Tom was 40 years old when he signed up for Quantify, after struggling for a year with debilitating knee pain that had developed seemingly out of nowhere.
His primary care doctor had diagnosed him with rheumatoid arthritis six months after his symptoms started, when an autoimmune panel showed elevated anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) and rheumatoid factor (RF), indicating that Tom’s immune system was attacking his joints.
An avid long-distance runner, Tom was understandably devastated to get diagnosed with an autoimmune condition that would likely mark the end of his running.
What’s more, his doctor insisted that there was nothing he could do to reverse the condition, and that taking immunosuppressive medication—to mitigate the damage to his joints—was his only option.
Frustrated by his doctor’s lack of interest in helping him to explore a more natural approach, Tom realized he would need to go elsewhere for help.
In his first appointment at Quantify, Tom’s health coach recommended a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) stool analysis and gluten sensitivity test, to test for parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and evaluate intestinal permeability, inflammation, the health of his microbiome, and immune reactivity to gluten, a protein in wheat, barley, and rye.
Test results
His first time conducting a comprehensive evaluation of his health, Tom’s qPCR stool analysis showed increased intestinal permeability (or, more colloquially, leaky gut), which commonly contributes to the development of autoimmune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Providing an additional clue as to what was going on, Tom’s gluten sensitivity test was also abnormal, indicating that while Tom didn’t have celiac disease, he did have a significant sensitivity to gluten, and that his regular consumption of foods containing gluten was likely compromising the integrity of his intestinal barrier, causing leaky gut, immune dysregulation, and, ultimately, his rheumatoid arthritis.
Recovery
Like most Americans, Tom had eaten bread, cereal, pasta, and other gluten-containing foods for his entire life, so to learn that a specific protein in these foods was causing his immune system to go haywire was quite the surprise.
As a runner, he knew that he couldn’t get away with a garbage diet, so he opted for whole wheat options whenever he could, convincing himself that by going whole wheat, he was eating healthy.
His “healthy” diet, however, unfortunately couldn’t have been less healthy for him, given his significant sensitivity to gluten that ultimately led to his autoimmune condition.
Tapping into the extraordinary commitment to his health that he had cultivated over decades as a runner, Tom started following his health coach’s recommendations closely.
He eliminated processed foods, sugar, grains, and dairy from his diet, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, took certain supplements, such as vitamin D3, vitamin K2, and magnesium malate, and started getting to bed on a consistent schedule.
Within a few months, his knees started to feel better.
Within a year, his knee pain was gone, he had picked up biking (now more conscious of his joint health), and a follow-up anti-CCP and RF came back normal, further validating the work he had done to reverse the autoimmune condition that he was told he would have to live with.