A Commonly Undiagnosed Health Issue: Celiac Disease

by Christine David, B.A. Nutrition Educator |

This quote is probably more relevant today than when it was written. Most diseases of modern civilization could be prevented or greatly improved by our food choices. The choice of which foods to eat and which not to eat is vitally important for the many people who have a surprisingly common disease that is treated by diet and diet alone.

Do you or someone you know have any of the following symptoms or health conditions?

Possible Symptoms:

• Extremely dry skin
• Recurring abdominal pain,
• bloating, or gas
• Frequent diarrhea or
• constipation, or both
• Bone or joint pain
• Behavioral changes like
• irritability or depression
• Fatigue, weakness, or lack
• of energy
• Missed menstrual periods
• Female and Male infertility
• Spontaneous miscarriages
• Unexplained or chronic anemia
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Unexplained weight loss or gain
• Pale, foul smelling stools
• Failure to thrive in infants
• Delayed growth or onset
• of puberty
• Tooth discoloration or loss
• of enamel
• Canker sores in the mouth

Associated Health Conditions:

• Type 1 Diabetes
• Thyroid Disease
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• IBS
• Eczema
• Osteoporosis
• Peripheral Neuropathy
• Sjogren’s Syndrome
• Dermatitis Herpetiformis

It is likely that many of you will see yourselves as having some of these symptoms or conditions. For some people these symptoms can point to a little known and widely undiagnosed disease. Usually, people with this disease suffer for many years, going from doctor to doctor, hoping and trying to figure out what is “wrong” with them. This is a life altering and life threatening disease if left untreated. What misunderstood disease are we talking about? Celiac Disease.

Have you heard of it? Many people have not heard of it, but they probably should. Celiac Disease affects 1 out of 100 people, about 3 million Americans. It is nearly as common as Type 1 Diabetes and twice as common as Crohn’s Disease, Ulceric Colitis, and Cystic Fibrosis combined. Current estimates show that only about 3 percent of people with Celiac Disease have been diagnosed, leaving many people suffering with frustrating symptoms, complications and misdiagnoses.

According to The Mayo Clinic, “Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. If you have celiac disease and eat foods containing gluten, an immune reaction occurs in your small intestine, causing damage to the surface of your small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients.

Eventually, the decreased absorption of nutrients (malabsorption) that occurs with celiac disease can cause vitamin deficiencies that deprive your brain, peripheral nervous system, bones, liver and other organs of vital nourishment. This can lead to other illnesses and stunted growth in children.”

If you suspect that you or someone you care about may have Celiac Disease they should continue to eat their usual diet until after the diagnosis is made. If a person stops eating foods with gluten before being tested, the test results may be negative even if Celiac Disease is present.
People who have Celiac Disease have higher than usual levels of certain autoantibodies in their blood so doctors will test for high levels of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) or anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA). Sometimes these tests are inconclusive but if Celiac Disease is still suspected, there are further blood tests that can be done to help in the diagnosis.

Once a person is diagnosed, treatments include making a change in the person’s diet to exclude all foods with gluten. Gluten is a common name for the proteins found in certain grains than are harmful to people with Celiac Disease. These harmful grains include any form of wheat (including kamut, einkorn, faro, spelt, semolina, and durum) as well as rye, barley, triticale, and regular oats (specially processed gluten free oats are tolerated by some people) must be eliminated from the celiac’s (a person with Celiac Disease) diet permanently.

What can they eat? A celiac can eat any food that does not contain gluten and was not processed or cooked in a way where is has been contaminated by gluten. The typical celiac’s diet often contains a wider variety of foods and is more nutrient dense than the typical American diet.

Often, people diagnosed with Celiac Disease take one of two paths. One pathway is to see oneself as being deprived of the foods and social aspects of food that the “others” around are enjoying, and thus become a victim of their disease. The second pathway is to see all of the different options, new ways of doing things, discovering new tastes and being grateful for such a simple cure to their disease.

I have walked both of those paths after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2006. In the coming months, I will be sharing my story and journey of living with this disease and finding my pathway towards health and wellbeing.

References:

1. Celiac Disease Foundation Website www.celiac.org
2. University of Maryland Celiac Center www.celiaccenter.org
3. Mayo Clinic
4.  Celiac Sprue Association www.csaceliacs.org
5. www.wisegeek.com

Christine David enjoys living a Gluten-free life in Minnesota. She can be reached at (952) 484-5936.