or, you know, pull out those crops so it doesn't spread to the other crops. In the US, we don't really have those strategies, so a lot of the foods that we consume can have a lot of fungus on them. But a couple of those items to keep in mind is coffee, wine, and, and then your grains, even your gluten-free grains like the quinoas and the rices.
**Unknown:** So just be conscious of, of those, um, items because as we go gluten-free, we start to move towards a lot of those different foods. So for those of you listening and are really resonating with this and looking for, first of all, clarity, do you have celiac, do you not? Or you're really trying to understand how can I best work with my body and resolve the celiac that I know that I have, you know, check us out at integrativewellnessgroup.com. We have tons of information there.
**Unknown:** And for those of you that know you have a B12 deficiency, check out the Autoimmune Pernicious Anemia podcast. It's also on integrativewellnessgroup.com, and we are also on iTunes. All right everyone, we'll see you next week. We thank you for being a listener and subscriber to Integrative Wellness Radio.
**Unknown:** If you're looking to learn more about Integrative Wellness Group, as well as Dr. Nick or Dr. Nicole, you can check out integrativewellnessgroup.com. All night, no sleep.
**Unknown:** 'Cause I feel like I'm always dreaming. Wide awake, that's okay
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Integrative You Radio is a root cause medicine and integrative medicine podcast hosted by Dr. Nicole Rivera and Dr. Nick Carruthers — two integrative doctors who build personalized wellness protocols from your DNA, minerals, hormones, gut, and nervous system rather than from a population template. Looking for an integrative doctor who reads your labs together instead of in isolation? This is the show.
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