It's Celiac Awareness Month

All you hear about these days is "I'm on a gluten free diet." Since it's Celiac awareness month, I thought it might be a good time to really find out what Celiac disease is, and why has it become so widespread. Below I have listed some information about the disease, and what the symptoms are. Many people on a gluten free diet feel they have an intolerance for gluten, so they stay away from wheat. I ran into an old friend of mine the other day. I commented on her 23 pound weight loss (which she did not need to lose)and she told me she was diagnosed with Celiac disease. Now that she has the disease under control, she still has a terrible time gaining weight. She did, however, tell me, that as soon as she started the gluten free diet, she was feeling great within a few days! And she'd been suffering for decades.

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms.

When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi—the tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine. Villi normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats.

Celiac disease is both a disease of malabsorption—meaning nutrients are not absorbed properly—and an abnormal immune reaction to gluten. Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease is genetic, meaning it runs in families. Sometimes the disease is triggered—or becomes active for the first time—after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress.

What are the symptoms of celiac disease?

Symptoms of celiac disease vary from person to person. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system or in other parts of the body. Digestive symptoms are more common in infants and young children and may include

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abdominal bloating and pain

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chronic diarrhea

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vomiting

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constipation

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pale, foul-smelling, or fatty stool

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weight loss

Irritability is another common symptom in children. Malabsorption of nutrients during the years when nutrition is critical to a child's normal growth and development can result in other problems such as failure to thrive in infants, delayed growth and short stature, delayed puberty, and dental enamel defects of the permanent teeth.

Adults are less likely to have digestive symptoms and may instead have one or more of the following:

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unexplained iron-deficiency anemia

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fatigue

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bone or joint pain

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arthritis

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bone loss or osteoporosis

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depression or anxiety

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tingling numbness in the hands and feet

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seizures

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missed menstrual periods

•infertility or recurrent miscarriage

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canker sores inside the mouth

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an itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis

People with celiac disease may have no symptoms but can still develop complications of the disease over time. Long-term complications include malnutrition—which can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, and miscarriage, among other problems—liver diseases, and cancers of the intestine.

About 1% of the population has Celiac disease, but alarmingly, 83% of the cases are undiagnosed. At the moment, the only treatment for Celiac disease is a 100% gluten free diet. If you go to the NFCA (National Foundation of Celiac Disease) website, you can find a 7 day gluten free menu. It's hard to stay on any restrictive diet, but restaurants and food manufacturers are making it easier today. You can easily dine on gluten free pasta and bread when you're out, and many health oriented food makers are going gluten free. Try Evol frozen burritos, bowls, wraps, and breakfast sandwiches for some great gluten free alternatives.