Celiac Disease: Against The Grain

Written by: Melissa Diane Smith

Yvonne Gifford experienced exhaustion for 20 years but couldn't figure out why. Mary Thorpe had a history of canker sores, migraine headaches and depression since her late teens, then developed digestive problems and itchy blisters on her legs a few years ago. Barbara Schneider suffered through frequent stomach distention for decades; three years ago, she developed chronic diarrhea and discovered she had very low bone density for a woman in her 60s.

For years, Gifford, Thorpe and Schneider experienced frustration with poor health. While these three women had very different systems, they eventually discovered a common cause: They are sensitive, possibly even intolerant, to gluten, a prevalent part of every American's diet. This gluey collection of proteins is found in wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut, triticale and an endless variety of processed foods. Consequently, eliminating gluten from the diet isn't easy, but when these women did, their symptoms vanished and their health turned around.

A Spectrum Of Symptoms

Gluten sensitivity is an umbrella term that includes a wide variety of reactions to gluten. The worst manifestation is celiac disease, an auto-immune condition that destroys the lining of the small intestine, thereby interfering with nutrient absorption. Characteristic symptoms are bloating, diarrhea, acute abdominal pain, fatty stools and often weight loss.
Until recently, celiac disease was thought to be very rare, occurring in only one in every 4,850 Americans. However, recent research and newly developed blood-screening tests have led to shocking revelations. In fact, celiac disease is very common: One in every 167 healthy children and one in every 111 healthy adults suffer from the condition (Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, vol. 31, suppl. 3).

Also, many people who have the disease, especially children, don't have the classic gastrointestinal symptoms that have commonly signaled the condition. In some cases, there are no symptoms at all. These people have "silent celiac disease"; the damage to the small intestine is as prevalent but without the obvious symptoms. As a result, many people go for years, sometimes decades, without a diagnosis while health complications worsen, says Alessio Fasano, MD, co-director of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland. The first indication of trouble may be anemia, osteoporosis or an autoimmune disease.

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Unexplained chronic illness may be corrected by going against the grain and giving up the gluten.