Celiac Disease: Going Without Gluten

Three years ago, my sister had a major influence during his senior year of high school. Even days after the symptoms of the flu, she felt tired after every meal. My parents led to different doctors that classified as acid reflux symptoms and a slow gastric emptying. He tested various medications for months.

"Finally, we went to a nutritionist who diagnosed me almost in place with Celiac disease, " Carly Fabris, now 20 years old, said.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease around the gluten. You had the disease spend properly gluten, found in wheat, flour, barley and rye. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation when they eat gluten, with CD on their thin intestine villi are damaged, which of them can spend the essential nutrients necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

Many confuse CD with an allergy to gluten or gluten intolerance, but it is an autoimmune disease, so it is impossible to catch up with such as allergies. Even if one of 133 people in the United States are affected by the disease, according to the CDF, it is often diagnosed or diagnosed at all.

"We just have really bad at finding until recently, so it is diagnosed less in the United States, " Kelly Dorfman, a nutritionist and diet in Maryland, who diagnosed Fabris, said. "The Europe and Australia have much better at catching than we have, unfortunately. One study found the average time until the diagnosis is here in the United States was 11 years old. "

Stone Bridge High School Spanish teacher, Heather Goodwin, he learned to live with the disease since October 2007. He had a thing for a long time, and digestive problems while traveling abroad during the summer, I thought it captured.

"Since my grandmother also has Celiac disease, I asked if it can be I tested, " Goodwin said. Dr. "The was doubtful that this was what was causing My problems, but has agreed to test me anyway. After the blood test confirmed diagnosis and Endoscopy. "

CD is difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are not always obviously gastrointestinal. There are several symptoms that indicate the CD, and not all obviously point to the autoimmune disease. According to the CDF site, classic symptoms are usually related to digestion; These are the most obvious symptoms. Most unexpected symptoms include delayed Puberty, osteoporosis and mouth ulcers, among others.

Dorfman could hear Peter Green, the head of the Celiac clinic Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, says that the main reason why many doctors hesitated to diagnose the disease, it is therefore no drugs to treat it, and it is easy to identify. Endoscopy is normally required, which involves inserting a tube down his throat and into the small intestine, while the patient is sedated.

"There are some difficult technical problems in the diagnosis of CD with an endoscopy," Dorfman said. "As the result of the disease, the samples have found consistently even if it is present. "

Often the results of the test for the disease is not critical, she added. The first time my sister was tested for the disease, it came back negative. Nevertheless, her doctor said she was positive that she had the disease.

[Dorfman] said i needed to take wheat, barley and rye from my diet, "Fabris says.

CDS can also be difficult to diagnose because it may entrust seemingly out of nowhere, as my sister. For many adults, the disease can be activated for the first time after surgery, viral infection, severe emotional, pregnancy or childbirth, according to the CDF.

The most important thing is that those who are suffering from a CD, do read all food labels and ask questions whenever they eat food before, "Dorfman says. "Those with CDS simply cannot reduce their need to completely avoid gluten. This means that all foods with wheat, rye, barley and spelt. Each label must be thoroughly examined and going out eating can be a minefield, patients are often given erroneous information, and then return later. "

Goodwin recommends Wegmans Food brand, which is clearly labeled if it is gluten-free. Loudoun County, it also has restaurants serving gluten-free entrees, including Manhattan pizzeria, Pizza works fire and Ford 's fish Shack, among others.

Goodwin proposed that, as more people with the disease talk about it, most people will know about the CD.

"At first I hid the food I carried with me, Weddings and other celebrations," he said. "Now openly foods I eat Service packs, and I hope that people ask about this, so you can train on the disease. Many people have discovered that they also have the disease after my discussions, and I'm so glad that I was able to help them. "