Celiac disease (or Coeliac disease outside of North America) is a digestive disease that damages the villi in the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food into your bloodstream.
The disease is caused by Gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. And these 3 proteins are found in an awful lot of foods, especially processed foods, but also many non-food products such as lip balms, toothpaste, vitamins and minerals.
If you have Celiac disease or gluten intolerance then you have to avoid gluten for the rest of your life. It’s tricky, but really not as bad as it sounds especially as the last few years have seen a massive growth in good gluten free food specialists and gluten free alternatives to our favorites. Celiacs now enjoy one of the healthiest and varied diets around.
Below are just a small sample of foods – we are currently working on much much larger lists and will post these to the site in due course.
| FOODS CONTAINING GLUTEN | Gluten Free | ||||
| THE OBVIOUS | THE NOT SO OBVIOUS | ||||
| Bread | Bran and Museli | Sausages | Licorice | Fish | Fruit |
| Cakes | Pie Crust | Soups | Blue Cheeses | Meat | Vegetables |
| Pizza | Bagels | Soy Sauce | Baked Beans | Poultry | Nuts |
| Pancakes | Pasta | Chutneys | Instant Coffee | Fats & Oils | Herbs |
| Cookies | Pretzels | Pickles | Crisps | Rice | Pulses |
| Couscous | Crackers | Mustard | Curry Powder | Potatoes | Coffee |
| Barley Water | Most Processed Food | Cheap Chocolate | Communion Wafers | Eggs | Tea |
| Beer | Salad Dressing | Self Basting Turkeys | Cheese | Milk | |
What are the Symptoms
Well – they vary greatly from person to person but they can be quite bad and include:
- chronic diarrhoea
- vomiting
- abdominal bloating and pain
- constipation
- weight loss
- fatigue
- bone or joint pain
- arthritis
- canker sores inside the mouth
- depression or anxiety
Most sources right now seemed to have settled on the figure of 1 in every 133 people in the United States is likely to have a gluten intolerance.
How Do I Find Out
As many of the symptoms are not digestive, especially in adults then celiac disease may not be the 1st thing that springs to your mind.
At a rate of one in every 133 people though it is worth a visit to your doctors to find out for sure. To be honest, if you are experiencing any of those above symptoms then you should be paying a health professional a visit anyway, and whilst you are there ask them to test you for celiac disease.
Diagnosis involves blood tests, and in most cases a biopsy of the small intestine although fortunately advances in medicine mean that last bit is going to become less and less of a requirement. Celiac disease can also be confused with conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal infections and chronic fatigue syndrome but again, fortunately, advances in science and medicine are ensuring that diagnosis rates are improving.
If you should be avoiding gluten then the longer you leave it before finding out then the greater are your chances of developing long term complications like anemia, osteoporosis, intestinal cancer or liver diseases.
If you don’t have a gluten intolerance then good for you but if you do then it is better to know because with a little understanding and preparation you could very soon be leading a happier and healthier life.
What is Celiac Disease
It is a common genetic disorder. If one of your parents, brothers or sister or child are diagnosed with it then it is thought that there is a 1 in 22 chance that you could have it. It is not uncommon for the disease to 1st come active after serious emotional stress, viral infection, after a surgery or childbirth.
When people with celiac disease consume gluten they damage the villi in their small intestine. Villi are tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine that allow the nutrients from food to be absorbed through the intestine into the bloodstream. By not absorbing vital nutrients you are causing unwanted complications in your body and causing some of those unpleasant symptoms listed above. If you don’t have healthy villi then you can become malnourished, no matter how you eat.
For most people going gluten free will stop the symptoms and improvements will be noticed in the first couple of days. Without the presence of gluten your body will begin to heal your small intestine which means that once again you will be absorbing nutrients into your blood stream.
If you find that you are not seeing the improvements then the likelihood is that you are still absorbing gluten somehow, you are just not aware of it.
What Does It Mean
Quite simply that you must never consume gluten again, ever, period!
A gluten free lifestyle really is the only option.
You have to educate yourself and be careful.
It is not bad as it may first appear, you will have to be careful eating out and you will get accustomed to reading labels but spotting gluten free will soon become second nature. It can be tricky sure, and it can be awkward and quite often a nuisance but it can also be rewarding. Celiacs have one of the healthiest diets on the planet because they eat lots of healthy and natural good stuff and avoid processed foods.
The last few years have seen a massive growth in gluten free awareness and supermarkets now cater handsomely for us. There has been a veritable explosion in the number of specialist gluten free stores and gluten free products and thanks to the wonderful internet, access to all of this is just a few clicks away. You also no longer have to sacrifice your favorites – pizza, cake and beer are now readily available gluten free if you know where to look.
If you have a desire to manage celiac disease through diet and not medication then you need to become gluten free for life – and this means becoming a gluten free pro.