Raising Maine

October is Celiac Disease Awareness Month - Here's what you need to know about this increasingly prevalent problem.

By KRISTEN DeQUATTRO, Raising Maine Contributor

If whole grains are supposed to be good for you, why are so many Americans choosing to give them up? The answer is that studies show a growing population of people with celiac disease.
October is Celiac Disease Awareness Month, an effort to increase knowledge and encourage early diagnosis and treatment.

Though the disease has probably existed for centuries, its pervasiveness in the last few decades has sparked widespread recognition. Celiac disease is a common genetic disorder. Sufferers have intolerance to certain types of protein, called gluten.

Gluten is found in whole grains - wheat, barley and rye (and to some degree in oats) – which set off an autoimmune response that interferes with the ability for the small intestine to absorb nutrients from foods. This, in turn, can lead to malnutrition and other health conditions such as arthritis, anemia and infertility.

Sufferers of celiac disease can experience varying degrees of a multitude of symptoms including: diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, general gastrointestinal discomfort, skin rashes, muscle cramps and/or joint pain.

According to the Celiac Sprue Association (www.csaceliacs.org), celiac disease affects approximately 1 in 133 Americans and the prevalence of the disease in the U.S. is more than four times higher than it was in the 1950s. Dr. Alberto Rubio-Tapia, lead author of the Mayo Clinic report on celiac disease, wrote "Human genetic changes are extremely slow, unlikely to happen in only 50 years, thus the most likely explanation may be environmental."

Still, the potential to develop the disease may exist in your body from birth. For people who have a close relative with celiac disease, the prevalence is higher. If you are a first-degree relative – parent, child, brother or sister – of a person with celiac disease, you have a 1 in 22 chance of developing the disease in your lifetime.

Many people wonder if they should eliminate gluten from their diet as a proactive health measure, but doctors maintain that if you haven't been diagnosed with celiac there is little reason and no benefit to cutting out gluten. Even for the person who exhibits symptoms of the disease, doctors warn against self-diagnosis. By removing gluten from your diet, you would be removing the antibodies that doctors would need to screen for in order to identify and treat the illness. But, for people diagnosed with celiac disease, eliminating gluten has profound benefits.

If you have questions or are interested in learning more about celiac disease, ask your doctor or visit www.celiac.org or www.mayoclinic.com.