Is hunger part of Celiac?

During the past year, somehow I managed to pack on almost 20 extra pounds to my relatively small frame. Outside of pregnancy, that is something I'd never done in my life in 40-something years. I couldn't figure it out. I was always hungry, no matter what I ate-- and I wasn't really enjoying the food I was eating-- I was just hungry. I tried all kinds of "diets" but either the extra pounds just wouldn't come off, or I couldn't concentrate because I was so hungry.

I have always been one of those people who get sick when they don't eat. I could never fast for more than a couple hours without becoming sick to my stomach. I would become extremely lightheaded and feel faint. This has persisted throughout my life. Some doctors told me I just had an erratic blood sugar problem-- sometimes it was too low, sometimes too high. Yet, even when I ate, the food never sat well in my stomach-- there was always pain and bloating, and the usual indigestion. After a little while I would start feeling that sick feeling that usually meant it was time for me to eat again, and the whole process would start over.

I believe people with untreated celiac can experience what they think is profound hunger. Their bodies are telling them to eat because they are not getting the nutrients they need, and can end up malnourished, in spite of the constant eating.

As for me, I kept attributing "symptoms" like this as just part of aging-- gaining the weight around the middle, for example; the thinning hair; the inability to concentrate; irritability. I always thought of the character "Ouizer" played by Shirley MacClaine in the movie "Steel Magnolias." She was such a negative character, but at one point she says in her defense, "I've just been in a very bad mood for 40 years." I felt like that a lot! :)

I found on the website Celiac.com an article by Melissa Croda entitled "Celiac Diease and Obesity: There is a Connection." Croda believes that malabsorption can create hunger pains in people with CD, and believes CD was the reason behind her own problems with obesity:

"When someone with celiac disease eats foods that contain gluten it results in damage to the surface of the small intestine and destruction of their nutrient-absorbing villi. This can lead to leaky gut and an inability for them to absorb vital nutrients from their food."

"With celiac disease, however, the body is unable to absorb the necessary nutrients, which causes some peoples bodies to become a super-efficient machine that begins storing as much fat as possible in order to survive. This nutrient deficiency convinces the body that it is starving to death, which sends it into starvation-mode. Since humans need a certain percentage of body fat reserves to stay alive—and because it takes more work for the body to burn fats than carbohydrates—a body that is in starvation mode tends to crave carbohydrates and more efficiently convert them to fat for later use."

And thinking back to my own family history, I found this statement by Croda of particular interest: "Roughly ten percent of celiacs either have Type I diabetes or might develop Type II diabetes." My mother developed Type II diabetes, as well as one of my sisters. My mother's family also had a history of Type II diabetes.

Once diagnosed, Croda lost over 100 pounds and when asked how she did it, she said "I explained my celiac disease diagnosis and gluten-free diet to them, and how the diet has made me not feel hungry for the first time in my life—due to the fact that I am now absorbing nutrients properly."

Additionally, Croda speaks of six extremely obese people who after talking to her, went to their doctors and were all tested for CD, and surprisingly, all of them were diagnosed with CD! She says, "Immediately after going on the gluten-free diet they all experienced a decrease in hunger and massive weight-loss. For the first time they were eating only when their bodies were truly hungry, instead of eating too much due to starvation signals caused by malabsorption."

There is always the theory that this is why high-protein/low-carb diets tend to work well for a lot people. Maybe they are also gluten-sensitive, and by removing the carbohydrates they happen to be removing a good portion of the gluten as well. Obviously, this is not the answer to dieting, and a high-protein diet is not a healthy long-term alternative for any person, let alone someone with CD.

But it is nice to know that there may be explanations out there other than "behavior" issues or lack of will power. True, eating healthier may put you on the right path, but until the right suspect is brought in for questioning (gluten), the CD patient is going to ultimately feel like the "yo-yo" dieter who gains the weight right back, and then some. It is nice to know there is another answer.