Celiac Facts

In this blog, I wanted to state some facts of Celiac Disease 

Instead of just telling you my opinion or sharing any more of my story about my journey, I wanted to list some facts about it.

Some of these things will hopefully help you understand what it is and what problems it causes and also debunk myths that people that are not familiar with the disease automatically assume about the reasons of why it is very important to live a gluten free life with this disease. 

What Is Celiac Disease?

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder that’s triggered when you eat gluten. It’s also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, or gluten-sensitive enteropathy.

Gluten is a protein in wheat, barley, rye, and other grains. It’s what makes dough elastic and gives bread its chewy texture.

When someone with celiac disease eats something with gluten, their body overreacts to the protein and damages their villi, small finger-like projections found along the wall of their small intestine.

When your villi are injured, your small intestine can’t properly absorb nutrients from food. Eventually, this can lead to malnourishment, as well as loss of bone density, miscarriage, infertility or even neurological diseases or certain cancers.

If your celiac disease isn’t better after at least a year without gluten, it’s called refractory or nonresponsive celiac disease.

Most people with celiac disease never know that they have it. Researchers think that as few as 20% of people with the disease get the right diagnosis. The damage to your intestine is very slow, and symptoms are so varied that it can take years to get a diagnosis.

Celiac disease isn’t the same thing as gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity. People with gluten intolerance may have some of the same symptoms and may want to avoid gluten. But they don’t show an immune response or damage to the small intestine.

Celiac disease isn’t the same thing as a food allergy, so the symptoms are different.

If you’re allergic to wheat but eat something with wheat in it, you may have itchy or watery eyes or a hard time breathing.


Celiac Disease symptoms in adults

If you have celiac disease and accidentally eat something with gluten in it, you may have symptoms including:

  • Abdominal Pain
  • Anemia
  • Bloating or a feeling of fullness
  • Bone or joint pain
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Gas
  • Heartburn
  • Itchy, blistery rash (doctors call this dermatitis herpetiformis)
  • Headaches or Fatigue
  • Mouth Ulcers
  • Nausea
  • Nervous system injury, including numb or tingling hands or feet, balance problems, or changes in awareness.
  • Stool that’s pale, smells especially bad, or floats (steatorrhea)
  • Weight loss or Weight gain

About 1 in 4 people with celiac disease get an itchy, blistering rash. It happens more in adults than children, and more in men than women. It’s most common in these areas:

  • Buttocks
  • Elbows
  • Knees
  • Scalp
  • Lower back

Research hasn’t found a definite cause of celiac disease. It tends to run in families and might be linked to certain genes. Stressful medical events such as a Viral infection or surgery can trigger it. So can emotional trauma or pregnancy. 

If one of your close family members has it, like a parent or sibling, you have a 1 in 10 chance of getting celiac disease.


The disease is most common among Caucasians and people who have other diseases, including:

  • Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
  • Type I diabetes
  • Addison's disease
  • Down syndrome
  • Rheumatoid arthritis 
  • Turner syndrome (a condition in which a female is missing an X chromosome)
  • Multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Autoimmune hepatitis 
  • Sjogren's syndrome
  • Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy
  • Iga nephropathy
  • Lupas 
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
  • Chronic pancreatitis
  • Psoriasis
  • Scleroderma
  • Williams syndrome
  • Primary biliary cirrhosis
  • Lactose intolerance 
  • Intestinal lymphoma
  • Intestinal cancer

Celiac disease can be dangerous if you don’t get treatment. Complications may include:

  • Cancer, including intestinal lymphoma and small bowel cancer
  • Damaged tooth enamel
  • Infertility and miscarriage
  • Lactose intolerance
  • Malnutrition
  • Nervous system problems like seizures or pain and numbness in your hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy)
  • Pancreatic disease
  • Weak bones

There is so much more that I could post but if you suspect that you could be suffering from celiac, please have your doctor check to see if you carry the celiac gene. This will tell you a lot. If you do have that gene, then your chances of developing celiac from it of course are greater because if you do not carry the gene then you cannot develop celiac. Just because you carry that gene doesn't mean that you do have celiac, but you can develop it by continuing to consume gluten. Anyone who has celiac, their small intestine cannot digest gluten so in turn causing all kind of issues if it's still being consumed. 

But here is what you can do to help yourself if you carry the celiac gene:

No drugs treat celiac disease. The best thing you can do is change your diet. 

Unless they’re labeled as gluten-free, don’t eat foods that are typically made with grains, including:

  • Beer
  • Bread, cake, and other baked goods
  • Cereals
  • Pasta or noodles
  • Crackers
  • Breading
  • Pancakes
  • Sauces and gravies

These grains always have gluten:

  • Wheat
  • Wheatberries
  • Durum
  • Semolina
  • Spelt
  • Farina
  • Farro
  • Graham
  • Einkorn wheat
  • Rye
  • Barley
  • Malt
  • Brewer’s yeast
  • Wheat starch

People with celiac disease need to check labels carefully. Many processed foods sometimes have gluten:

  • Granola or energy bars
  • French fries
  • Potato chips
  • Lunch meats
  • Candy or candy bars
  • Soup
  • Salad dressings and marinades
  • Meat substitutes such as seitan or veggie burgers
  • Soy sauce

These foods are always gluten-free:

  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Meat and poultry
  • Fish and other seafood
  • Dairy
  • Beans and nuts

Gluten-free starches and grains include:

  • Rice
  • Corn or maize
  • Soy
  • Potato
  • Tapioca
  • Beans
  • Sorghum
  • Quinoa
  • Millet
  • Amaranth
  • Flax
  • Chia
  • Nut flours

Common products like medications and toothpastes can also contain gluten, so it’s important to check the label.

If you have a serious lack of nutrients, your doctor may have you take gluten-free vitamin and mineral supplements and will give you medication if you have a skin rash.

After you’ve been on a gluten-free diet for a few weeks, your small intestine should begin to heal, and you’ll start to feel better.


So, yes if you are a meat eater, you are good to continue eating whatever meats you want and if you are a Vegetarian or you like vegetables then you are free to eat them as well. And any fruit that you want to eat, then have at it. It's all safe to eat and it's all naturally gluten free. As long as you don't add any breading's, sauces or gravies to anything unless you are adding a gluten free version.  So, I bet some of you didn't even realize that you eat gluten free foods every day huh? 


And even most candies are gluten free. More than you would imagine and most drinks too. But when it comes to breads and desserts and prepackaged foods then that is where you will need to be careful because gluten is added to most of those. Gluten can include wheat, barley, rye and malt. But the good news is that most anything you like to eat can be converted to gluten free. 


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