Recently, many people have been asking: What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac disease, also known as gluten-sensitive enteropathy, is a digestive disorder that damages the small intestine and interferes with nutrient absorption from food. Individuals with this condition cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and oats. Celiac disease is also considered a genetic disorder, as it tends to run in families.
What Are the Symptoms of Celiac Disease?
Symptoms of celiac disease may include:
- Abdominal pain
- Bloating
- Chronic diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Bone pain
- Fatigue
- Delayed growth in children
- Seizures
- Mouth ulcers and painful skin rashes
- Irregular menstrual cycles and anemia
These symptoms vary from person to person. Some individuals may experience all of them, while others may have none at all.
How Is the Diagnosis of Celiac Disease Done?
People with celiac disease tend to have higher-than-normal levels of certain antibodies in their blood. To diagnose the disease, blood samples are tested to measure the levels of disease-related antibodies, which include:
- Tissue transglutaminase antibodies
- Endomysial antibodies
- Gliadin antibodies
- Reticulin antibodies
What Is the Available Treatment of Celiac Disease?
The only treatment for celiac disease is following a lifelong gluten-free diet. This helps stop existing symptoms, heal the damaged intestines, and prevent further harm. The diet requires complete avoidance of foods containing wheat, barley, and oats. Since maintaining a gluten-free diet can be complex, consulting a specialized nutritionist may be necessary.
List of Recommended and Avoided Foods
Recommended food:
- Replace Flour bread, cereals with products made from corn, rice, soy, or potato starch. Use Rice bran, cornmeal, millet sorghum.
- All fresh fruits or juices made from fresh fruits, fresh or canned vegetables.
- All milk products except those made with gluten additives and aged cheese.
- All meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, cold cuts, sausages and eggs.
Avoid:
- Products containing wheat, barley, oats, wheat germ, bran, wheat starch, malt extract and crackers.
- Any creamy or breaded vegetables, canned baked beans.
- French fries
- Some commercial fruit pie fillings and dried fruit.
- Milk drinks with gluten additives, malted milk, flavored or frozen yoghurt.
- Any Prepared meat, poultry with wheat, oat, barley, gluten stabilizers.
- Some egg substitutes
- Sandwich spreads