Coeliac disease

More and more people are being diagnosed with coeliac disease. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine and can start from infancy onward. It is a genetically predisposes disease.  Many people don’t even know that they have this desease until later in life or will never know. More and more people are being screened though. 

Coeliac disease is being caused by a reaction to proteins in gluten (found in wheat,barley and rye) called gliadin and prolamin.  These proteins are modified by enzymes in the small bowl and cause a cross reaction with the bowl tissue that leads to an inflamatory reaction.

The villi in the intestine are being cut off and this leads to malabsorption of nutrients.

The only known effective treatment to is a life long gluten-free diet.

Signs and symptoms

Severe coeliac disease can be characterised by the following: pale, loose and greasy stool. Wheight loss or failure to gain weight in young children. People with milder coeliac disease may have symptons that are more subtle and can occur in the organs rather than in the small intestine. Some people may not show any symptoms at all. Many people with a subtle disease only experience fatigue and anemia.

Other grains

The following grains are not safe to eat for people who have coeliac disease.

Wheat

Subspesies: spelt, semolina and durum

Related species: barley, rye, triticale and Kamut also incuse symptoms of coeliac. A small percentage of people also react to oats. this may be due to grains being cross contaminated during milling.

Many spices and condiments contain wheat.

The following grains are safe to eat for people with coeliac disease.

Maize, guinoa,millet sorghum,teff,amaranth,buckwheat,rice and wild rice. Carbohydrate rich foods like Potatoes and Bananas do not contain gluten either.