Tag: Small Intestine

Diagnosing Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a known disease of the small intestine. With celiac disease, the intestine experiences an immunological or allergic reaction. The small intestine does not absorb the nutrients of the food digested. This leads to nutritional, vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Diagnosing celiac disease early is very important to prevent any critical illness.

Celiac disease is common in European countries, particularly in Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Austria. In Finland, the prevalence may be as high as one in every 100 persons. While in North America, its prevalence is one in every 3000 people. Worldwide, its occurrence would be one in every 250 people.

Its exact cause is unknown but it is often inherited. If someone in the immediate family has it, chances are 5 percent to 15 percent that the member of the family may have it as well. It can occur at any age, although problems dont appear until gluten is introduced into the diet.

There are also times, for unclear reasons, that the disease appear or was experienced after some form of trauma. It can happen or emerge after an infection, a physical injury, the stress of pregnancy, severe stress or surgery.

There are no typical signs and symptoms of celiac disease and there are even patients that have no symptoms. They only show the symptoms after inducing or introducing gluten into their diet. There are cases that celiac disease is misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. The symptoms are often confused with other conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome, gastric ulcers, or nervous conditions.

Blood tests are conducted such as anti-tissue translutaminase and anti-endomysial antibodies. Blood tests are used to find the elevated antibody levels. These elevated levels are a sign of celiac disease, since the persons immune system recognizes gluten as a foreign substance and increases the number of antibodies to fight it.

After confirming or getting elevated antibody levels in the blood tests, the doctor or attending physician perform intestinal tissue checks. This is to microscopically examine a small portion of intestinal tissue to check for damage to the villi.

A thin, flexible tube is inserted through the mouth, esophagus and stomach and into the small intestine to take a small tissue sample. The tiny, hairlike projections from the small intestine that absorb vitamins, minerals and other nutrients will provide the necessary information if the villi is damaged.

Also, patients with celiac disease show other clues. Patients may have the presence of a blistering, itchy skin rash known as dermatitis herpetiformis. An estimated 10 percent of patients with celiac disease also have this skin disorder. Dermatitis herpetiformis is a skin disease that can be found on the extremities, buttocks, neck, trunk, and scalp.

After undergoing medical examinations, a trial of a gluten-free diet can confirm the diagnosis. But before undergoing the gluten-free diet, medical evaluation is required. Undergoing the diet may have an impact on the results of the blood test and biopsies. They may appear normal and without any complications even if the patient is positive with celiac disease.

Dennis Lee, M.D, the author of the article Celiac Disease(Gluten Enteropathy) states that it is necessary to firmly establish the diagnosis of celiac disease before commencing to gluten free diet for three main reasons:

(1) to identify the gluten-free diet should be followed which is a life-long and tedious commitment;

(2) to avoid patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to unnecessarily commit to life-long gluten restriction; and

(3) a gluten free diet can lower the blood antibody levels and allow the small intestine to lose the typical appearance of celiac disease, complicating subsequent efforts at making a firm diagnosis of celiac disease.

The Truth About Celiac Disease

People that have been diagnosed with this condition probably already know all things about it. But for those around them that do not understand, celiac disease is a condition that affects the digestive system. More specifically, it is a condition that is set off by eating foods with protein gluten. The truth about celiac disease is that no treatment exists and those who claim otherwise should be taken with caution and skepticism. The disease is also known as celiac sprue or gluten-sensitive enteropathy.

The disease can affect a person at any age. Children and adults alike have the chance to develop the disease. It is an autoimmune disorder which targets the digestive system. Like mentioned earlier, it is triggered by eating foods that are rich with gluten like cereal grains, bread, pasta, pizza crust, and even cookies. Any food that is made from wheat barley or rye most likely contains a good amount of gluten. When food with gluten is ingested, a reaction occurs in the small intestine which causes damage to its inner lining.

The small intestine also becomes incapable of absorbing nutrients. This, of course, will become problematic in the long run since the necessary nutrients are not absorbed which can result to other illnesses. The threat of nutrition deficiency is higher in children who have contracted the disease.

The exact cause of celiac disease is unknown, but its often inherited. If someone in your immediate family has it, chances are 5 percent to 15 percent that you may as well. It can occur at any age, although problems dont appear until gluten is introduced into the diet.

The exact reason why the lining is being damaged is still unknown. Previously, it was thought that the disease only affects Europeans. But recent studies show that celiac disease affects different people regardless of ethnic background. In the US it has been found out that one in every 133 have it. According to research, the disease is genetic in origin.

The disease can be mistaken as other allergic reactions for the signs and symptoms are not that apparent. It is a common thing that people with the disease find themselves experiencing intermittent diarrhea, bloating, gastric ulcers, mouth sores, skin rash, anemia, upset stomach, joint pain and some abdominal pain. However, there are times that people dont experience any kinds of digestive problems at all. Nevertheless, people with celiac disease will result to weight loss, diarrhea, stomach pains, foul smelling stools, and osteoporosis.

The disease may arise from different reasons. Sometimes, trauma, an infection, a physical injury, or the stress from pregnancy can cause the disease. There are some documented cases where severe stress or even surgery can trigger the disease.

Treatment for celiac disease has yet to be discovered. Nonetheless, there are ways to combat the disease. And the first line of defense is a gluten free diet. Avoiding foods with gluten will help prevent any inflammation of the small intestines. You can start taking nutritional supplements to help your malnutrition caused by the disease.

A gluten free diet includes eating the right amounts of fresh meat, fish and poultry, dairy products, fruits and of course vegetables. Your dietary options are not as limited as you might have early thought it would be. Rica and potatoes are also a good replacement for wheat products. Learning the truth about celiac disease should not be approached as something scare but rather should be treated as an opportunity to get to know the disease and the right way of approaching it.

Oats And Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a condition brought about by the accumulation of gluten. Gluten is protein preset in bread, pasta, cookies, crust and other food that is made out of wheat, barley or rye. Oats also contain the protein gluten. There are many controversies surrounding oats and celiac disease.

A person with celiac disease experiences vitamin deficiencies with the brain, nervous system, bones, liver and other vital organs and other illnesses. What happens is that the person with celiac disease who eats foods with the protein gluten experiences an immune reaction in the small intestine. This may lead to small intestine damage and malabsoption of certain vitamins and nutrients from the food. There is no cure for celiac disease but people inflicted with this manage their disease by removing gluten from their diet.

It is believed that celiac disease is a relatively rare disorder, it is now through to affect about one in 250 people worldwide. To manage their disease, patients with celiac disorder is advised to have a gluten-free diet, oats is one of the food that they take out of their list.

But there has been debates if it is acceptable for celiac disease patients to eat oats, since oat proteins are not the same as those in wheat, barley and rye. Even so, oats were believed to have toxic effects with people who are inflicted with this disorder that is why they are advised to avoid them.

Now, there are some celiac disease societies and medical centers who are advising their patients to eat limited amounts of oats which is said to even provide beneficial effects to them. There are studies with adults and children citing majority of patients with celiac disease who could tolerated limited amounts of oats. When they consumed no more than about half to three quarters of a cup of rolled dry oats per day for adults and a quarter of a cup per day for children, there were no abdominal symptoms. (Lapid, Nancy; Are Oats Safe for Patients with Celiac Disease?)

In an article written by Jefferson Adams entitled Effects of Various Kinds of Oats on Celiac Disease, he cited different kinds of study conducted by different groups of scientists and doctors about the relation of oats to celiac disease.

According to Adams, there were a team of Italian and Australian doctors who conducted tests on three kinds of oats: the avenins of the Italian variety Astra , the Australian variety Mortlook and the Austrlian Lampton variety. In the study conducted it showed that Lampton is much safer than either the Astra or Mortlock.

However, even if the Lampton variety is still safer it still has to be processes in a contamination free facility that tests oats if they are gluten free. For oat products to be considered gluten-free, they may show less than 220ppm of gliadin.

Even if there are patients who respond well to oats, there are still a small number of patients who could not tolerate oats. Even oats with low gluten content like the Lampton variety. With these patients, a protein in oats called avenin triggered an immune response similar to gluten. There was no way to tell in advance which patients would be sensitive to avenins.

Including oats in the diet of a celiac disease patient is of course a physicians call. Including oats in the diet should always be done under doctors supervision. Oats can provide the necessary nutrients, fiber and diversity much needed to a celiac patients diet. But it should not compromise the overall well being of the patient.

New celiac disease patients are not advised to eat oats until their symptoms or disease in under control. Patients who are eating oats are still advised to see their doctor regularly to monitor any abnormalities or symptoms. Besides, patients with celiac disease are still to consume oats that are pure, uncontaminated and gluten-free. Oats and celiac disease can still dance together.