Celiac Disease And Its Effects On The Body System

In the essay, “Against the Grain,” Marina Keegan discusses her journey living with Celiac Disease. Keegan kicks off the essay describing what she will eat on her death bed, Oreo’s, hamburger’s, pizza, donuts, a beer, and so on, she basically lists the core foods in the diet of the average American teenager. Keegan leaves the reader wondering: “Why those specific foods? Maybe they are her favorite?” These questions are then answered in the following paragraph. She states that she is allergic to gluten and continues on to discuss how she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and how her life was growing up with the uncommon allergy. Keegan includes personal experience, facts, and evolution of her thoughts to uncover how Celiac Disease has impacted her life.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the ingestion of gluten damages the lining of the small intestine and thus leads to a wide range of symptoms and health issues. However, it is often confused with gluten intolerance or misrepresented as a dietary restriction. Consequently, most people assume cutting off pasta and baked goods from one’s diet for a limited period of time is enough to cure it. Therefore, it is necessary to raise awareness of the true definition of celiac disease and to familiarize people with the seriousness of this illness. This blog is my platform to share my story with this medical condition. My aim is to highlight the fact that having celiac is a lifelong journey that goes far beyond bread and cookies. My ultimate goal is to reveal the impact of the disease on one’s lifestyle and to uncover the concealed and invisible aspects of being celiac.

Celiac disease is a fairly common disease but is not very well known. Celiac disease, or celiac sprue, is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten (Hill, Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of celiac disease in children, 2011). Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. People with celiac disease who eat foods containing gluten experience an immune reaction in their small intestines, causing damage to the inner surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients (Hill, Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of celiac disease in children, 2011).

Desiree Ferrandi, a 50-year-old female who I had the pleasure to meet and interview, is 1 out of the about 3 million people in the world suffering from Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is just one out of the many chronic illnesses that affect nearly 3 million people in America. It is a disorder that can lead to intestine damage if gluten is ingested. A strict, gluten-free diet is the only current treatment. Celiac, like other chronic illnesses, not only affects the health and body of someone, but it affects all aspects of one’s

One health condition that affects people is Coeliac Disease; this is intolerance to the protein ‘gluten’ which is found in wheat, barley and rye. When coming into contact with gluten the body produces antibodies which then attack the lining of the bowel. This then affects the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food and can even lead to

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract. People with celiac disease cannot eat foods with the gluten protein, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. If they eat foods with gluten, their

1. Explain the physiologic mechanisms related to celiac disease. What anatomical features of the small intestine lend it to the digestion and absorption of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins?

If you notice or experience any of the signs or symptoms common to celiac disease, see your doctor. If someone in your family is known to have celiac disease, you may need to be tested. Starting the process will help you avoid complications associated with the disease, such as osteoporosis, anemia and certain types of cancer. Seek medical attention for a child who is pale, irritable, fails to grow and who has foul smelling stools. Many other conditions can cause these same signs and symptoms, so it's important to talk to your doctor before trying a gluten-free diet.

In some severe cases, a gluten-free diet cannot relieve the disease that doctors might prescribe medicines to support the immune system. Moreover, ‘the risks involve not getting enough vitamins. As Kellogg’s gluten-free cereal are not enriched by such nutrients, like fiber and iron, people who follow this diet may have lower level of certain vitamins. Avoiding grains with rich vitamins may

Of the suggestions, an adoption of the gluten-free diet has made its way to the top of the list. The gluten-free diet has shown tremendous improvements in overall quality of life for people with fibromyalgia. Usually, the gluten free diet is suggested for people who have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. What had been brought to light is that symptoms that typically spawn with Fibromyalgia also spawn with Celiac Disease. Thus, an idea was born to test the adoption of the gluten-free diet in those who have fibromyalgia. A study published in the journal of Rheumatology International discovered that a gluten-free diet produced drastic improvements in symptoms that occurred with Fibromyalgia. Patients reported that they were able to fully return back to normal activity and work. Other reported that they were able to completely stop taking their prescribed medication with no undue stress. Many explained that they went into total remission and had no symptoms return while adhering to the Gluten-free diet. Most of the subjects reported a combination of two or all three discoveries. A select few tried to ease gluten back into their regular meals. Instantly, symptoms returned and did not disappear until those individuals reincorporated the gluten-free diet into their lives once

Celiac Disease is a digestive condition that makes the small intestines to become inflamed and unable to absorb nutrients (Kamycheva, Goto, & Camargo 2017). The condition affects more than 3 million Americans. One in 133 American people are known to have the disease. The condition is triggered when an individual eats gluten. Mostly gluten is found in barley, wheat, rye, and other grains that most Americans love to eat. What if you couldn’t eat sandwiches, pasta, cakes, pies, pizza? Sound terrible, right? This has been my life for 10 years now.

Celiac disease is often confused for an allergic illness because (like an allergy) it requires a foreign substance to trigger it. Usually diagnosed by a gastroenterologist, it is a digestive disease that can cause serious complications, including malnutrition and intestinal damage, if left untreated. Individuals with celiac disease must avoid gluten, found in wheat, rye, barley and sometimes oats. There seems to be a genetic predisposition to developing celiac disease, however not all people with a family history of celiac disease develop the condition. There is another reason, yet unknown, why the autoimmune response

After the course of the diets the group who had the gluten enriched diet seems to have a more depressive mood than the ones on the placebo diet or the gluten free. The conclusion of the trial was that people with celiac and gluten sensitivity were better with the gluten free diet and showed no signs of depression. (Peters)(3)

When a person is first diagnosed with celiac disease, a dietician will be working with the person by helping navigate safely around their food intolerances. In order to stay well, people with celiac disease must avoid gluten for the rest of their lives. Eating any gluten, no matter how small an amount, can cause irreversible damage to the small intestine.

Celiac disease seems to be on an up rise today. You now walk into grocery stores and restaurants and see gluten-free food everywhere. Thankfully, for the celiac disease community, life has become a little easier with these accommodations. When most people hear celiac disease many just think gluten-free diets, but they do not realize that celiac disease can affect all parts of the body and mind, or that the disease has a higher occurrence in women. It is a new lifestyle that many must take on. In the next few pages, I will discuss the affects that this disease has on the body systems, the lifestyle changes many make when diagnosed with celiac disease, and the importance of educating those who are dealing with the disease on a day to day basis. I also will discuss information from two articles which focus on the direct affect the disease takes on women living with celiac disease, and the lifestyle changes that are necessary to manage the symptoms.