Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, and sometimes oats (no wonder I hated eating oatmeal as a kid).  

The exact cause of celiac disease is unknown (although studies are being done to look at genetics and our processed food consumption). The lining of the intestines contains areas called villi, which help absorb nutrients. When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products that contain gluten, their immune system reacts by damaging these villi. This damage affects the ability to absorb nutrients properly. A person becomes malnourished no matter how much food he or she eats. When I got my blood work done in January of 2010, my vitamin D & vitamin B levels were almost non- existent even though I ate a healthy and full diet - this lead my doctor to test for Celiac/gluten intolerance.

If Celiac Disease goes undiagnosed for several years it can lead to something called "leaky gut" - this means that the body has gone further than damaging the villi and has started to wear away holes in the small intestine. This can cause many symptoms in a person - especially fatigue and "foggy headed-ness" because large pieces of food can get into your blood stream and cause toxicity and a heavy load of work for your liver. At age 20 I was diagnosed with Celiac and Leaky gut but I have been able to calm the symptoms and even start reversing the damage by eating a very strict diet. You can learn more about my diet (SCD - Specific Carbohydrate Diet) by going to the top of the page and clicking on the tab labels "SCD."

If you are interested in learning more about Celiac please click on the following links:

• http://www.celiac.org/
• http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/
• http://www.celiaccentral.org/

Also, if you or anyone you know is suffering from digestive problems then please take the time to get tested - it can be life changing. An easy way to test is to do a stool test with Enterolab.

Here is the link:
https://www.enterolab.com/Default.aspx

You can click around and decide on your own what test you want to do and order it yourself. It's very easy and fairly affordable compared to labs done in hospitals, etc. I would recommend doing the big one- the Gluten sensitivity Stool and Gene Panel Complete- this will give you all the information you would need if you are having problems and you wouldn't be wondering about other parts of the puzzle.  It is one of the most expensive ones so its not completely necessary but its the one that gives you everything. One thing you must keep in mind is even if its not Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance is almost as severe and is a life long intolerance (unlike lactose intolerance which can go away with time). Anyway, I hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions!!!