What is Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that’s triggered when you will eat gluten. It’s also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, or gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Gluten is a protein in wheat, barley, rye, and other grains. It’s what makes dough elastic and gives bread its chewy texture. When someone with celiac disease eats something with gluten, their body overreacts to the protein and damages their villi, small finger-like projections found along the wall of their small intestine. When your villi are injured, your small intestine can’t properly absorb nutrients from food. Eventually, this can lead to malnourishment, as well as loss of bone density, miscarriage, infertility or even neurological diseases or certain cancers.
If your celiac disease isn’t better after at least a year without gluten, it’s called refractory or nonresponsive celiac disease. Most people with celiac disease never know that they have it. Researchers think that as few as 20% of people with the disease get the right diagnosis. The damage to your intestine is very slow, and symptoms are so varied that it can take years to get a diagnosis.
Celiac disease symptoms in adults
If you have celiac disease and accidentally eat something with gluten in it, you may have symptoms including:
Abdominal pain
Anemia
Bloating or a feeling of fullness
Bone or joint pain
Constipation
Diarrhea
Gas
Heartburn
Itchy, blistery rash (doctors call this dermatitis herpetiformis)
Headaches or fatigue
Mouth ulcers
Nausea
Nervous system injury, including numb or tingling hands or feet, balance problems or changes in awareness
Poop that’s pale, smells especially bad, or floats (steatorrhea)
Weight loss
Celiac disease can also cause a loss of bone density and reduced spleen function (hyposplenism).
Celiac disease symptoms in children
Children with celiac disease are more likely to have intestinal problems, including:
Bloating or belly swelling
Constipation
Diarrhea
Pale, foul-smelling poop
Upset stomach or vomiting
Weightloss
If celiac disease keeps a child’s body from absorbing the nutrients they need, they can have problems including:
Anemia
Damaged tooth enamel
Delayed puberty
Failure to thrive, in infants
Crankiness or mood changes
Neurological problems like learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Slow growth and short height
Not everyone with celiac disease will have these symptoms. Some people don’t notice any problems, which can make diagnosis difficult.
Celiac Disease Causes and Risk Factors
Research hasn’t found a definite cause of celiac disease. It tends to run in families and might be linked to certain genes. Stressful medical events such as a viral infection or surgery can trigger it. So, can emotional trauma or pregnancy. If one of your close family members has it, like a parent or sibling, you have a 1 in 10 chance of getting celiac disease. The disease is most common among Caucasians and people who have other diseases, including:
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Type1 diabetes
Addison’s disease
Down syndrome
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Turner syndrome (a condition in which a female is missing an X chromosome)
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Autoimmune hepatitis
Sjogren’s syndrome
Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy
IgA nephropathy
Lupus
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Chronic pancreatitis
Psoriasis
Scleroderma
Williams syndrome
Primary biliary cirrhosis
Lactose intolerance
Intestinal lymphoma
Intestinal cancer
Celiac Disease Complications
Celiac disease can be dangerous if you don’t get treatment. Complications may include:
Cancer, including intestinal lymphoma and small bowel cancer
Damaged tooth enamel
Infertility and miscarriage
Lactose Intolerance
Malnutrition
Nervous system problems like seizures or pain and numbness in your hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy)
Pancreatic disease
Weak bones
Celiac Management
The only way to treat celiac disease is to permanently remove gluten from your diet. This allows the intestinal villi to heal and to begin absorbing nutrients properly. Your doctor will teach you how to avoid gluten while following a nutritious and healthy diet. They will also give you instructions on how to read food and product labels so you can identify any ingredients that contain gluten. Symptoms can improve within days of removing gluten from the diet. However, you shouldn’t stop eating gluten until a diagnosis is made. Removing gluten prematurely may interfere with test results and lead to an inaccurate diagnosis.
Food precautions for people with celiac disease
Maintaining a gluten-free diet isn’t easy. Fortunately, many companies are now making gluten-free products, which can be found at various grocery stores and specialty food stores. The labels on these products will say “gluten-free.”
If you have celiac disease, it is important to know which foods are safe. Here is a series of food guidelines that can help you determine what to eat and what to avoid.
Avoid the following ingredients:
wheat
spelt
rye
barley
triticale
bulgur
durum
farina
graham flour
semolina
Avoid unless the label says gluten-free:
beer
bread
cakes and pies
candy
cereals
cookies
crackers
croutons
gravies
imitation meats or seafood
oats
pasta
processed lunch meats, sausages, and hot dogs
salad dressings
sauces (includes soy sauce)
self-basting poultry
soups
You can eat these gluten-free grains and starches:
buckwheat
corn
amaranth
arrowroot
cornmeal
flour made from rice, soy, corn, potatoes, or beans
pure corn tortillas
quinoa
rice
tapioca
Healthy, gluten-free foods include:
fresh meats, fish, and poultry that haven’t been breaded, coated, or marinated
fruit
most dairy products
starchy vegetables like peas, potatoes, including sweet potatoes, and corn
rice, beans, and lentils
vegetables
wine, distilled liquors, ciders, and spirits
Your symptoms should improve within days to weeks of making these dietary adjustments. In children, the intestine usually heals in three to six months. Intestinal healing may take several years in adults. Once the intestine completely heals, the body will be able to absorb nutrients properly.
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