What's the harm in gluten?

This post was inspired by a comment that a classmate made on my blog. I know it was just an assignment but it made me realize that not everyone knows about celiac disease. Prepare to be informed.

What is celiac disease?

Celiac disease is marked by an intolerance to gluten. Gluten includes wheat, rye, barley and triticale. When those with the disease ingest gluten, a toxic reaction damages their small intestine and nutrients cannot be absorbed by the body. Damage to the small intestine can be deadly and there is no known cure. Celiac disease is inherited and life-long. A surprising one out of 133 people in the United States have celiac disease.

The Symptoms

Those who suffer from this unfortunate disease can experience quite a range of symptoms. The most common symptoms are migranes, intestinal pain and discomfort, "leaky gut," nausea and vomiting, weakness, and weight loss. For a full list, visit the Celiac Disease Foundation website. It is also possible to not feel any symptoms and not be aware of the disease until a flare-up.

Diagnosis

If someone is experiencing these symptoms, they may have several tests done to diagnose Celiac Disease. Doctors will test blood for antibodies that indicate celiac disease. In order to take an accurate test, a patient must have been eating gluten-free for the past 4 weeks. The only way to lessen the pain of celiac disease is to eliminate all forms of gluten, for life.

If you or a loved one are suffering from these symptoms, please get tested NOW.

For more information, visit www.celiac.org