Things You Need To Know About Celiac Disease

[caption id="attachment_826858" align="aligncenter" width="1068"] Bigstockphoto.com/Female baker[/caption] There has been a surge of Celiac disease awareness in recent years. This awareness has helped people become diagnosed, get the help they need, and, finally, understand why they’ve lived with pain and discomfort for years. It’s also left many people confuse. A lot of individuals have the symptoms associated with Celiac, leading them to self-diagnose, and sometimes cut out gluten for no reason whatsoever, while still failing to target their issue. Some people don’t believe that Celiac disease is even real (it is) simply because we rarely heard about it until the last decade or so. But there are a lot of conditions humans have suffered and even died from for centuries, that we really only came to understand in the 21^st century. So here are facts about Celiac disease you should know, whether you have it or not. [caption id="attachment_714516" align="alignleft" width="481"] Shutterstock[/caption]

You’re born with it

You do not develop Celiac disease. It is an auto-immune disease, and you have it from the moment your little body enters this world. Some people think they develop it because symptoms can take decades to appear.       [caption id="attachment_613832" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

It cannot be cured

So before asking your friend who is complaining about their condition to “Just get some medicine” you should know that, they can’t. They simply have to avoid most of the food you eat.   [caption id="attachment_707056" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

It is different from gluten-sensitivity

Gluten-sensitivity and Celiac disease will produce many of the same symptoms (bloating, diarrhea, vomiting) but do not cause the same long-term issues. Only people with Celiac disease can struggle to absorb nutrients if they consume gluten.       [caption id="attachment_711664" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

A little history lesson

To show just how powerful this disease is, during World War II, when there was a bread shortage, incidents of Celiac disease went down. Naturally, they went back up when bread became once again widely-available.           [caption id="attachment_722647" align="alignleft" width="414"] Shutterstock[/caption]

You can have it and not know it

Some individuals with Celiac disease never exhibit symptoms, but that isn’t to say that the disease isn’t harming them. Your intestines can suffer damage if you eat gluten and have Celiac disease, even if you do not suffer the immediate effects.       [caption id="attachment_708138" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Yes, it’s very serious

If someone has Celiac disease, so much as a particle of wheat flour landing on their food can make them sick. So when your friend with Celiac asked if you cut any bread on the board that you’re now cutting her carrots on, she isn’t being difficult.         [caption id="attachment_623973" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Celiac doesn’t always show up in your tests

You can actually test negative for the disease and still have it. So, if you exhibit the symptoms of Celiac disease, and you feel tremendously better when you don’t eat gluten, then disregard what the test says and just stop eating gluten. [caption id="attachment_704593" align="alignleft" width="476"] Shutterstock[/caption]

What is the real danger?

When someone with Celiac disease consumes gluten, their intestines can be damaged, making it difficult for them to properly absorb nutrients. The intestines may also leak into the bloodstream.       [caption id="attachment_708003" align="alignleft" width="420"] Shutterstock[/caption]

There may be a correlation between Celiac and infertility

While there haven’t been conclusive studies proving that Celiac disease causes infertility, studies have found a prevalence of Celiac disease in women struggling to conceive who are unable to determine another cause of their fertility issues.     [caption id="attachment_703281" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Celiac disease can cause cancer

Consuming gluten when one has Celiac disease can put you at a higher risk of developing lymphoma and small bowel cancer.           [caption id="attachment_722656" align="alignleft" width="420"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Some symptoms are hard to catch

Celiac disease can cause symptoms clearly related to an intestinal condition, like bloating, constipation and vomiting. But the disease can also cause symptoms people don’t often associate with digestive diseases, like depression, skin rashes, fatigue and joint pain.       [caption id="attachment_613832" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Diagnosis is complicated

While blood tests can often detect Celiac disease in people suffering advanced stages of the condition, intestinal biopsies are necessary to diagnose it in people only in the beginning stages.   [caption id="attachment_608268" align="alignleft" width="467"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Misdiagnosis happens all of the time

Since the symptoms of Celiac disease are quite similar to those of Chron’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and colitis, it is often misdiagnosed.               [caption id="attachment_712213" align="alignleft" width="420"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Diagnoses are on the rise

Within the past twenty years, the number of documented cases of Celiac disease has risen from about one in every 10,000 people to one in every 130 people.         [caption id="attachment_717467" align="alignleft" width="380"] Shutterstock[/caption]

A few more symptoms to be aware of

Celiac can manifest itself in hundreds of symptoms. Here are some to look for: tingling of the extremities, sores in the mouth, changes in mood, yellowing or browning of the teeth, headaches, anemia, and delayed growth in children.

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