Celiac Disease

It is estimated that Celiac disease affects one per cent of the population making it a fairly common occurrence. It is also estimated that most of the people who are affected by the disease are currently undiagnosed. If you have a close relative who suffers from Celiac disease the chances is around 1 in 40 that you too will suffer from the disease.

There are multiple reasons why Celiac disease occurs. It is a combination of your own genetic predisposition combined with a diet that contains gluten and some environmental trigger. The two key genes for developing Celiac disease are HLA DQ4 and HLA DQ8. It is not necessary that you have both of these genes in order to develop Celiac disease. Of the two DQ8 is a more common indicator of the likelihood of developing Celiac disease. Having these genes is not enough by itself to say that you will develop the disease. But if you don’t have these genes then the chances of Celiac disease occurring is very remote.
As you have seen above people who are predisposed to Celiac disease through genetic makeup will not necessarily develop the disease. There needs to be an external environmental trigger as well. Some of the most common triggers are surgery, illness, stress such as job loss or a death of someone close, and pregnancy. Celiac disease is auto immune diseases; this is where the immune system attacks the body. It is triggered by eating gluten.

People who suffer from Celiac disease have a malfunctioning digestive system. The problem occurs when the gluten reaches the small intestine. Wheat that is in the body causes the body to produce too much of a protein which is known as zonalin. This protein causes junctions between the cells in the small intestine to open up releasing toxins and gluten into the bloodstream. This is known as Leaky Gut Syndrome. The body notes that there are unwanted toxins in the bloodstream and starts to attack them, the Villi which are the “fingers” which line the small intestine and are responsible for absorbing nutrients, are damaged in the process. This in turn limits the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

Gluten Intolerance Symptoms – Gluten Sensitivity Symptoms

Identifying the Symptoms of Gluten Sensitivity

The first thing that you need to know about the symptoms of Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac disease is that they are multisystemic. That is they exhibit in multiple parts of the body. While the damage that is being done is only occurring in one place which is in the intestine. This can make it hard to identify all the symptoms of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity because there are so many. However some symptoms of the condition are common to most people.

The list of possible symptoms is extensive as you will from this list below:

• respiratory problems
• infertility
• joint pain
• hair loss
• low blood sugar
• fatigue
• headaches
• depression
• lactose intolerance
• acne
• skin disorders
• seizures
• problems with menstrual cycles
• depression
• inability to concentrate
• canker sores

And this is not even the complete list, there is in fact over 250 known symptoms for gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.

While the actual damage done by the condition is done in the intestine as you can see from the list above that is not where most of the symptoms exhibit. However some people with gluten intolerance and celiac disease will exhibit gastrointestinal symptoms as well. These include:

• nausea
• weight loss
• acid reflux
• bloating
• constipation
• diarrhoea
• flatulence
• abdominal pain

Identifying celiac disease in children can actually be a little easier as they tend to exhibit common symptoms. These include abdominal pain, late onset of puberty, weak bones, nose bleeds, behavioural problems such ADHD, irritability and difficulty concentrating. As you will see in the section on Autism it is often confused for celiac disease as the symptoms are very similar.