Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is an immune disease in which people cannot eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, and it may also be found in certain medicines, vitamins, and supplements.¹ Eating gluten will cause their immune system to respond by damaging the small intestine. This genetic disease affects each person differently. There are over 200 signs and symptoms of the disease, yet some people present no symptoms at all.² Some of the common signs/symptoms include:

• recurring abdominal pain
• abdomen bloating
• chronic diarrhea or constipation
• vomiting, nausea
• ulcers in upper GI tract
• iron deficiency (anemia)
• chronic fatigue
• joint/muscle pain and swelling
• skin rash
• possible infertility

For your healthcare provider to diagnose Celiac disease, blood tests such as antibody testing, and endoscopic biopsies are typically performed.¹ An endoscopic biopsy is an examination of a piece of tissue from the small intestine to assess if cells are damaged in any way. Individuals at risk, such as those with a family history of the disease, need to be tested more than once, because the onset of celiac disease could occur at any time as a child or adult.

Disease onset requires three things:

• genetic predisposition
• an over-active immune response, and
• the exposure to gluten (trigger)²

The treatment for Celiac disease is a diet free of gluten. There is no surgery, medication, or other rehabilitation method to remedy the disease.² Therefore, it would be beneficial to take preventative measures and test for the disease if you are at risk to make sure you stay away from ingesting gluten!

References:

1.  Coping with Celiac Disease. MedlinePlus. Accessed October 19, 2016.

2.  Celiac Disease Center. University of Chicago Medicine. 2016.