So what is all this about gluten free this and that anyway??

Have you been seeing Gluten Free menus at more and more places around you?

Even celebrities are getting in on it. This is a GOOD positive sign that the world is getting to know and understand their bodies more and what it means to feed it right.

Celiac disease is an digestive autoimmune disorder. There are several types of autoimmune disorders, but essentially it means the body attacks itself.  Unlike an allergy to a food or substance where the allergic reaction is where the body is attacking the foreign substance. A person has to have the genes to develop Celiacs, and it is possible to be a carrier of the gene and never develop the disease during their lifetime.

The one (and only) cool thing about Celiacs is that it is the only autoimmune disorder with the known cause, gluten. If a person has celiacs disease the autoimmune reaction is trigger if/when they consume gluten.  This “trigger” causes the body to attack the small intestines’ villi – the finger like thingys that absorb nutrients from foods. Overtime the villi become damaged and are unable to properly absorb much nutrients at all, no matter how much they eat. Making Celiacs in danger of becoming malnourished and experiencing other complications along the way.  The only way to treat Celiacs is to maintain a life long Gluten Free diet.

Screening for Celiacs can be done through an antibody, genetic tests, or Endoscopic biopsy (which is the gold standard for establishing the diagnoses).  If you are going to be tested for celiacs through a blood test or endoscopy make sure you maintain your normal diet until you get tested, so you do not get a false negative in your test results.

Also visit Pubmed Health for more information here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001280/