More and more people these days are becoming sensitive to different foods – the common such foods include wheat, milk, nuts, soy, egg, seafood, yeast, mushrooms.
Celiac disease: When your bread turns poison
While most of these intolerances are manifest with mild symptoms, some may have life-threatening consequences.
Centuries ago, Roman philosopher Luceritius said, "What is food to one is bitter poison to another."
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Celiac disease cannot be described any better. With millions of metric tonnes of it being grown and eaten every year, wheat is the world's most consumed grain. But it is also the grain which puts millions of people at risk of illness.
Celiac disease is a condition which leaves a person intolerant to gluten for life. Gluten is a protein found in cereals like wheat, oats, barley, rye and some others. In India, the disease is not easy to manage - mostly due to limited awareness, limited food options restrictive and inadequate food labelling.
Celiac disease: When your bread turns poison
The disease occurs globally, has no socio-economic boundary and can occur at any age. Around 25 per cent cases are diagnosed in patients over 60 years of age.
Eating foods with gluten causes an immune reaction in the small intestines that can damage the lining of the intestines and lower absorption of essential nutrients leading to mal-absorption and nutritional deficiencies.
Typical symptoms of celiac disease include diarrhoea, gastrointestinal disturbances like abdominal distension, flatulence, pain, constipation; nausea and vomiting; growth problems; stunting and anaemia.
The symptoms vary from person to person. Only 50 per cent patients experience diarrhoea.
Celiac disease: When your bread turns poison
Other symptoms include weight loss, lethargy, tiredness, bone problems like osteoporosis and cramps; skin problems, infertility, mouth ulcers, numbness and behaviour problems like depression, anxiety, irritability and poor school performance.
Absence of typical symptoms makes the diagnosis difficult and often leads to ill health and life-threatening maladies.
People with hidden celiac disease are more in danger as they are at a higher risk of developing a severe form of malnutrition, non-specific ill health and if undiagnosed, the disease can prove fatal.
Celiac disease can increase the risk to disorders like Type-1 diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases, liver diseases, thyroid disorders, pulmonary diseases such as asthma; ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease as well as cancer.
Diagnosis can often be overlooked and many patients have been considered for growth hormone therapy for short stature, or been through rounds of hospital admissions due to debility and ill health, and even put on anti-tubercular treatment for unexplained diarrhoea and weight loss, only to worsen their condition.
Diagnosis is done using serological markers (blood tests) and endoscopy. Correct diagnosis is imperative.
Celiac disease is certainly more common than previously appreciated - 1 in 100 people suffer from it in Europe and 1 in 133 people in the US. Data from India are still not available, but according to projections it is estimated that there may be at least 4 million cases in India.
Celiac disease is a permanent condition and requires lifelong strict restriction for foods containing gluten. Nutritional supplements are a must to correct deficiencies.
Celiac disease: When your bread turns poison
Gluten-free diet usually helps restore normal health.
Living with celiac disease in developed countries is easier as food labelling is better, conveniently packed food is available and restaurants and fast foods provide gluten-free choices.
People who have celiac (pronounced: see-lee-ak) disease have a disorder that makes their bodies react to gluten. When they eat gluten, an immune system reaction to the protein gradually damages the villi in the small intestine. When the villi are damaged, the body is unable to absorb the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to stay healthy. People with celiac disease are therefore at risk of malnutrition and can develop anemia (a decreased number of red blood cells due to lack of iron) or osteoporosis (brittle bones from lack of calcium).
The body's inability to absorb nutrients can also mean that young people with untreated celiac disease may not grow properly and may have weight loss and fatigue. In addition, people who have celiac disease may be prone to developing other diseases, such as thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes, and gastrointestinal cancer.
Symptoms of celiac disease vary from person to person. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system or in other parts of the body. Digestive symptoms are more common in infants and young children and may include
* abdominal bloating and pain
* chronic diarrhea
* vomiting
* constipation
* pale, foul-smelling, or fatty stool
* weight loss
Irritability is another common symptom in children. Malabsorption of nutrients during the years when nutrition is critical to a child’s normal growth and development can result in other problems such as failure to thrive in infants, delayed growth and short stature, delayed puberty, and dental enamel defects of the permanent teeth.
For long, it has been simply considered as a disease of the West. Doctors say that due to this lack of awareness close to 97% of celiac disease cases remain unnoticed hennce need serious consideration
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