Did you know that October is National Celiac Disease Awareness Month? Studies show that an estimated 1 out of 100 Americans suffers from the disease and many don’t even know it.
I first learned about the disease from Aimee’s blog earlier this year and just a couple of weeks ago I met a woman who shared a startling celiac disease-related story with me. She said her doctor believes her recent miscarriage may have been caused by undiagnosed celiac disease. Isn’t that frightening?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the disease, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that damages or destroys the lining of the intestines in reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats. Basically, the disease harms the villi (those small finger-like projections) that line the small intestine. It makes the intestine unable to function properly and prevents the absorption of vital nutrients. If left untreated, celiac disease can result in major health complications.
The problem is the symptoms of celiac disease are vague and often overlooked. If you have been experiencing any of the following symptoms for a prolonged period of time, you should ask your doctor to be screened for celiac disease: Diarrhea, constipation, weakness, nausea, fatigue, abdominal pain, cramping, irritability, abdominal bloating, depression, weight loss, weight gain, and joint pain.
I know; those symptoms sound similar to those associated with many diseases, but if you have been screened for other abnormalities and are still experiencing the aforementioned pains I urge you to speak to your doctor about celiac disease.
In the case of the woman I was speaking with a few weeks ago she said her new doctor suspected she was suffering from the disease shortly after her first appointment with him (this was post miscarriage). It’s true that the disease is inherited, but it can also be triggered by environmental factors such as emotional stress, viral infection, surgery or pregnancy.
If celiac disease is left untreated you can do irreversible damage to your intestine, which could lead to any of the following conditions: Diabetes, anemia, depression, gastrointestinal cancer, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, osteoporosis, night blindness, miscarriage, and mouth ulcers.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog an estimated 1 out of 100 Americans suffers from the disease. That’s a startling statistic. That’s more than the number of people with Chron’s disease, ulcerative colitis and cystic fibrosis combined.
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