Celiac Disease
Custom Choice Cereal brings taste and variety to the gluten-free cereal bowl and fills it with exactly the ingredients you love. We want you to have a perfect start to your day, every day!
We see raising awareness for celiac disease as a big part of our daily job. We hope to be able to promote diagnosis and improve the quality of life for all people suffering from celiac disease or gluten-intolerance.
But to be able to raise awareness for something it first needs to be understood, and that’s why we give you an overview of celiac disease, its symptoms, and how it can be diagnosed. News and updates on current research can also be found on our blog.
The Celiac Sprue Association estimates that approximately 1 in 133 Americans have celiac disease while the WM. K. Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease puts this number slightly higher at 1% of the population. However, 97% of people with celiac disease have not been diagnosed correctly and suffer without knowing either the reason, or that switching to a gluten-free diet could greatly improve their quality of life.
This being said, we have to preface the following by the disclaimer that none of us at Custom Choice Cereal are doctors or are qualified to give medical advice. All information provided is based on our research. It is pivotal that you consult with your doctor if you think you might have a gluten sensitivity or celiac disease.
What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac disease – sometimes also referred to as coeliac disease or celiac sprue – is a digestive autoimmune disorder (not an allergy!) that damages the villi in the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. This means that your body does not get the necessary fuel to function properly, and this can ultimately lead to malnutrition.
Celiac disease is a chronic, inherited disease, which means that (1) you must have the gene for celiac disease and (2) the gene must be triggered to become a celiac. Typical triggers are environmental, emotional or physical events such as stress, pregnancy, surgery, or a viral infection.
If you suffer from celiac disease you cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found in all foods that contain wheat, rye, or barley. Gluten can also be found in many medicines, vitamins, cleaning supplies, and lip balms. Damage to the small intestine occurs every time gluten is consumed even if none of the over 300 symptoms show.
Celiac disease cannot be cured, and the only effective treatment is a life-long adherence to an entirely gluten-free diet.
Below is a video with a detailed explanation of celiac disease by the WM. K. Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease.
Symptoms
Let us say first that celiac disease can manifest itself in more than 300 different symptoms. This definitely contributes to the fact that it is so under-diagnosed. This being said, there are some typical symptoms of celiac disease such as abdominal pain, anemia, bone or joint pain, chronic diarrhea, depression, fatigue, unexplained weight loss or weight gain, weakness, and tooth discoloration or loss of enamel. Children in particular might experience behavioral changes or learning and concentration problems.
Below is a short video where Dr. Joseph A. Murray from the Mayo Clinic explains some of the symptoms of celiac disease.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis is done in two steps and is only possible if the person that is tested is consuming gluten at the time. This means that if you want to know if you have celiac disease you cannot switch to a gluten-free diet before being diagnosed!
In a first step, a physician takes specific antibody blood tests. These tests should at least include the following:
- Tissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG - lgA/lgG)
- Anti-endomysial antibody (lgA EMA)
- Anti-gliadin antibody (AGA-IgG, AGA-IgA)
There is a very strong indication for celiac disease if the results of these tests turn out positive. Only in very rare instances does a person with celiac disease show negative blood test results. In a second step, a biopsy of the small intestine should be completed endoscopically in order to confirm the preliminary diagnosis.
