You’ve probably heard about celiac disease and the gluten free diet.  As people are becoming more aware of this disease, people are asking their doctors for the blood test and biopsy and getting the proper diagnosis.  But are you one of MANY people who tested negative for celiac disease, but all your symptoms went away on a gluten free diet? Or are you living with painful symptoms, but you can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong, and you need some answers.  I hope this post gives you those answers. I know how frustrating it is to live in pain when doctors can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong, and you just feel hopeless. Read my story here.

Researchers from the Center for Celiac Research have identified key pathogenic differences between celiac disease and gluten sensitivity “at the molecular level and in the response it elicits from the immune system.”  “We found differences in levels of intestinal permeability and expression of genes regulating the immune response in the gut mucosa,” says Alessio Fasano, M.D., who is the director of the Center for Celiac Research. When people with celiac disease consume gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, barley), their body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissue.  Gluten causes antibodies to harm the villi of the small intestines, which are needed to absorb nutrients from food. If the disease is not treated with a gluten free diet, then other autoimmune diseases can develop, as well as infertility, neurological conditions, osteoporosis, and even cancer.

According to studies, one of the main distinguishing factors between these two conditions is that people with gluten sensitivity show no signs of damage to the small intestine, unlike those with celiac disease.  (More studies need to be done on this) Gluten sensitive individuals do show some of the same symptoms as people with celiac disease, which makes it even harder for us to distinguish between the two. Why does there seem to be more and more people who have celiac disease and gluten sensitivity? Joseph A. Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic, says that the rise isn’t just due to greater awareness.  He states that people at the age of 70 are being diagnosed who ate gluten safely their entire lives. Dr. Murray thinks that one possible culprit of the rise in gluten intolerance is the agricultural changes to wheat that have boosted its protein content. Wheat today has far more gluten in it than the wheat of our ancestors. Our bodies are being overexposed to this protein.

So you may be asking yourself, “Could I have celiac disease? Could I be sensitive to gluten?”  The symptoms vary so greatly and do not have to be gastrointestinal, which is another reason some doctors don’t think to check for celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.  Please know that just because one person has a certain set of symptoms doesn’t mean that you will have the same ones. In fact, some people show no symptoms for years.

Gastroenterology 2001 found: “…for every symptomatic patient with celiac disease there are eight patients with celiac disease and no gastrointestinal symptoms.”  Here is a list of possible symptoms from the Celiac Disease Foundation:

Classic Symptoms May Include 

• Abdominal cramping, intestinal gas
• Distention and bloating of the stomach
• Chronic diarrhea or constipation (or both)
• Steatorrhea – fatty stools
• Anemia – unexplained, due to folic acid, B12 or iron deficiency (or all)
• Unexplained weight loss with large appetite or weight gain

Other Symptoms

• Dental enamel defects
• Osteopenia, osteoporosis
• Bone or joint pain
• Fatigue, weakness and lack of energy
• Infertility – male/female
• Depression
• Mouth ulcers
• Delayed puberty
• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
• Migraine headaches

Some Long-term Condition That Can Result from Untreated CD

• Iron deficiency anemia
• Early onset osteoporosis or osteopenia
• Vitamin K deficiency associated with risk for hemorrhaging
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• Central and peripheral nervous system disorders – usually due to unsuspected nutrient deficiencies
• Pancreatic insufficiency
• Intestinal lymphomas and other GI cancers (malignancies)
• Gall bladder malfunction
• Neurological manifestations

Now the difficult part for many people is figuring out whether you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.  Come back tomorrow for more information on this.

Read complete study here. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/9/23