Celiac disease is a digestive disease characterized by intestinal inflammation which interferes with nutritional absorption. When you have celiac disease, you are unable to tolerate a protein called gluten that is present in wheat, barley and rye. Wheat gluten is found in many food products, vitamin supplements and cosmetics. A special gluten-free diet is required to reduce your symptoms and improve your health. Consult your doctor about celiac disease and wheat intolerance.
Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is a condition that involves both malabsorption and immune sensitivity to gluten. When you have celiac disease and eat products containing wheat, your immune system responds by damaging or destroying intestinal cells called villi that line the interior of your small intestine. Villi are cells that enable nutrients to be absorbed from foods into your body. Malabsorption from damaged villi leads to malnutrition. Celiac disease is a genetic disorder that runs in families and may first become apparent after you incur a viral infection, undergo surgery or emotional stress or become pregnant. Symptoms may differ by person, but the most common include abdominal bloating, diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss. If left untreated, celiac disease can increase the risk of anemia, arthritis, osteoporosis, seizures, depression, infertility and intestinal cancer.
Size
Celiac disease is a common but often neglected disease in the United States, according to scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and published in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" in February 2003. The scientists estimate 1 in 133 people in the United States have celiac disease and that 1 in 22 people with a family member with celiac disease have the disorder. Celiac disease is more common among people with Turner syndrome, Down syndrome and other genetic disorders.
Wheat Intolerance
Wheat intolerance and celiac disease are not the same as a wheat allergy. Wheat intolerance is a non-allergic negative reaction to eating wheat. Wheat allergy is an allergic reaction to foods that contain wheat. Celiac disease involves a wheat intolerance to only one protein, gluten, which causes an abnormal immune reaction in the small intestines, whereas a wheat allergy generates an antibody to one or more proteins found in wheat. A wheat intolerance is not as severe as a wheat allergy, yet can be much harder to diagnose because the symptoms take much longer to manifest.
Gluten-Free Diet
A gluten-free diet is the treatment protocol when you have celiac disease. Avoid foods that contains or are prepared in the same facility with wheat, barley and rye. The most common types of foods that contain wheat include products with durham, semolina, bulgar, triticale, spelt and Graham flour. Eat a well-balanced diet with non-wheat products including fruits and vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, potatoes, rice, quinoa and gluten-free packaged products. Foods with prebiotic fibers, such as asparagus, Jerusalem artichoke and leeks, contain both oligofructose and inulin, substances that nourish the good bacteria in your gut which in turn will improve your intestinal health.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Celiac Disease; 2008
- "Archives of Internal Medicine"; Prevalence of Celiac Disease in at-Risk and Not-at-Risk Groups in the United States: A Large Multicenter Study; Alessio Fasano, et al.; February 10 2003
- MayoClinic.com; Wheat Allergy; July 7 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Gluten-Free Diet; 2010
- Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology Gluten-Free Diet; 2010
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