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- What is coeliac disease?
- Symptoms of coeliac disease
- Causes of coeliac disease
- Prevention of coeliac disease
- Risk factors for coeliac disease
- Complications of coeliac disease
- When to see a doctor about coeliac disease
- Diagnosis of coeliac disease
- Conventional treatment of coeliac disease
- Alternative/complementary treatment of coeliac disease
- Living with coeliac disease
- Caring for someone with coeliac disease
Coeliac disease is digestive disorder where the immune system responds abnormally to gluten intake in the diet and this causes malabsorption of not only the gluten but other nutrients too.
The inability to digest gluten (wheat protein) causes inflammation and damage to the walls of the small intestine and in particular to the villi (the little finger-like tissues that help the food to be absorbed), which become eroded and then flattened, causing the inability to absorb any nutrients in untreated coeliac disease.
Foods that contain gluten:
- Barley
- Oats
- Rye
- Triticale (combination of wheat and tye)
- Wheat (has the highest amount of gluten) - includes durum, faro, kamut, semolina, spelt
All types of wheat have the highest amounts of gluten and because of this, can do the most damage to the villi and thus the small intestine, so should be avoided in people with coeliac disease. The other grains (barley, oats, rye) may cause less damage to the small intestine than wheat, but research shows that they still do damage and should also be avoided by the person with gluten intolerance to avoid symptoms associated with coeliac disease.
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Facts about coeliac disease
- Celiac disease causes an immune response in the intestines to the gluten proteins present in wheat that are eaten
- Coeliac disease affects the absorption of many nutrients, but if it affects the absorption of calcium and other vitamins and minerals associated with bone health, it can lead to osteoporosis if the condition is left untreated (or poorly treated)
- People that get coeliac disease generally have this condition for life, but it can be successfully managed in order to have a good quality of life
- The medical name for coeliac disease is coeliac sprue
- Coeliac disease was first observed in the first century AD, but was officially confirmed as a dietary related condition around the 1940's
- Statistics indicate that approximately 1-2 people in every 1000 in Australia have coeliac disease, but the numbers of people with this condition could be as high as 1-2 in every 100 people in Australia
- Coeliac disease is more common in Western Europe and in Celtic populations, but is also very common in Sweden, Italy, Australia, America and Austria too
- Incidence of coeliac disease around the world is estimated at around 1% of world population
- Coeliac disease is a permanent abnormality of the gastrointestinal system
- Coeliac disease is rare in Japanese or Chinese people
- People with coeliac disease have a higher risk for developing lymphoma (a cancer of the lymph tissues)
- Coeliac disease is also written celiac disease (American spelling)
- Many people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) find that following a low or no gluten diet helps reduce their symptoms, quite significantly in some cases
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