Gluten makes people sick, through celiac disease, gluten sensitivity or allergy. But, where do you find the medical research that proves it, especially to skeptics? This short video shows you where to go.
![StanfordSeal[1]](https://glutenfreeworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/StanfordSeal1-300x300.jpg)
Jennifer Iscol, of the Celiac Community Foundation of Northern California, just distributed this message regarding a celiac disease study at Stanford University.
“Volunteers are needed for a genetic study on celiac disease at Stanford University. Please consider participating. Community participation is an essential component of Stanford’s celiac disease research. The research benefits all of us and future generations.
http://www.celiaccommunity.org/stanford-celiac-genetic-study/
Announcement from Stanford:
We are conducting a study to understand the genetic basis of celiac disease. Families with at least one parent and one child with celiac disease are encouraged to enroll together.
The study involves:
Celiac Disease is a common health disorder affecting more people than breast cancer or Type 1 diabetes mellitus, but is greatly underdiagnosed.1
One person in a hundred is estimated to have celiac disease, but less than 5% of these people are being diagnosed. The other 95% are being harmed on a daily basis by eating common food like bread and pizza.
Celiac Disease is serious and the personal cost can be great. If left untreated, Celiac Disease can cause health problems ranging from inconvenience to debilitation and even death. It can affect work and relationships. The good news is that many health problems can be avoided by early diagnosis and eating a gluten-free diet.
To date, gluten is the only known environmental factor to play a direct causal role in celiac disease, and the only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet.2
“Celiac Disease” was the name given to this disorder because it was thought to primarily cause digestive symptoms. “Celiac” means bowel. Other names for celiac disease are Gluten Sensitive Enteropathy, Celiac-Sprue, and Non-Tropical Sprue.
The term, Celiac Disease, is used worldwide. Medical coding systems use it for billing purposes and as a tracking tool. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM) code for Celiac Disease is “579.0 celiac disease.” This is the code your doctor will use for your medical records.
Celiac Disease is a common, inherited lifelong sensitivity to gluten, a protein in the grains of wheat, barley, rye, and oats. When the immune system is activated by gluten, the inherited predisposition becomes a digestive disorder that results in malabsorption of food nutrients with or without digestive symptoms like pain, bloating, diarrhea or constipation.
Active Celiac Disease involves a specific auto-immune response in the small intestine that inflames and damages the vital tissues of the lining. Resulting health problems are called multi-systemic because they may involve any body system. Symptoms may be few and mild or mind boggling in number and severity.
Is 
soy safe and healthy if you’re gluten-free? Do you consider soy milk to be healthier than regular milk? Do you worry about GMO soy? Or perhaps you’re concerned about rumors of soy being dangerous and disruptive to your hormones?
These are all great questions I find myself answering often. Though I don’t believe the story on soy is quite as cut and dry as some out there (like those in the Paleo world), I firmly feel that those of us who are gluten-free for whatever the reason —be it celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, gluten intolerance, thyroid issues or autoimmune problems— have tremendous reason to be wary and skeptical of the notion that soy is a safe alternative to
Celiac awareness month is observed in either October or May in the United States, depending on which celiac disease organization you talk with, but there is only one National Celiac Awareness Day!
The below Dear Abby letter is my take on someone who has just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and doesn’t understand that the gluten-free diet is not a death sentence. I personally think that the gluten-free diet is a blessing of sorts…
I have spent the last few months visiting several doctors trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I’ve experienced everything from extreme irritability (causing several fights with my husband), to running to the bathroom over ten times a day! The state of my health was really starting to affect other aspects of my life.
Whether people are eating gluten free for medical reasons or non-medical reasons, the plain fact is more and more people are following the examples set by celebrities and athletes who attribute eating gluten free to losing weight and for its ability to increase athletic performance. Whatever the reason, celebrities, athletes, reporters, etc. continue to follow a gluten-free diet, so it is time to update the lists I started back in 2010.
I think it is important to separate out those who are eating gluten free for medical from those who eat gluten free for or non-medical reasons, so there are five lists below: Celebrities with Celiac Disease, Celebrities with non-celiac gluten sensitivity/wheat intolerance, Celebrities who eat gluten free by choice, Athletes with Celiac Disease, and Athletes who eat gluten free by choice. These lists were compiled using multiple sources.
I was enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon with my daughter who was grounded and couldn’t watch her normal shows. We sat down together to watch Food Network to find Dean McDermott on an episode of Guy’s Big Bite. Dean McDermott has celiac disease, so I was shocked to see him sample dishes that contained gluten.
How Is Celiac Disease Diagnosed?Diagnosing Celiac Disease can be difficult and frustrating for both the patient and the doctor because each person is affected individually. With no definite set of symptoms to cause suspicion, the single most important step in getting a diagnosis of Celiac Disease is to recognize its myriad features.1
People who have any of the following situations should be evaluated for Celiac Disease:
Very good diagnostic tests are available, but no one test can definitively diagnose or exclude Celiac Disease in every individual.2 And, because all diagnostic tests look for harmful effects of gluten, you must be eating gluten in your diet when any diagnostic test is performed. Tests may be inconclusive if you strictly eliminate gluten for longer than two weeks. So if you think you may have Celiac Disease or feel better going without gluten for a week to 10 days, go get tested before continuing.
The management of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity is a gluten-free diet for life1 that meets the nutritional needs of the individual.This diet is highly effective for regaining health because it eliminates the cause of health problems originated by contact with gluten.
Treatment for celiac disease should begin only after a complete diagnostic evaluation including serology (blood test to detect antibodies) and biopsy of small intestine tissue. The institution of a gluten-free diet should result in prompt and often dramatic improvement.
Individual symptoms frequently require more than the gluten-free diet in order to resolve. The Health Guide lays out a 6 Step Plan for each symptom listed on the website that is individualized to that symptom or condition.
Complete healing of the intestines may take up to 5 years or even longer in some individuals, especially in the elderly. Recovery is more rapid and complete in children than in adults.2
There is no cure for celiac disease. Since research is ongoing and much is yet unknown, it is prudent to treat any gluten sensitivity reaction as if it was celiac disease.
The following are six key elements in the management of individuals affected by celiac disease as advanced by the National Institutes of Health:
Sources: