Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine of the body and hinders the absorption of nutrients from food. That is why people with celiac disease cannot tolerate certain things such as gluten which is a protein found in rye, barley, and wheat. Gluten is found in many foods, but can also be found in products such as vitamins, medicine, and lip balm. People who have this disease have to make sure to check every label for ingredients of what they are using or consuming. When people with the disease eat gluten, their immune system hurts or destroys villi (which is a lining in the small intestine). Without villi intact, a person will become malnourished, even if they eat a substantial amount of food. Celiac disease is also goes by titles such as nontropical sprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, and celiac sprue.http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/

Symptoms of having celiac disease include weight loss, vomiting, constipation, chronic diarrhea, fatigue, anemia, depression, arthritis, infertility, or even seizures. Celiac is a fairly common disease as over two million in the United States have the disease.http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/

People who have discovered that they have this disease make an appointment with a dietitian who helps them construct a gluten-free diet plan. For most people, following a gluten-free diet will stop the symptoms.http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/ Once gluten is taken out of the normal diet, then the small intestine will have a chance to heal.http://www.celiac.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=14

A gluten-free diet is a diet excluding gluten-products such as wheat, rye, and barely. Gluten is contained in many products such as bread, cakes, muffins, scones, couscous, bran and some cereals. Some of those products have been created to be gluten-free, but most are not. The gluten-free diet includes foods such as most vegetables like onions, artichokes, asparagus, and dandelions, milk, aged cheeses, 100% meat, cornmeal, rice, soybean, tapioca, butter, and all fruits.http://www.gicare.com/diets/gluten-free.aspx

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact a doctor before using the information presented here.