1. Tip of the Iceberg: Coeliac Disease is Vastly Under Diagnosed
It might seem strange to hear about wheat gluten sensitivity and wheat free, gluten free diets, but for decades coeliac disease, or celiac disease, or celiac sprue as it is called in the U.S., has been under diagnosed because of it's vague symptoms and unassuming presentations. In fact, an estimated 80% of celiacs go undiagnosed. They call it the iceberg problem, because most coeliac disease cases go undiagnosed, just like most of an iceberg is under the water. The only ones we see are the ones "above sea level."
2. Cure Thyself Through Diet
The only treatment for coeliac disease is a life long avoidance of gluten containing foods, such as wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oats and other gluten grains. This diet heals the damage caused to the digestive system and restores the health of the patient by restoring the patient's ability to absorb the nutrients from food. The cilia in the small intestine grabs all those good immune building nutrients and enables the body to utilize them, but the gluten damages these cilia. Once you eliminate the gluten, the damage heals.
3. Coeliac Disease Is the Great Pretender
The symptoms of coeliac disease are very broad and often mimic those of other diseases. This has earned it the ranking of one of the most misdiagnosed of all disorders. Most commonly, this disease presents itself with chronic diarrhea and intestinal pain; but other symptoms, such as the severely itchy skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformus, seizures, weight loss and loss of appetite have also been noted. You may also see an elevation in liver enzymes and a depletion of certain vitamin and mineral levels, such as calcium or vitamin D, in your blood work. This vitamin and mineral deficiency, as well as unexplained weight loss, is an indication of the malabsorption syndrome that commonly comes with the coeliac disease.
4. Get the Facts by Testing
The tests for coeliac disease are fairly simple. There is a blood test to check for certain antibodies that your body develops in response to the gluten allergen. You can have these antibodies, called tissue transglutimase antibodies (tTG), collected in a regular non-fasting blood sample at your local lab. Be aware that certain conditions, such as antibody deficiency, can give you a false negative on these blood tests. There's also another blood test developed to test for the celiac gene, but the most accurate test is still a biopsy of the lining of the small intestine. This actually shows if you have the disease and how far it's progressed. It's important to note that all of these tests should be done while you are still eating a gluten containing diet.
5. It Runs in the Family
It's important to note that celiac disease runs in families. In fact, one in 20 of a person's first-degree relatives and one in 40 of second-degree relatives will also have the disease. For this reason, it's important to get all family members tested.
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