What IS Celiac Disease?

So, just what exactly IS Celiac Disease?

According to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, "Celiac disease is an immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.
If you have celiac disease, eating gluten triggers an immune response in your small intestine. Over time, this reaction produces inflammation that damages the small intestine's lining and prevents absorption of some nutrients (malabsorption)."

CD is an auto-immune disease.  It is hereditary, not communicable.  People who have an immediate family member (parent, sibling, child) who has CD have a 1 in 10 chance of having it themselves.  Often people who have CD also have one or more additional auto-immune diseases, most often hypo or hyperthyroidism and/or type 1 or type 2 diabetes.  People who have CD are at higher risk for colon cancer and should get regular colonoscopies for early detection.  Celiac Disease can cause weight loss, bloating and diarrhea.
There is no medical treatment or cure for CD.  There is no medicine you can take to make it better.  With CD you are literally eating to be healthy.  The absolute only treatment at this time for CD is to live a completely gluten free lifestyle.  This is not only eating foods that are gluten free, but finding out what household cleaners, make up, toothpaste and so many more things we take for granted every day which contain gluten.  

Celiac Disease is not something that you grow out of once you have it.  This is a life-long condition.  If you have been diagnosed with CD, since this is hereditary, as stated earlier, your immediate family members (parents, children, siblings) will want to be aware and watch for symptoms in their own health.  For a list of symptoms, see my next post that lists the most common issues associated with CD.

If you have not been diagnosed, but believe you may have CD ask your doctor to test you for CD.  If your family doctor is not very familiar with Celiac Disease, as many are not since this is a highly underdiagnosed disease and has no available medical treatment, ask your doctor to recommend a specialist for testing.

There are many different websites available for more information on Celiac Disease and testing as well as how to follow a strict gluten free lifestyle.  Here are some that I recommend if you are searching for answers:

http://celiac.org/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/basics/definition/con-20030410

There are also many informative blogs out there written by people living with Celiac Disease.  Here are some that I regularly keep up with:

http://jennifersway.org/myblog/
http://glutendude.com/gluten-free-blog/
http://prettylittleceliac.com/
http://celiaccorner.com/

There are so many other great blogs, Facebook pages and webpages for you to check out on your own in your quest to better understand and learn to live with Celiac Disease.