This is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own cells specifically in the small intestines. It damages villi which are the finger-like protrusions located in the small intestines. This decreases the ability to absorb nutrients from digested food.

According to Dr. Peter Green that celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune condition that will require exposure to gluten. He also added that it can be either common or permanent. The age of onset ranges from early childhood through late adulthood.

There are 95% of these cases that go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. There are some that have this but do not manifest symptoms. This is most likely discovered when a member of the family has celiac disease and the doctor orders a test for the patient.

Celiac disease is genetically transmitted and it occurs 5% to 15% of the siblings and offspring of an individual who has this disease. It has a very strong genetic component like in identical twins. Sometimes if one of the twins has it, the other will have it too.

Testing for Celiac disease

The first step is having a blood test or a series of blood tests. These tests will check the presence of antibodies. For these tests to be valid, the patient should be eating foods rich in gluten during the time of the test. There are times however that the test becomes false negative and false positive. This means if the patient tested negative he can still develop the disease later in life. The second phase of testing would be intestinal biopsy. This may or may not be needed depending on your doctor.

Genetic testing can also be considered. It can rule out the disease if there is no certain gene combination. If you have the genes HLA DQ2 or DQ8 it does not mean you have the disease it only means that you are at risk of getting it. (Very specific and confusing to a general audience. If the audience is more familiar, then this is acceptable. If the audience is general public, say for a brochure, this is too deep.)

Celiac and Gluten

If you test positive for celiac disease then you must avoid eating foods rich in gluten. Gluten is a protein composite that appears from foods processed from barley, wheat, spelt, semonlia, kamut, and einkorn. Foods such as pasta and bread contain gluten so it should be avoided.  More information about what are the foods to be consumed and what foods are to be avoided are listed in Celiac disease recipes.  A life-long diet restriction is required for people having celiac disease since there is no cure.

Symptoms and Prevalence of Celiac Disease

Gastrointestinal symptoms include bloating, flatulence, irritable bowel, abdominal pain, and foul-smelling stool (what stool doesn’t stink?). Also you can have either diarrhea or constipation. Celiac disease can cause nutritional deficiencies which lead to a whole new range of symptoms.

It affects 1 in 133 people and 2 million people have it in the United States.