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The Benefits Of Gluten-Free Diets

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For the majority of my life I have had a sensitive stomach, suffering from pain for no reason. Some things always triggered my pain, for example spicy, fatty foods, or completely random items, such as root beer or pineapple. I quickly learned boundaries regarding food, as well as activities. Rigorous, abdominal focused exercise caused me great discomfort. However, it wasn’t until age 14 that I reached my peak, crippled with debilitating abdominal pain, lasting about two hours each day, bedridden for hours. Petrified, my parents took me to the local clinic where I underwent numerous blood tests and an ultrasound. However, due to the lack of resources, I was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. There, I did more blood …show more content…

Although pain associated with eating is not part of the major symptoms of FAPS, many patients experience greater pain with food consumption. Patients often try a nondairy or gluten-free diet prior to being diagnosed with FAPS, and some continue post diagnosis as well. However, a recent review concluded there is no substantial evidence that a dairy-free diet is beneficial. Similarly, studies show that gluten-free diets do not play a major role in FAP symptoms, and more research is needed before this diet can be recommended to FAPS patients (Tilburg and Felix 144). The last type of diet patients try is FODMAPs, which stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. Essentially, this includes the sugars found in wheat, milk, legumes, sugar-free mints, and apples that are poorly absorbed in the GI system. However, not all FODMAPs trigger symptoms and they vary from patient to patient. This option has a much higher success rate in adults, but more research is needed to prove success in children (Tilburg and Felix 144). While exploring my treatment options, I was given FODMAP information by my doctor, but after looking at the list of foods and remembering I am a picky eater, I decided to not try this diet. Instead, I focused on eliminated the majority of trigger foods in my …show more content…

Numerous other forms of non-pharmacological treatment exist, but require more research in order to gain acceptance in the medical community. These treatments include, but are not limited to, herbal medicine and acceptance based therapy. Researchers Rao Liu and Ning Wang studied the use of Chinese herbal medicine, and found limited results due to the lack of clinical studies and basic research regarding Chinese herbal medicine (7). Lastly, a study was conducted to test the effectiveness of acceptance based therapy in young children with functional abdominal pain. Instead of using distraction as a pain management technique, children were encouraged to express their pain, in hopes of children being able to better differentiate pain from other sensations (Zucker, Nancy, et al 201). However, there is a need for more rigorous trials to further develop this research. Functional abdominal pain has vast treatment variety, but lacks the trials and evidence to

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