Gluten intolerance is a broad term that can refer to a few different conditions. The first and most commonly considered condition is celiac disease, but it can also refer to non-celiac gluten sensitivity or even a wheat allergy. Having a better understanding of these conditions and what to do about each of them will help you take the right steps towards the path of health and recovery.
Did you know that 75% of all celiac disease patients have low bone density (osteopenia) and that nearly 40% of all celiac disease patients have full-blown osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is the quintessential silent disease. Most people only learn they suffer from the disease after they break a bone. This lesson will help you identify this stealthy
If you have sporadic ataxia, there’s a possibility that you could be suffering from gluten ataxia. Sporadic ataxia is ataxia that does not have a genetic or other known cause. More often than not, sporadic ataxia turns out to have a link to gluten intolerance. Fortunately there is treatment available. In this article we’ll define gluten ataxia, how it’s diagnosed, and how it relates to celiac disease symptoms.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder which impacts the small intestines and can eventually lead to the inability to absorb essential nutrients. Nearly 1 in every 100 people in the United States suffers from symptoms of this condition. The troubling thing is that celiac disease can be life threatening in some instances. Silent celiac disease is particularly troubling because it can exist without any of the common traditional symptoms.
If you go to your primary care physician and discuss your concern about a possible gluten intolerance, he or she will likely recommend starting with simple blood work. This blood work tests for the anti-gliadin antibody in your blood. Raised levels of this antibody indicate celiac disease. Gliadin is the prolamin protein in gluten that
Too often people suffering from some kind of gluten intolerance walk away from a negative celiac disease test not realizing they may still be suffering some kind of non-celiac gluten intolerance. If your blood test indicates the symptoms you’ve been experiencing are not actually caused by celiac disease, you may still be suffering from a gluten-related condition.
With the gluten-free product industry expected to surpass 5 billion dollars in profit by 2015, the sirens of commerce have become a big part of the gluten-free diet fad. I suppose it isn’t a surprise that this has become a difficult matter, but I’m afraid many people forget the real suffering endured by people stuck between the marketing hype surrounding the gluten-free diet and the medical reality inherent with gluten intolerance.
In many cases celiac disease symptoms in adults can be particular difficult to discern as many adults have slowly become accustomed to subtle discomforts. Among gluten sensitivity issues, celiac disease symptoms remain the most severe and consequential. Unfortunately, they are not always easy to identify or understand. And latent celiac disease may also occur, where the symptoms of celiac disease in adults occur but then fade.
