Celiac Education

Because I've received numerous emails as of late asking me about Celiac Disease, I thought I'd give a very mini-edu. course here.

According to the book: Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic, "Celiac disease is a multisystem disorder whose primary target is the small intestine. The disease is triggered by gluten, the main storage protein found in certain grains." It is mainly found in wheat, barley and rye. It goes on to say, " Gluten damages the small intestines so that they are unable to absorb nutrients properly. As this continues, manifestations inevitably begin to become more varied and complex. Celiac disease is the most common-and one of the most underdiagnosed-heredidatry autoimmune conditions in the United States. It is as common as hereditary high cholesterol."

Now, here is the part that I think creates the angst in the doctor's office. What I mean by this is that it was years before anyone even thought to test for this disease. "Once considered a rare disease of childhood, celiac disease is now recognized predominantly as a disease of adults and the majority are either asymptomatic or consult doctors for a variety of complaints. While the disease is considered common in Europe, South America, Cananda and Austraila-only recently have studies shown that celiac disease affects approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population. (about 1 in every 100 people) and as many as 97% of those are undiagnosed."

So what? you may say. If I'm asymtomatic or if a bit of Tylenol, etc.. will control my symptoms, why would I radically change my life by giving up......gasp!!!....all wheat products. Pizza, spaghetti, bread, pancakes, brownies, cake, etc.... You get the picture.

Well, here's the catch: "As the disease progresses undiagnosed, problems develop from chronic inflammation and malabsorbption of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients. A delay in diagnosis also greatly increases your chances of developing related autoimmune diseases.

Osteopenia, osteoporosis, Anemia, malignancies, peripheral neurapathies (numb or tingling in extremities) and infertility are secondary conditions associated with the disease. Patients with Celiac Disease are also frequently seen with Sjogren's syndrome, type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroid disease, dematitis herpetiformis." Folks with Celiac Disease (untreated) have a much higher incidence of intestinal cancer, esophageal cancer, non-hodgkins lymphoma and thyroid cancer.

"Celiac disease is a huge iceberg, moving not so silently, across many of our lives."

Celiac disease can be diagnosed by a blood test and confimed by an intestinal biopsy. Or, you can lay off gluten (easier said than done, I admit) and see if you feel significanly better. You really need to stay off of the gluten for about 3 months though before deciding. If you are planning to be tested for Celiac disease do not go "gluten-free" before the test as the blood test is looking for antibodies to gluten. You can Google Celiac disease and come up with some great sites with more information. And thankfully, local grocery stores are making it easier to eat gluten free by providing substitutes of favorites like homemade bread and brownies. Those substitutes aren't any healthier than their gluten-filled mates, so the best thing to do is eat fresh or frozen veggies, lean meats and fish, brown rice, and yogurts, cheeses, etc... And save the gluten-free brownies for a very occasional treat.