The Commonly Undiagnosed Disease Celiac

A lot of people in the U.S. are not diagnosed properly when they exhibit symptoms of celiac disease. Individuals, who have this disease, cannot digest gluten. Gluten is a protein that is found in foods that have wheat, rye, or barley in them. These grains are commonly found in many breads, pasta, cookies and even beer. The only grain that does not contain gluten is oats. Oats found in the U.S. marketplace however can be cross contaminated due to crop rotation and milling procedures and therefore may also be difficult or impossible for someone with celiac disease to digest.

A research report, published in 2004, reveals that as many as one in every 133 Americans, that's approximately 2 million people have celiac disease. This disease, left undiagnosed can be dangerous to the person's health, can lead to slow growth patterns in children and can leave individual undernourished and their bodies lacking in the essential nutrients that they need to have proper growth and energy.

An individual eating food that contains gluten who has celiac disease triggers an autoimmune response to the substance, which will have the body attacking, and destroying normal tissue, especially the tissue in the small intestine called, "villi". These villi are tiny, hair-like fingers that have the purpose of absorbing nutrients that come from the food we eat. When the individual with celiac disease eats gluten, the malfunction and tissue destruction causes chronic diarrhea, gas, bloating, reflux and also constipation. It does not take much gluten in the diet to cause this reaction; only a small amount can spell trouble.

Nausea, bloating, gas, and vomiting, diarrhea and constipation are symptoms for many diseases and disorders so a doctor must determine the diagnosis.

Celiac disease is serious because it can cause anemia, malnutrition, infertility, skin rashes, and other health problems.

Individual with celiac disease not only have the gastrointestinal symptoms but they can also experience mood changes and fatigue.

Individuals with the disease can have one or more of the symptoms associated with the disease, but not all individuals exhibit digestive problems. Some individuals who have the disease do not notice any symptoms at all. Celiac disease does run in families, so when one family member is diagnosed with the disease, the other immediate family members should also be tested.

A gluten-free diet can make a huge difference in the lives of those with celiac disease.

Performing one of two tests makes diagnosis. The first is a serious of blood tests. These tests can give false negatives. If a positive is obtained from these tests, a biopsy of the small intestine is required to make the diagnosis.

Healing is possible by maintaining a strict gluten-free diet for the rest of the individual's life.

There are now restaurants that are offering foods that are gluten-free for their patrons to choose from which helps when individuals with celiac disease enjoy eating out.

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