What is Celiac Disease?

Figuring out what it is and how it works

Eating is such a big part of everyone's lives.

We are constantly exploring new types of food, experimenting in the kitchen, and even use food as a social scene.

But what if the food you are eating is actually making you sick?

There are thousands of people who are burdened with a severe food allergy and don't even know it. This allergy is to something called gluten.

Sadly, I was one of those people.

It wasn't until 4 years ago where I actually started to learn what gluten was, what it was in, and how it affected my body.

What is Gluten?

Hearing the words "gluten-free" is relatively common in the world today, but how many of us really know what gluten is?

Well, let me tell you.

Gluten is a protein that is most commonly found in grains such as wheat, barely, rye, and barley. However, the trick is knowing that the list doesn't stop there.

Gluten tends to be an almost invisible ingredient in lots of common foods. The best way to avoid being poisoned by gluten is to know the ingredients to look for on food labels.

Now, when I started eating gluten free, I was completely lost. I felt overwhelmed! But as I started to learn more, I got better at it.

Eventually I was able to become confident in my ability to pick safe foods, and I'm going to help you do it too.

Hidden Ingredients with Gluten

When you are first starting to learn what ingredients have gluten, you need to get a huge list. The nice thing is, a lot of these ingredients aren't super common in most foods.

Here is a list of ingredients from Web.MD to be aware of when trying to buy gluten free:

• Barley

• Malt

• Oatmeal

• Wheat Bran

• Matzo

• Bulgur

• Couscous

• Farina

• Seitan

• Wheat Germ

• Semolina

• Kamut

• Spelt

These are just a few ingredients that are most common in food, so it is important to make sure you are checking all of the nutrition labels to be sure it's safe. It may feel silly at first, but it is 100% worth it.

The most common hidden ingredients that I have found would have to be barley and malt. So be sure to look out for those the most!

Celiac Disease

So what exactly is Celiac Disease? This is what the Celiac Disease Foundation says:

Celiac disease is a serious autoimmune disease that occurs in genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. It is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people worldwide, but only about 30% are properly diagnosed.

Now, that is kind of a lot to take in. So I'll try and break it down a little. To explain this in more detail, this all takes place in the small intestines where your body gets nutrients from your food.

When someone with Celiac eats gluten, the body attacks small finger like things called the villi. These are the things that are meant to absorb nutrients into the body from the food we eat. But when gluten is eaten, the body attacks these villi which not only damages them, but also makes it so you can't absorb those nutrients.

Villi of the small intestines

This picture shows the difference between what normal small intestine walls look like compared to someone with Celiac Disease.

Because the villi shorter, this can cause a lot of serious health issues like malnutrition, anemia, and osteoporosis.

Without a known cure, it is important for people with Celiac Disease to learn the signs and symptoms so they don't have persistent issues and long lasting consequences.

So what are the main symptoms?

Figuring out the symptoms are half the battle of recognizing Celiac Disease.

The symptoms can be within a range of a lot of things, but here are some of the most common ones:

• bloating

• diarrhea

• constipation

• gas

• lactose intolerance

• nausea

• indigestion

• heartburn

• skin rashes

• weight loss

• stomach pain

The problem is that you can have a range of these symptoms, have all of them, or pretty much only stomach problems. So, it's hard to pin point a direct symptom that proves that you have celiac or gluten intolerance.

But a great way to figure it out is to cut gluten out of your diet and see if any or all of your symptoms go away.

So how do you eat Gluten Free?

In the past 4 years, it has seemed like eating gluten free has started to become easier. When you go to stores there tends to be sections devoted to gluten free items, some restaurants have dedicated menus, and there are even brands of food specifically made to be gluten free.

The best way to become fully gluten free is to first take a look at all the things you have in your home (things in the freezer, pantry, and all your cupboards), read the nutrition labels for those hidden ingredients, and make a list of things that are needing to be replaced. Then the next step is to replace them with things that are safe to eat.

This seems like a daunting task at first, and it can be time consuming, but it is worth it to avoid the pain that comes from not eating gluten free.

Is it worth it?

Having been diagnosed with Celiac Disease myself, I know how hard it is to commit to eating gluten free. It can be super hard!

But it's worth it.

By eating right, your body will start to feel so much better and although you'll miss eating regular food, you will have zero desire to actually eat it because you feel like you are actually living for the first time.

Trust me, once you start feeling healthy again, there is no amount of gluten that would make you want to feel that way again.

If you think you could have Celiac Disease, try eating gluten free! It could make a world of difference.

And if you let me help you on your gluten free journey, you may find that you actually love it!