Having researched Celiac Disease myself, this article is very timely, and should be required reading for all physicians (really, for all health care providers).  There is much more information available on the Celiac Disease Association website (might be Celiac Disease Foundation, or National Celiac Foundation, or something like that).

The author is correct in saying that a healthy immune system relies on a healthy digestive system.

There is an active local Celiac Disease support group.

Thanks for sharing your informative article. I had recently read about this disease, so it's good to know about your experiences with it. While you learned about this too late to possibly save your mother, hopefully others will benefit from knowing about this as well.

My Aunt was diagnosed with this a few years ago.  For many years she couldn't gain any weight and was extremely thin - even at about 5'1" (I think), she weighed less than 90 lbs.  She literally would eat anything at McDonald's virtually every day, couldn't gain an ounce.

Since being diagnosed, she's been able to change her diet and has gained some weight, albiet not a ton.

celiac.com is a great place to start.

I've sort of "diagnosed" with IBS after a colonoscopy came out clean as a whistle (no pun intended for those of you who have had the "prep".)  It's a battle I've fought in one degree or another most of my adult life.  After another bout of colitis and a round of antibiotics I'm facing another colonoscopy within the next month.  When I go to the doctor again I'm going to ask about Celiac Disease.  Funny, she asked me today if I had problems after eating a lot of bread and I really haven't noticed.   She also told me that glutens can cause flare ups and to go without any bread for at least 3 days a week.  (I live on toast and sandwiches.)

Ummmm..I also got in trouble for my cholesterol levels.  BIG trouble.  She almost clucked at me when I told her my Dad was a double amputee from cholesterol blockages in his groin.

Guess who's going on a low cholesterol, low carb diet.

Going gluten free can help cure many peoples issues who do not have Celiac disease.

Antibiotics should ALWAYS be followed up by Probiotics found at any drug store.  You can also do this to a lesser degree with Activa yogurt. They replace the good bacteria that are erased after antibiotic use. You won't be able to tell if bread is causing your problems unless you get off of it for a while.  However it is very important NOT to stop eating gluten before any kind of testing or your tests will have false negatives.

Amazing how medical knowledge advances.  When I was younger my doc called it nervous gut.  Then spastic colon, then it was thought to be IBS or diverticultis, and now, here's a new wrinkle.

My mother had a lot of trouble with stomach ailments too so I always figured I inherited it ..whatever it was.  She could never gain weight either

My family has been eating only Whole wheat for as long as i can remember.  The only fast food i eat is at Subway because i can get whole wheat bread.  We also eat whole wheat spaghetti and macaroni.  it's hard to find but Von's has a whole line of whole wheat products.  My doctor told me a few years back that it was one of the best things I could do for my health. Whole wheat flour is also available and is great for baking.

I only got screened for Celiacs after I was diagnosed with endometriosis. The two often go hand-in-hand. No Celiacs for me, but I ended up with some other food allergies (also pretty common with endo). Dairy and beef are not quite as hard to avoid as gluten at least. You really have to start cooking from scratch to avoid any wheat or other grains with gluten.

Lassens is really good for local shopping when you have food allergies. They've got a lot of dairy-free and gluten-free products. No need to give up the bread Nancy. Just go over to Lassens and find some gluten-free bread, cookie, cake, etc mixes. There are other starches besides wheat that can be used and those mixes tend to have the right ratios to get the desired consistency.

Good to know Shwaine..thanks, I'll check it out.

The trouble with cooking for one is that I often don't care what I eat.  Just something easy and quick.  Too often that means high calorie,  high cholesterol, and high fat.  I've been known to make a bowl of ice cream my dinner,  or popcorn with butter and then ice cream.

Rubbermaid is my solution to the cooking for one problem. I have a lot of single-serve sized Rubbermaid containers. I'll make a "normal" recipe on my day off then put the leftovers in the freezer. When I'm working, I can just pull something from the freezer and microwave it. I'll do the same with baked goods. I'll put enough in a package for 3-4 days worth of servings then pull a package out to defrost when wanted. So I'll spend a weekend stocking the freezer then I can laze about the kitchen for the rest of the week or even a couple weeks if I double recipes.

The Today Show recently reported on Celiac disease.  You can watch those videos here   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...    and here   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...

Thank you for your informative post.  More information can be found at  http://www.celiac.org/cd-ma...

Thank you for the really informative post! A lot of these types of diseases and irritations can be traced back to our over reliance on processed foods. I know we are busy today, but people were very busy forty years ago as well, and did not suffer to near the degree we suffer today from the growing variety of immune disorders and disease.

These past several years I have had my eyes opened to the threat our current agribusiness model poses to us all. From the synthetic fossil fuel created nitrogen that is used in most fertilizers, which ultimately robs the soil of every other nutrient, to the heavily processed synthetic foods and drinks we consume in such great bulk we are at greater risk every day until we change from our current agribusiness practices. 

I suffered from H. pylori which caused a great deal of discomfort a few years ago. This is a little bug that causes most stomach ulcers, and resists stomach acid by creating enzymes that neutralize the effects of the acid. The digestive system pumps more acid on the bacteria and creates the ulcer and other nasty side effects. Most scientists believe people get this bacteria through food and water. I got my bout  right after eating the last hamburger I will ingest. I have not had a recurrence.

I mention this because just this past week another half a million pounds of contaminated ground beef was pulled from the country's grocer shelves.  This might not be that alarming if cases like these were happening very infrequently. But the cases of contamination in our livestock, in our produce and in our processed foods have risen to alarming levels.

I believe we are at a very critical juncture in our history. We are looking at young people in America for the first time in our history probably having shorter life spans than the previous generations. As we argue how best to control pollution, create jobs, manage energy production sources,  protect the environment, administer and pay for health care we are eating ourselves to death from the factory food production system that demands that livestock be caged in close confines and fed products they were never designed to digest causing the use of antibiotics in livestock to account for more than 70% of all antibiotic use in America.

We need to eat less meat and less processed food. We don't need corn and soy 24/7 in our system.

Thanks again for the great post. To your health!

I would advise everyone to watch the video that sys_mom posted.  Very good.  I hope people who see this post  pass the word along to other people.  This disease is starting to get some traction in the U.S.  When it becomes more mainstream, the numbers of people with this disease will become even more alarming than they are now.  We should also DEMAND screening of ALL children before the age of 6.

TESTING: Also, testing is tricky for this disease as people may have false negatives.  Please look at this in reference to testing for Celiac.

http://www.celiac.com/artic...

Nicole, my wife, calls up Kaiser Permanente and says she wants to get a Celiac Panel, Operator says...."What's Celiac Disease?"

Called my mom's dentist today and told him that my moms extensive dental work was a result of an unchecked Celiac disease.  Dentist says... "What's Celiac disease?"  Now he is educated and patients that have extensive dental work will now be on his radar. 

The owner of the Californian read my blog and asked if I could do a write up on celiac disease for the paper, which will include demanding propper testing for kids.  Of course, I said "hell ya!"  40,000+ people are about to get schooled, including uninformed doctors

Next year I'm planning on running a Celiac Awareness race car and having Sunnies car done up as well.  Every person that we helped by my mom's, mine or Sunnie's experience will get their name on my car.  Of course the first person saved will be Sunnie.  I've probably got about close to 100 people lined up to get screened so far soI expect the list to grow.

Bang the drum, tell everyone you know.  Not knowing is NOT acceptable.

Billy

My son, Logan, had an appointment today to be tested for Celiac Disease. My wife called me while I was at work to tell me that Dr Fernando Fan of the Kaiser organization here in Bakersfield wouldn't give him the test. Now, since Billy first wrote the post here, he and my wife have been in contact on a regular basis. They both share similar symptoms, Nicoles mother has been diagnosed with IBS, Lupus, and a number of other problems. We all know about Billy's mother (from above). Logan and Sunny share a lot of the same symptoms also. I thought to do a simple blood test just to see, would be the right thing to do. I left work and went to talk to the Dr, but when I got there he was busy seeing other patients and wouldn't talk to me. Now to make things worse, they would not refund the $70 co-pay. We have to talk to member services for that. They said that since he was actually seen by the Dr, we owed the co-pay. I guess I'm just crazy, but I figured since he didn't perform what the appointment was made for, and nothing else either, we shouldn't have to pay the $70.

It kind of seems the obvious thing would just be to get on a glutin free diet, but I think they monitor the health of your intestines some once you've been diagnosed with CD, so the diagnosis would be nice. It would just be nice to know for sure.
 

I hate to be this way, but it sure makes me wonder if he wasn't seeing a lifetime of co-pays go away if he tested my son.

You have a $70 co-pay to see a doctor?

What excuse did this Doctor give for refusing to order the test?  How long has your son been his patient?  I have the opportunity to switch to Kaiser every year If I want to.  I have been asking my friends who already are clients there for their opinions.  What do you think?  Should I stay with United Health Care or switch to Kaiser?  

Stick to the plan that gives you the most options sys_mom.

Good advice....Thank you.  I'm going to snoop about on the UHC website now and track down more information.