Facial Tics and Vitamins & Minerals

Ever wonder what causes some people to have such severe facial tics? To be honest, I really never gave it a thought and categorized it somewhere between "weird" and "unfortunate" --until my middle son developed one. I had noticed that over several months, he had started winking his eye, more notably on one side. This "wink" eventually graduated to include more and more of his face. One night at the dinner table he was telling me a story about something that happened at school that day, and I thought that the facial expressions were part of the story. So I laughed. And he looked at me and said, "Why are you laughing?" Well, I thought I was supposed to, but I immediately stopped and asked him if he was winking at me on purpose. His face became very serious and he replied that, no, in fact he wasn't winking and that some other kids had asked him the same thing. Uh oh, I knew we had a problem. I should also insert here that at this time my son was also experiencing "Celiac type" symptoms but was undiagnosed. Being a certified herbalist, I knew that one of several things could cause this kind of facial ticking: a lack of vitamins & minerals.

Most of us, no matter our health status, do not have enough vitamins & minerals, especially since we are almost all part of the adrenal craze with having too much stress, caffeine, and energy drinks. In addition, medications, nursing, poor diets, food intoleraces, sensitivities and allergies, and just plain aging assist our bodies in depleting mineral stores as well. Further, Phytates, a type of acid found in the hulls of nuts, seeds, and grains bind with minerals and reduce absorption of them in the body. In other words, the very things we think are healthy like whole wheat and other whole grain foods can actually decrease the minerals in our bodies. Knudsen E, Sandström B, Solgaard P. Finally, milk, thought to be an all-american-calcium-must-have-3-glasses-a-day drink also has been proven to reduce mineral levels in the body according to a Harvard study ( Lunar Osteoporosis Update (November 1997) and many others including the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 1993, that have been around for years.

My son began a supplement program including a B-Complex, Probiotic, and Calcium, and his ticking almost disappeared within a week. Because I assumed his body's stored B's were being eaten up by the stress of school leaving him depleted, I stopped giving him the B-Complex when school let out for the summer. A couple of weeks later, however, the tic was back and I once again gave him the B's. Althought they did seem to keep the tics somewhat under control, but did not completely heal the problem, I was perplexed as to why he would be depleted in vitamins and minerals since we had a "healthy" lifestyle. It would be two more years before we realized he was suffering from a Celiac Disease that was slowly wasting away his body. Left undiagnosed Celiac Disease causes malabsorption, an inability to absorb nutrition in the small intestine, and causes damage to the intestinal wall. Even the vitamin/mineral supplements I gave him were having a hard time being absorbed, which is why they helped but didn't eradicate the tics and other issues he was beginning to have. Once he was diagnosed and the gluten was eliminated from his diet, the malabsorption reversed and the tic and other issues disappeared. He has also gained 15 pounds, 2 jean sizes, and 2.5 sizes in shoes. We plan on having him tested again to make sure his malabsorption is back down and staying within normal rages.

People who suffer from Celiac Disease, a gluten intolerance, or sensitivity, whether they are mal absorbed or not, will need to be supplemented their entire lives. The most important supplements I have been able to find through my research in overcoming the effects of food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances are: Calcium Magnesium, B-Complex, Probiotics, and Digestive Enzymes. Interestingly, Probiotics aid the body in making minerals more soluable, especially where Phytates are concerned (Famularo G, De Simone C, Pandey V, Sahu AR, Minisola G). There are others that are helpful as well, but these are non-negotiable when dealing with a food allergy, sensitvity, or intolerance to something like gluten. If you would like further information, let me know!


This article in no way seeks to diagnose or treat any health problems.