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Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder in which consumption of gluten causes the body’s immune system to attack and damage the small intestine.  When people with celiac disease eat food that contains gluten , the lining of the small intestine becomes inflamed. commonly, this lining, called the mucosa, is covered with hairlike projections called villi.   The villi tend to shrink and flatten out in response to the consumption of Gluten.   Unfortunately, being Gluten Free is about the only way for most Celiac’s to safely eat.  

There is a strong genetic component to celiac disease. In people who carry the celiac genes, gluten proteins and other environmental factors will sometimes trigger the disease.  When the nutrients in food are absorbed into the bloodstream through the cells on the villi. When the villi become atrophied, there is less surface area for nutrient absorption, and a condition known as malabsorption results. Consequences of malabsorption include vitamin and mineral deficiencies, osteoporosis, and other problems.

Symptoms of Celiac Disease

The symptoms of celiac disease may begin in infancy, childhood, adulthood, or even very late in life. Some people with celiac disease become violently ill soon after eating just small amounts of gluten. Others have very subtle symptoms, or none at all, and their disease is discovered by accident. Even in symptomatic patients, the diagnosis of celiac disease can take many years, unless the doctor or patient is alert to the possibility that gluten ingestion is to blame.

Celiac Disease Diagnosis

There isn’t a specific test for Celiac Disease.  Instead, doctors depend on a combination of blood tests to look for certain autoantibodies, as well as a biopsy of the small intestine to look for the atrophied villi that are characteristic of celiac disease.

Even if a blood test shows to be positive for Celiac, a biopsy is conducted on the small intestine to confirm the diagnosis.  It is possible that with the increasing availability of genetic tests to identify individuals who carry the genes for celiac disease, DNA analysis may someday replace the biopsy for confirmation of the blood test findings.

Life with Celiac

The only way to somewhat treat celiac disease as of now is to live with a gluten-free diet.   That means no wheat, barley, rye and for the most part, no oats either because oats are generally cross-contaminated with gluten from these other grains. Learning to cope with this diet is laborious because so many staples of a normal diet must be given up and also because gluten lurks as a concealed ingredient in many products. Patients and their families must learn special guidelines for shopping, food preparation, and dining out.