Gluten free diet won’t cure the syndromes but it will help on the reducing  the symptoms.

My symptoms are very pronounced when I have eaten items that have gluten in them.   Gluten does promote inflammation and when inflammation is there that is when the symptoms thrive.

Doing a gluten free diet you will have better days ahead it will reduce the flare ups it has with me.   If you take supplements with oils in them that will help also, like omega’s 3, 6, and 9. I also intake 4 oz of Aloe Vera juice every morning. Flax seed oils are excellent also for the heart and inflammation in the joints it also helps with the lubrication of the dry skin mouth and eyes.  Also I had plugs inserted in my tear ducks to hold the fluid in the eye, it feels like my eyes are swimming.

I eat rice cause that is natural there isn’t anything in it that doesn’t  hurt me.  I stay away from whole wheat products. I eat products with flax seed like breads and cereals and rice breads.

I eat eggs for the protein try to eat farm fresh eggs cause of what they feed chickens in chicken farms, there is gluten in the feed. We will have chickens here shortly and they will be open range fed.

Not much red meat cause that causes bad cholesterol and also promotes inflammation. I try and eat the white meats fish chicken and some pork, they call that the other white meat.

I’m not suppose to eat dairy products because it also does something to promote inflammation, but I can’t give up milk I drink it.

Also “night shade” vegetables like tomatoes there is a list of those look them up on google. Those promote lots of issues too, especially for those who have rheumatoid arthritis.

LOL, most of the time I try not to eat things with Gluten in them but I get so fed up with not being able to eat anything I desire so I slip up most of the time and eat those good tasting foods. I pay for it later. I don’t have celiac just secondary sojgren’s, it effects mostly my joints and I get heavy fatigue, sometimes my stomach acts up when I have had too much I can tell.   Celiac is like a sister to Sojgren’s in relation. That is what I have learned so that is why I feel that following a gluten free diet will be good also for Sojgren’s.

Autoimmune diseases are the same except for the symptoms, sometimes my blood work comes out that I have Lupus, and other times it doesn’t. I just have to be careful not to trigger flare-ups like with the food I eat. Or if there is a lot going in my life not to get overly exhausted.

I know just the other day I had a frozen coffee mix at a restaurant what they mixed with the coffee had gluten in it cause it made me feel I had a hangover, that is what I feel like when I eat products with gluten, if I don’t eat something every 4 hours I become confused and shaky,  just a couple of other symptoms I get.

This is from answering emails that people have sent me I thought it would be useful to post on here.

The Roots of Bluegrass

The various types of music brought with the people who began migrating to America in the early 1600s are considered to be the roots of bluegrass music—including dance music and ballads from Ireland, Scotland and England, as well as African American gospel music and blues. (In fact, slaves from Africa brought the design idea for the banjo–an instrument now integral to the bluegrass sound.)

As the early Jamestown settlers began to spread out into the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky and the Virginias, they composed new songs about day-to-day life experiences in the new land. Since most of these people lived in rural areas, the songs reflected life on the farm or in the hills and this type of music was called “mountain music” or “country music.” The invention of the phonograph and the onset of the radio in the early 1900s brought this old-time music out of the rural Southern mountains to people all over the United States.

Good singing became a more important part of country music. Singing stars like Jimmie Rodgers, family bands like the Carter family from Virginia and duet teams like the Monroe Brothers from Kentucky contributed greatly to the advancement of traditional country music.

The Monroe Brothers were one of the most popular duet teams of the 1920s and into the 1930s. Charlie played the guitar, Bill played the mandolin and they sang duets in harmony. When the brothers split up as a team in 1938, both went on to form their own bands. Since Bill was a native of Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, he decided to call his band “Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys,” and this band sound birthed a new form of country music.

“Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys” first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in 1939 and soon became one of the most popular touring bands out of Nashville’s WSM studios. Bill’s new band was different from other traditional country music bands of the time because of its hard driving and powerful sound, utilizing traditional acoustic instruments and featuring highly distinctive vocal harmonies. This music incorporated songs and rhythms from string band, gospel (black and white), work songs and “shouts” of black laborers, country and blues music repertoires. Vocal selections included duet, trio and quartet harmony singing in addition to Bill’s powerful “high lonesome” solo lead singing. After experimenting with various instrumental combinations, Bill settled on mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and bass as the format for his band. The guitar originally came from Spain. The mandolin, as well as the fiddle and acoustic bass (both from the violin family), originally came from Italy.

While many fans of bluegrass music date the genre back to 1939, when Monroe formed his first Blue Grass Boys band, most believe that the classic bluegrass sound jelled in 1945, shortly after Earl Scruggs, a 21 year old banjo player from North Carolina, joined the band. Scruggs played an innovative three-finger picking style on the banjo that energized enthusiastic audiences, and has since come to be called simply, “Scruggs style” banjo. Equally influential in the classic 1945 line-up of the Blue Grass Boys were Lester Flatt, from Sparta, Tenn. on guitar and lead vocals against Monroe’s tenor; Chubby Wise, from Florida, on fiddle; and Howard Watts, also known by his comedian name, “Cedric Rainwater,” on acoustic bass.

When first Earl Scruggs, and then Lester Flatt left Monroe’s band and eventually formed their own group, The Foggy Mountain Boys, they decided to include the resophonic guitar, or Dobro into their band format. The Dobro is often included in bluegrass band formats today as a result. Burkett H. “Uncle Josh” Graves, from Tellico Plains, Tenn., heard Scruggs’ three-finger style of picking in 1949 and adapted it to the then, almost obscure slide bar instrument. With Flatt & Scruggs from 1955-1969, Graves introduced his widely emulated, driving, bluesy style on the Dobro. The Dobro was invented in the United States by the Dopyera Brothers, immigrant musicians/inventors originally from the Slovak Republic. The brand name, “Dobro,” comes from DOpyera BROthers.

From 1948-1969, Flatt & Scruggs were a major force in introducing bluegrass music to America through national television, at major universities and coliseums, and at schoolhouse appearances in numerous towns. Scruggs wrote and recorded one of bluegrass music’s most famous instrumentals, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” which was used in the soundtrack for the film, Bonnie & Clyde. In 1969 he established an innovative solo career with his three sons as “The Earl Scruggs Revue.” Scruggs still records and performs selected dates in groups that usually include his sons, Randy on guitar and Gary on bass.

After parting with Scruggs in 1969, Lester Flatt continued successfully with his own group, “The Nashville Grass,” performing steadily until shortly before his death in 1979.

By the 1950s, people began referring to this style of music as “bluegrass music.” Bluegrass bands began forming all over the country and Bill Monroe became the acknowledged “Father of Bluegrass Music.

In the 1960s, the concept of the “bluegrass festival” was first introuced, featuring bands that had seemed to be in competition with each other for a relatively limited audience on the same bill at weekend festivals across the country. Carlton Haney, from Reidsville, N.C., is credited with envisioning and producing the first weekend-long bluegrass music festival, held at Fincastle, Va. in 1965.

The increased availability of traditional music recordings, nationwide indoor and outdoor bluegrass festivals and movie, television and commercial soundtracks featuring bluegrass music have aided in bringing this music out of modern day obscurity. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys achieved national prominence with tour sponsorship by Martha White Flour and for playing the soundtrack for the previously mentioned film, Bonnie and Clyde, as well as on a television show called The Beverly Hillbillies. The Deliverance movie soundtrack also featured bluegrass music-in particular, “Dueling Banjos,” performed by Eric Weissberg on banjo and Steve Mandel on guitar. In 2001, the triple platinum selling soundtrack for the Coen Brothers movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? attracted wider audiences for bluegrass and traditional country music.

Bill Monroe passed away on September 9, 1996, four days before his 85th birthday. In May 1997, Bill Monroe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because of the profound influence of his music on the popular music of this country. He is also a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.

Bluegrass music is now performed and enjoyed around the world. The IBMA alone claims members in all 50 states and 30 countries. In addition to the classic style born in 1945 that is still performed widely, bluegrass bands today reflect influences from a variety of sources including traditional and fusion jazz, contemporary country music, Celtic music, rock & roll (“newgrass” or progressive bluegrass), old–time music and Southern gospel music–in addition to lyrics translated to various languages.

All this was located at

http://www.ibma.org/about.bluegrass/history/index.asp

For more information on the history of bluegrass music, visit:
International Bluegrass Music Museum
207 East Second Street
Owensboro, KY 42303
(270) 926-7891
888-MY-BANJO
www.bluegrass-museum.org

For information on individual bluegrass artists, go to Bluegrass Bios at http://www.waynerice.com/bgbios/

Sjogren’s Syndrome and Celiac Disease The relationship between the two.
How Gluten is the root to many of the symptoms in both, I have Sjogren’s and have tested this in my life when I don’t eat the gluten products I feel fine but when I do eat gluten products it produces inflammation in my joints, and it effects my nervous system it even effects my skin and it produces fatigue. I would like to share with you my experience and also what I have done to fight this battle. By researching Celiac disease I have found out about the sojgren’s. It has made me more aware of the similarities what to do and what not to do and it has helped me. The links listed here are places I have been to educate myself about these syndromes. I am hoping that this will educate and help people be aware of where the root is to how they feel and what they eat really does effect the way their body reacts.

Here are some information to start out with and the link follows where you can go read the rest of the story on these subjects.

What Gluten Can Do

Gluten – Not a Friendly Protein

Gluten is a protein found in grains. Research has shown it to be toxic to certain individuals in the grains of wheat, rye, barley, and oats. While gluten is essential for the make-up of these 4 grains, our bodies do not need it. Is it healthful? The protein in today’s wheat is poorly digested and can be harmful. An estimated 95% of prepared foods on the grocery shelves contain the toxic forms of gluten.

Gluten Sensitivity: When Gluten Gets into Our Bloodstream

Gluten Sensitivity is an immune response to gluten that can happen to anyone. This type of response is not inherited like Celiac Disease. Rather, it involves a normal response to the abnormal appearance of gluten in the body.

http://glutenfreeworks.com/gluteninformation.php

National Foundation For Celiac Awareness
http://www.celiaccentral.org/What_is_Celiac_/13/

What is Sjögren’s syndrome?
Sjögren’s syndrome is a disorder of the immune system characterized most often by dry eyes and a dry mouth. Since it is an autoimmune disorder, the body attacks its own cells and tissues. It remains unknown why this happens, but researchers believe that a combination of factors causes something to go wrong with the immune system. These factors may be related to heredity, hormones, a viral or bacterial infection, or the nervous system. In the case of Sjögren’s syndrome, white blood cells called lymphocytes target, attack and damage the moisture-producing glands. This can lead to problems such as difficulty swallowing, dental cavities and vision problems. Sjögren’s syndrome can also result in damage to tissues of the lungs, kidneys and liver.

Sjögren’s syndrome that results from a rheumatic condition is classified as secondary Sjögren’s syndrome. Primary Sjögren’s syndrome occurs by itself.

Although there’s no cure for Sjögren’s syndrome, treatments can relieve many of the symptoms.
The Connection Between Celiac and Sjögren’s:

* Both celiac disease and Sjögren’s syndrome have an autoimmune background and a close association.
* Sjögren’s syndrome had a ten times greater incidence in one study compared to non-celiacs.
* In another study, the prevalence of celiac disease amongst patients with Sjögren’s syndrome has been found to be between 4.5% and 15%.
* According to Patinen et al., the co-occurrence of celiac disease and Sjögren’s syndrome should be recognized because of its effects on dental and oral mucosal health. In their 1994 study, they suggested that a gluten-free diet treatment might alleviate autoimmune inflammation.
* On the basis of their findings, Szodoray et al. recommend screening, follow-up, and regular gastrointestinal care of Sjögren’s syndrome patients to identify celiac disease cases and help them to avoid severe malnutrition and intestinal malignancies.

Signs and symptoms

Sjögren’s syndrome can be difficult to diagnose because the signs and symptoms are similar to those caused by other diseases and can vary from person to person. In addition, the side effects of a number of medications can mimic some signs and symptoms of Sjögren’s syndrome. Still, typical signs and symptoms of Sjögren’s include:

* Dry eyes
* Dry mouth
* Dental cavities
* Fatigue
* Fever
* Enlarged parotid glands – one particular set of your salivary glands, located behind your jaw and in front of your ears
* Difficulty swallowing or chewing
* Change in sense of taste
* Hoarseness
* Oral yeast infections, such as candidiasis
* Irritation and mild bleeding in your nose
* Skin rashes or dry skin
* Vaginal dryness
* Dry cough that doesn’t produce sputum
* Joint pain, swelling and stiffness

Who gets Sjögren’s Sydrome?
Although anyone can develop Sjögren’s syndrome, it typically occurs in people with one or more known risk factors. These include:

* It is common for people who have Sjögren’s syndrome to also have a rheumatic disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma or polymyositis.
* Women are nine times as likely as men are to have Sjögren’s syndrome.
* Sjögren’s syndrome is usually diagnosed in people older than 40.
* Having a family history of Sjögren’s.

Screening and diagnosis
Beyond reviewing your medical history, current medications and diet, the doctor can use various tests to diagnose Sjögren’s syndrome, such as a blood test, tear test, imaging, biopsy, urine sample and a slit-lamp exam.

Please post a comment with any information you may add to this topic so others can benefit from this. My main purpose here is to educate people on what is happening to their systems when they eat certain foods. So many people don’t realize where the main source is coming from when they hurt in their body’s. There may not be cures but we can control the amount of pain by going with certain guidelines in their diets.

Another problem that I am looking for solutions on is bursitis and tendenitis in my shoulder again when I stay away from gluten products the inflammation stays low and I feel low pain.

I received Listening Well vs. Talking Well in my email and I thought it was good enough to pass this on to others.

Listening Well vs. Talking Well
April 28, 2008

Listening well is as powerful a means of communication and
influence as to talk well. — John Marshall

Talking well really means that there is someone on the other end
who is interested enough to listen well to that message. When a
person attends a conference which hosts a speaker and they come
back saying that the speaker was really good – they were simply
interested enough to offer much attention to the speaker and to
what was being said.

We all have different interests. Even those who have no interests
are unique individuals. Only when we begin to think and believe that
we are like everyone else, or not as good as everyone else do we
start to loose our idividuality and thus our own uniqueness and thus
our own point of view and thus our own interests. But in all actuality
each one’s individuality cannot be erased. It remains within the
individual. A permanent mark – the branding of the Lord.

Take a moment to examine the leaves of a tree. No two leaves are
exactly alike. Each one is different from the other in some way – even
if those differences are very small, they are differences none the less.
So each one has a different angle toward the sun, each one is
attached to the branch at a different angle and gets its nutrients
from a different section of the tree. So, just like the leaves we each
have our own interests – areas of concern or of subject that we are
happy to place our attention on and in. Because our attention is
being cast outward from our viewpoint – no two people can cast that
attention from exactly the same spot. Therefore we each have our own
unique vantage point from which we can give attention and interest.

Should many people hear one speaker, we all know that there will be
varying points of view as to how good his message was. Why? Because
we all have our own unique point of view – no two are exactly alike.

The same thing can be said of talking well for it is the speaker who is
listening to himeself, to his heart, mind and soul well that can deliver
a good message. To the degree he can listen well to himself, his
message will be generally a good one. So the bottom line here is…

Listen more – and listen well. Invest your attention wisely for it is
your most valuable asset.

Darren J Smalley – Listening Specialist
“I am here to listen to you.”
Website: Click Here
Skype: darren.j.smalley