Celiac Disease or Celiac Sprue is an autoimmune disease that affects the small intestine.  Autoimmune disease is a condition in which the body mistakenly identifies part of the body as an invader and attacks it.  When an individual who has celiac disease eats anything that contains gluten, this immune response kicks in attacking the villi of the small intestine, destroying them and inhibiting the absorption of important nutrients.  Celiac disease is genetic, meaning it runs in families, it can also be more prevalent in families that have other autoimmune disorders such as Diabetes, or Hashimoto’s Thyroid Disease.

Celiac disease was once thought to be a very rare disease, now researchers are finding it is far more common than they previously thought, in families that have a history of the disease, your chances for having it can be as high as 1 in 22. For the average American the chances of having celiac disease is 1 in 100.

Symptoms of celiac disease vary greatly, some individuals may have no symptoms at all and the condition is discovered during other tests.  The most common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal bloating, an itchy skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformis, weight loss, irritability, bone pain, vomiting or constipation.  Children can display any or all of these symptoms as well as a failure to thrive, delayed growth and commonly will complain about frequent stomach aches and headaches.

Celiac disease is diagnosed by two separate methods.  First blood test that measures the amount of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies in your blood, for this or any test to be accurate you must have been eating gluten products as normal in the weeks preceding the test, since it can only detect celiac disease in the presence of the offending gluten.  The other test is a biopsy that checks for damage to the villi of your small intestine and is usually performed after a positive blood test to confirm the diagnosis.

Once you find that you have celiac disease there is no cure and only one treatment, you must avoid gluten.  Gluten is a protein that is present in some grains, wheat, rye and barley being the most common ones.  Avoiding gluten may seem like a very overwhelming if not impossible task, but over time you can easily learn to avoid gluten and still eat well.  The best place to start is by eating those foods that are natural gluten free, and there are many of them.  Rice, potatoes, meat, fruits, and vegetables are all naturally free of gluten.  There are many gluten-free grains and flours that you can include in your diet as well such as rice, soy, quinoa, corn, bean and buckwheat.

These days there are several companies providing products for the celiac consumer, and there are thousands of resources available to assist you with eating a gluten free diet.  As more and more people become diagnosed with this disease and more research is done, these resources will only continue to grow and become more main stream.

Celiac disease does not go away, and the celiac individual will need to stay on this diet for the remainder of their life. The good news is that if individuals do stay 100% in compliance with their diet, the damage to their intestines will heal completely, and they will begin to thrive and live healthy lives.