"You can't have beer? That's just sad!"

My apologies to my three readers for my two week hiatus. Between prepping for the holidays and doctor visits, I'm a bit behind on quite a few things. Two updates today - one for educational purposes, and one so delicious you might drool on your keyboard (note - by reading the second post, the audience agrees to release me from any liability for water damage to your computer).

When you find out you have Celiac (and even when you've known for two months), it's only natural to be a little (or a lot) sad. You have a chronic autoimmune disorder that has completely thrown your life into upheaval and can lead to all sorts of other problems, and, on top of that, you can't even sit down to a bowl (or a tub) of cookie dough ice cream to fix that. But I found out the other day that there's actually more to it. Celiac's physical effects can make you sad without you even having to think about a future devoid of greasy take-out Chinese.

According to my doctor (as well as this article), one of the substances in our bodies that helps us produce serotonin (the "happy" chemical) is folic acid. I don't know about you, but generally when I hear folic acid, I think pregnant women, not mental health. But lower levels of folic acid can mean decreased serotonin, and in turn can lead to depression.

So what does that have to do with Celiac? Well, every time someone with Celiac eats gluten, it damages the villi in the intestine that help absorb nutrients (as we've previously discussed). Which means that they're not absorbing as much folic acid as would a person without that damage.

My doctor put me on Deplin - a prescription strength dose of folic acid. If you're having issues with depression, you may want to ask your doctor about adding a supplement as well. Remember - your gut affects everything, and that includes your mental health. Getting well means taking care of your whole self. Now, go read the next post. If the thought of that meal doesn't make you happy, I don't know what will.