What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi (tiny finger-like projections) of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.

Celiac disease is triggered by consumption of the protein called gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging (chopping or blunting) the villi of the small intestine. When the villi become damaged, it allows for gluten to enter the blood stream and attack normal healthy tissue; in addition the body is unable to absorb nutrients which can lead to malnourishment.What does this mean? Essentially the body is attacking itself every time a person with Celiac Disease consumes gluten.

Left untreated, people with celiac disease can develop further complications such as other autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, infertility, thyroid disease, and cancer.

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Most Common Celiac Symptoms:

• Abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, fatigue, gas, anemia, vitamin deficiencies depression, joint pain, sores in mouth, hair loss, fatigue, numbness and tingling, dry skin, infertility, headaches, and weight loss

Interesting Celiac Disease Facts:

• 1 in out of every 133 Americans has Celiac Disease or 3 million American
• The National Institutes of Health shows the prevalence of celiac disease to other well-known conditions as follows:
• Epilepsy affects 2.8 millon
• Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis affects 500,000 Americans
• Multiple Sclerosis affects 33,000
• Celiac Disease is hereditary so all first degree relatives should be screened.
• 95% of all Celiacs are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions
• 6-10 years is the average time a person waits to correctly be diagnosed in the US
• There is NO Pharmaceutical cures for Celiac Disease
• A strict gluten free diet is the only treatment for Celiac Disease
• 1/8 of a teaspoon or 1/1000 of gluten can damage the intestional villi
• It can take 2-3 years for adults to have completely healed villi

Information from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (www.celiaccentral.org)