Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease is a condition in which the protein in wheat, barley, rye, triticale (wheat-rye cross) and oats called 'gluten' is not digested in the small intestines causing inability to absorb food, minerals and vitamins, which gradually leads to malignancies and serious illness if not treated by the time.

Generally it can be diagnosed in infancy and childhood but celiac disease can happen at any age from nine months to ninety years.

By: Kaveri Tyagi

Posted on: June 28, 2024

Celiac Disease Symptoms:

🔸 Bloating

🔸 Reflux

🔸 IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

🔸 Mouth ulcers

🔸 Itchy skin

🔸 Blistery rashes

🔸 Ataxia

🔸 Weight loss

🔸 Osteoporosis/Osteopenia

🔸 Depression

🔸 Anxiety

🔸 Anemia

🔸 Chronic fatigue and low energy

🔸 Liver disorders

🔸 Malnutrition

🔸 Intestines Cancer (very rare).

Its symptoms are generally similar to other diseases, regular follow ups with physician, nutritionist, blood tests and biopsies are recommended to confirm the disease.
If remain undiagnosed, it can lead to autoimmune diseases like thyroid, lupus, fibromyalgia, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, infertility, malignancies like adenocarcinoma, oesophageal cancer etc.

Treatment:-

Celiac Disease is not treatable but is completely manageable with strict gluten free diet.

Avoid all food items that contains wheat, rye, oats, barley or even a very small quantity of gluten may worsen the situation.

Foods to Avoid for Celiac Disease

➡️ Whole Wheat

➡️ Wheat Flour

➡️ Wheat Starch

➡️ Cracked Wheat

➡️ Durum

➡️ Fu (Asian foods)

➡️ Gliadin

➡️ Kamut

➡️ Semolina

➡️ Wheat Bran

➡️ Wheat Germ

➡️ Farina

➡️ Emmer

➡️ Faro

➡️ Graham flour

➡️ Barley

➡️ Malt

➡️ Brewer's yeast

➡️ Wheat berries

➡️ Bulgar

➡️ Rye

➡️ Seitan

➡️ Spelt

➡️ Triticale and Mir (wheat and rye cross)

Oats (oats itself doesn't contain gluten, but are often harvested and processed with the same equipments that are used for wheat and therefore get easily contaminated, so it is advised to avoid oats).

Common Foods that contain Gluten are:-

👉 Pastas

👉 Noodles (made with wheat)

👉 Breads and Pastries

👉 Crackers

👉 Corn Flakes and Rice Puffs (often contain malt extracts)

👉 Tortillas or tortilla chips (are not entirely corn based, may contain wheat ingredients too)

👉 Beer

👉 French Fries

👉 Potato Chips (may contain malt vinegar or wheat starch)

👉 Candy and Bars

👉 Soups (uses flour as a thickening agent and may contain barley also)

👉 Salad Dressings (may contain flour, malt vinegar and soy sauce)

Cross contamination may also occur through:-

Cutting Board, toasters, deep fried foods cooked in oil shared with product containing gluten, shared containers, flour sifters, condiments (butter, peanut butter, mayonnaise, chutneys, jam, mustard sauce may get contaminated when gluten containing foods are dipped in it), wheat flour may stay airborne.

Management of Celiac Disease:-

It may seem difficult and daunting to go gluten free in starting but once you start a gluten free diet you become used to it.

Many grains other than the ones that contain gluten are:

Corn

Buckwheat

Amaranth

Sorghum

Soy

Tapioca

Quinoa

Millet

Rice

Cassava

Lots of foods are naturally gluten free, as in: -

Fruits / Veg

Beans

Seeds

Pulses

All Nuts

Potatoes

Eggs

Milk

Fishes

Chicken

Meats

You may use guar gum or Xanthan gum as a substitute for gluten when baking.

On a gluten free diet, you can also have wine, whisky, brandy and ciders but read the ingredient label very carefully.

You need to be very careful while dining out; you may communicate to the chef and tell them what your requirements are, ask them to use fresh and washed utensils for your dish preparations. Some restaurants and hotels even cater the gluten free diet.

Consult your dietician and physician for any queries and medications.