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Gut Instincts: Dispatches from the Wide Open Space Between Sickness and Health
In 2000, Heather Abel, a journalist and grad student, awoke from sedation at NYU Hospital to find three doctors standing over her bed. They told her that she had the worst case they’d ever seen of a rare Scandinavian disease called celiac. At first, this diagnosis – and its requirement of total adherence to a gluten-free diet – seemed like the simple answer to a lifetime of strange symptoms including anemia, insomnia, pneumonia, mouth ulcers, missed periods, and neck pain so severe that for months preceding the diagnosis she hadn’t been able to turn her head.
But even on the diet – and as glutenphobia erupted in this country, with nearly a third of Americans avoiding gluten —Abel still didn’t feel well. When doctors, nutritionists, and websites all offered contradicting information on gluten and diet, she began to panic. How would she know what to eat?
In this powerful, wide-ranging and emotional story about the limits of medical knowledge, Abel discovers why she wasn’t diagnosed with celiac as a child. She considers how environmental fears and Internet anecdotes lead people to avoid gluten. And she grapples with the question that confronts us all: how to live calmly, even joyfully, in the face of uncertainty.
Heather Abel worked as a reporter and news editor in Colorado and San Francisco and taught creative writing at the New School University and UMass Amherst. She lives with her family in western Massachusetts where she is finishing her first novel.
But even on the diet – and as glutenphobia erupted in this country, with nearly a third of Americans avoiding gluten —Abel still didn’t feel well. When doctors, nutritionists, and websites all offered contradicting information on gluten and diet, she began to panic. How would she know what to eat?
In this powerful, wide-ranging and emotional story about the limits of medical knowledge, Abel discovers why she wasn’t diagnosed with celiac as a child. She considers how environmental fears and Internet anecdotes lead people to avoid gluten. And she grapples with the question that confronts us all: how to live calmly, even joyfully, in the face of uncertainty.
Heather Abel worked as a reporter and news editor in Colorado and San Francisco and taught creative writing at the New School University and UMass Amherst. She lives with her family in western Massachusetts where she is finishing her first novel.
39 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 19, 2018
A good reference for those with celiac disease or gluten sensitivities. It thought it a bit winy and short-sighted but I’ve never grappled with celiacs.
September 22, 2017
Meh...this book has alot of potential and I can tell that the reader has been fed up with her lack of validation for her crippling illness, but the story is not well developed, and feels like a pity party. While gastrointestinal issues are becoming more and more commonplace especially in the US this just was an unsatisfying anecdotal tale of the author's entire life, without much detail where there needed to be. Alot of breadth not much depth, in this sort of "woe is me" with my mysterious/not-so-mysterious illness.
January 5, 2015
Trust your gut?
Heather Abel was diagnosed with the worst case of celiac disease ever seen by her doctors, and embarked on a quest to not only understand her condition but to find a cure. In this journey, she learned that there are a lot of hucksters selling snake oil cures based on neither science or empirical evidence and she also learned that while there is now a lot of evidence based science on the subject, what works for one person may or may not work for someone else.
This short piece is a must read for anyone suffering from an autoimmune condition. It sheds insight into what can happen when someone "becomes their disease," and how all-encompassing and ultimately isolating that can be. Most importantly, Ms. Abel's gut instincts caution us to pay attention to what our gut, literally and figuratively, tells us about our own bodies, and to be wary of cures that seem either too good to be true or too strange to be effective. The book is well written and moves quickly. For such a short piece, it sheds remarkable insight into the author's family history and dynamics.
Heather Abel was diagnosed with the worst case of celiac disease ever seen by her doctors, and embarked on a quest to not only understand her condition but to find a cure. In this journey, she learned that there are a lot of hucksters selling snake oil cures based on neither science or empirical evidence and she also learned that while there is now a lot of evidence based science on the subject, what works for one person may or may not work for someone else.
This short piece is a must read for anyone suffering from an autoimmune condition. It sheds insight into what can happen when someone "becomes their disease," and how all-encompassing and ultimately isolating that can be. Most importantly, Ms. Abel's gut instincts caution us to pay attention to what our gut, literally and figuratively, tells us about our own bodies, and to be wary of cures that seem either too good to be true or too strange to be effective. The book is well written and moves quickly. For such a short piece, it sheds remarkable insight into the author's family history and dynamics.
August 17, 2020
Celiac vs Gluten
It’s an interesting read for anyone that has ongoing health issues. It’s not so much an answer, but a journal sharing that there are others struggling to find answers that doctors aren’t giving.
It’s an interesting read for anyone that has ongoing health issues. It’s not so much an answer, but a journal sharing that there are others struggling to find answers that doctors aren’t giving.
September 6, 2017
A very Good read. My mother has celiacs disease so interesting to see a different perspective. The long journey to get a diagnosis then finally getting answers.
February 1, 2022
Bodily anxiety and the quest for immortal health is a bazillion-dollar industry.
There, now you don't have to read this.
There, now you don't have to read this.
January 4, 2017
Emotional & Informative
As I read I felt as though she were sitting with me sharing her troubles and triumphs. Lots of sources to reference and explore.
As I read I felt as though she were sitting with me sharing her troubles and triumphs. Lots of sources to reference and explore.
December 27, 2017
Gluten. SMGDH. This short read is the author's experience on being diagnosed with Celiac disease (even after it disappeared from America) and the rise of "gluten intolerance". It's an interesting read that makes you question what our collective diet is all about -- and does it really need to be so gluten heavy? However, it also seems like this is the author's attempt to get a book deal.
January 5, 2015
Medical Mysteries
An enlightening look a serious medical condition that still has not found the etiology of celiac disease or the proper treatment. I is frustrating that celiac disease affects so many people with a wide variety of awful side affects. This is a familiar story for those who suffer from fibromyalgia, a syndrome also with multiple medical problems. I have fibromyalgia thirty years and have experience the same difficulties with the medical community. Doctors won't admit they don't know the answers so they give their best guess or state it is all in your head. Research is a slow process and not enough research is being done. This was a very informative read and written in a level of comprehension that most people can understand. Not only informative but also proactive message to the medical community that research needs to done in this area.
An enlightening look a serious medical condition that still has not found the etiology of celiac disease or the proper treatment. I is frustrating that celiac disease affects so many people with a wide variety of awful side affects. This is a familiar story for those who suffer from fibromyalgia, a syndrome also with multiple medical problems. I have fibromyalgia thirty years and have experience the same difficulties with the medical community. Doctors won't admit they don't know the answers so they give their best guess or state it is all in your head. Research is a slow process and not enough research is being done. This was a very informative read and written in a level of comprehension that most people can understand. Not only informative but also proactive message to the medical community that research needs to done in this area.
January 3, 2017
Not really sure of the point of this book. It took thirty-nine pages to repeat that science has limits, something that is obvious. Furthermore, it chafes against the amount of random hopeful/cynical information available then admits at the end to adding to the cacophony. Perhaps there is a point that isn't very well expressed, that is only touched on, that we're obsessed about our bodies and abuse ourselves in an effort to stop abusing it?
Some actual information--what we do know about celiac disease--might have served as an antidote to the problems with the text.
Some actual information--what we do know about celiac disease--might have served as an antidote to the problems with the text.
February 27, 2015
Read in one sitting, way too late at night. at least 40% of the ebook virtually highlighted as I exclaimed to my half-sleeping partner, "omg and listen to this. same thing. remember?," paralleling my own experiences with celiac disease, chronic illness, and my obsession with finding answers that don't exist with those of the eloquent author. love this read.
January 2, 2016
Rather disappointed. This piece was not particularly well-written; nor can I determine the author's actual opinion of the CAM philosophy she seems to (at least, initially) aspire towards.
The piece's redemptive quality: its short length. That allowed me to complete the read without wasting a significant amount of time.
The piece's redemptive quality: its short length. That allowed me to complete the read without wasting a significant amount of time.
January 4, 2015
If you live with any type of chronic conditions, the story here may seem familiar to you. One woman's journey to find answers and better health, which illustrates the many things the U.S. Medical system gets wrong. The author is often eloquent in the face of her adversity.
January 2, 2015
Interesting
But in the end, unsatisfying, much like the author's own journey. It did make me consider my own food choices.
But in the end, unsatisfying, much like the author's own journey. It did make me consider my own food choices.
January 4, 2015
Quick n informative
Quick and informative. Was a great read and I learned a lot in the short amount of time that it took to read. It's a must read
Quick and informative. Was a great read and I learned a lot in the short amount of time that it took to read. It's a must read
January 6, 2015
Very eye opening and reality-based. No miracle anecdotes but a real account of an autoimmune/intestinal disorder. I have had similar issues with Ulcerative Colitis. Good stuff and a quick read.
July 9, 2016
Writing was good, but, overall, this essay was a bit too negative for me.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews