Jan 06 2009
Steve Jobs – Celiac disease?
Yesterday, Steve Jobs (Apple, Inc. CEO) posted a letter on apple.com about his recent weight loss. In his letter, Steve stated that there is “a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy.” He went on to say that “sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.”
Here are pics of Mr. Jobs after and before his weight loss:
Image courtesy Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
My guess: Steve Jobs has Celiac disease. The effects of Celiac disease are that villi in the intenstine are unable to absorb nutrients. This happens when a person with Celiac disease has gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye (some doctors may also recommend avoiding oats and other grains). There is no cure, though the effects can be reversed simply by avoiding foods with gluten in them.
If Mr. Jobs does have Celiac disease, he would be able to get back to a “normal” weight simply by avoiding bread, cereal, certain sauces, and other products that contain wheat, barley, and rye. My guess is that he would get back to his usual weight by late spring, just like the letter says.
Disclaimer: this is pure speculation on my part, and this is only my opinion based on my limited knowledge of celiac disease. I am not a doctor of any sort, and I am not disclosing any private information about Mr. Jobs’ health.
This is the most credible assumption that I have heard. Great job connecting the dots!
I have Celiac Disease, and this was my first thought as well (I actually found your blog doing a google search on ‘ “steve jobs” +celiac ‘. It (celiac disease) is by no means rare (1 in 133 are assumed to have it), but is grossly under diagnosed.
I am hoping this is what he has for two reasons: 1. CD needs someone high profile to ‘come out’ to raise awareness (Elizabeth Hasslebeck is the best we have so far — better than nothing but a little too polarizing for me), and 2. for steve’s sake, the negative effects are reversible and it’s a relatively simple solution if this is what he has: follow a gluten free diet (significant life change if you’re an average joe, but I’d say no sweat if you can afford a personal chef). So I guess I’m part selfish and part looking out for SJ.
Kudos, JT. Good detective work. Here’s hoping we’re correct.
Thanks for the comment EV. Though maybe our theory is wrong? As announced 2 days ago, Steve is taking a leave of absence:
http://news.cnet.com/steve-jobs-taking-medical-leave-of-absence/?tag=mncol;txt
This would indicate his problem is something more serious than Celiac disease. We’ll see what happens. I’m hoping everything turns out OK…Steve seems like a great guy.
Unfortunately, it is not always true that he would be able to get back to a “normal” weight simply by avoiding bread, cereal, certain sauces, and other products that contain wheat, barley, and rye. It is possible to be a celiac disease patient who has started on a gluten free diet but has persistent or recurrent symptons despite self-declared adherence to a gluten free diet. This condition is called Refractory Celiac Disease and is sometimes treated with steroids and immunosuppressives. A further related complication which can develop is Enteropathy Associated T-Cell Lymphoma (EATL). Once EATL occurs the outlook is grim.