The villi are tiny hair-like projections that line the small intestine that allow nutrients to be absorbed into the blood stream. Without healthy villi, the body is unable to absorb the proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals we need, regardless of how much we eat or how high the quality foods we eat are. Without our ability to absorb nutrients, over time, it can lead to malnutrition and/or secondary health concerns.

The cause of celiac disease is unknown but it is thought to have a genetic association. It can appear at any time in a person’s life, but has been known to be triggered for the first time after pregnancy, childbirth, surgery or severe emotional stress. Because of it’s potential genetic association, it is strongly suggested that family members of individuals diagnosed with celiac disease take a simple antibody test to rule it out, even if they have no symptoms.

Recognizing celiac disease can be difficult because many of the symptoms are similar to other diseases and disorders. Because of this, it is commonly misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. Some common symptoms of celiac disease can include abdominal cramping, intestinal gas, bloating, chronic diarrhea or constipation, fatty stools, anemia, weight loss or weight gain.

Because of its interference with our body’s ability to absorb nutrition, conditions associated with nutritional deficiencies such as anemia, osteoporosis, or vitamin K deficiency can occur. Other more varied symptoms can include dental enamel defects, bone or joint pain, fatigue, weakness, infertility – both male and female, depression, irritability, behavioral changes, muscle cramps, seizures or digestive disorders.

Although there is no cure for celiac disease there are a number of natural and alternative health remedies you can incorporate into your life to help restore health and eliminate further damage to the intestinal tract.

Recommendations For Wellness

Adhere to a gluten-free diet. Avoid foods that contain grains, including wheat, spelt, kamut, einkorn, faro, rye, barley and triticale. Make it a habit to read all food labels and learn to identify ingredients that may contain hidden gluten. When adhering to a gluten-free diet, most people begin to experience improvements in their symptoms within a few weeks.

Avoid milk and milk products until your symptoms have started to clear. Individuals with celiac disease often find themselves lactose intolerant as well. Over time, dairy products can slowly be reintroduced into the diet.

Have your bone density checked. It is very common for individuals with celiac disease to experience bone loss and osteoporosis.

Take a high quality vitamin and mineral supplement to help restore any nutritional deficiencies that may be present. Be careful to ensure that the supplements you are taking don’t contain hidden gluten. Many companies, for example, use wheat starch as a binding agent in tablets and capsules.

Supplementing with colostrum and other probiotics can help to heal the lining of the intestinal tract.

Add a digestive enzyme to your health routine. Studies have shown that people with celiac disease often do not produce sufficient amounts of pancreatic enzymes.

Fish oils, such as those found in omega 3 oil has been shown to help reduce inflammation of the intestinal lining.

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The symptoms of adult sufferers may differ from that of children. Children need nutrients for growth and development as well as health, so they may be of short stature or grow slowly and have delayed puberty. They may have problems with their tooth enamel.

Adult onset celiac disease may cause such symptoms as joint or bone pain, arthritis, depression/anxiety, seizures, tingling in the extremities, osteoporosis, miscarriage or infertility, missed periods or dermatitis herpetiformis, an itchy skin rash. It is also possible to have celiac disease with few symptoms, but over the long-term other unexplained diseases such as liver disease or colon cancers that are caused by it, crop up.

Since celiac disease is due to an allergy to the protein in wheat, rye and barley, the only way it can be managed is through a gluten-free diet. While this sounds simple, those wishing to eliminate all gluten from their diet have found it rather more difficult than it would first seem due to the fact that gluten can be found in various medicines, in vitamin supplements and other products such as lip balm. This means they have to be careful whenever they need to consume a new product – one that may or may not contain gluten.

Whenever gluten is consumed, the immune system attacks the tiny villi that line the small intestine. These tiny protrusions are necessary for absorbing nutrients from the food we eat. When villi are destroyed then the person will become thin and malnourished in spite of eating plenty of good food. The sufferer is then prone to many diseases caused by lack of nutrition. So the disease affects the absorptive action of the small intestine, thus causing loss of nutrition; the reason why children who have it fail to thrive and grow. It may also cause anemia and weak bones due to loss of bone mineral. This anemia can be iron-deficiency anemia or megaloblastic anemia caused from lack of folic acid and vitamin B12.

Celiac disease is really a two-fold disease. There is firstly the allergic reaction to gluten in the diet causing damage to the villi, and then there is the malabsorption of nutrients that this causes. The disease is known to be genetic, but may not present with symptoms until certain factors that put stress on the body are present. These can include severe emotional stress or physical stress such as pregnancy and childbirth, surgery, or a viral infection.

Interestingly, studies have shown that breast milk offers some protection against this inherited disease. When babies are breastfed for a longer period, if they have celiac disease it does not show up until later in life.

Celiac disease also has other names such as gluten-sensitive enteropathy, nontropical sprue, or celiac sprue.

The information at the end of this article relates to the current known physiology of how people ‘acquire’ the celiac disease (CD). The two sources clearly indicate that while specialists know that gluten causes the disease and the effects of the disease, there is no consensus on WHY celiac diseases exists in the first place.

One of the best speculation that I have found is from a book called The Gluten Connection by Dr Shari Lieberman. While this book is a fantastic source of technical medical information it also bravely attempts to uncover the origins of the disease. Although the statistics are often US based, they translate well to other countries. The book states that: “In general populations of Western Europe CD ranges from 0.5 to 1.26%. A 2001 report showed that in the UK the rate of CD was 1 in 112 people, in Finland 1 in 130, in Italy 1 in 184 and the Sahara had 1 in 70!”

Dr Shari talks of a time before celiac disease (symptoms of) seemed to exist. A time when meat, vegetables and grain were predominantly free from man-made toxins, preservatives and the like. She discusses how many of our foods have been modified with the result that while the general population has a CD rate of 1%, that up to 29% may be gluten sensitive. The genetic predisposition of the disease is such that having a first degree relative with CD increases your odds of having CD to 1 out of 22, and a second degree relative to 1 in 39.

Essentially it is suggested that while the human genome has remained unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years, the Industrial Revolution massively accelerated the amount of grain in our diet (as opposed to the traditional carbohydrate load from nuts and berries). Of course this was necessary to feed to rapidly increasing population that were gathering in high density cities, but we did not evolve as swiftly to cope with the gluten overload.

Add to the change in lifestyle the change in grain ‘roller milling’ process (invented in 1873) which changed our diet from whole grains to refined flour, add the convenience of packaged food with increased grains products, the rise of cereal breakfasts and our overload was well under way. Consider that even since 1967 the US per capita gluten grains consumption has increased from 115 pounds to 139 pounds.

“Gluten is used in the manufacturing of virtually all boxed, packaged and canned processed foods to created textures that are more palatable to our taste buds, or it is used as binders, thickeners, and coatings. It is even used as glue on envelopes and stamps.” So maybe there is more to the George Costanza story than meets the eye … but I digress.

WHAT you really need to think about is the next paragraph:

” … bioengineers continually work to improve gluten and make it a larger and more potent part of edible grains. It is estimated that today’s wheat contains nearly 90 percent more gluten than wheat did from a century ago!”

In my general diet readings I have seen how many experts believe the increased use of processed food components such as refined sugars and even the overuse of salt has cause many health issues. Imagine if over refined grains were removed from the majority of manufactured foods and wild seed banks were used to grow grains with their original levels of gluten. Imagine if wholemeal flours were used more often and a non toxic replacement for gluten (with glutens binding properties) was found and used in our foods? Would we then see a fall in CD rates amongst our youth?

The point is that conspiracy theories aside, large food corporations are profit driven and look for the most cost effective solution. This is often at the expense of long term health effects, assuming they have this knowledge in the first place. If you are reading this and you have celiac disease, it probably means that you were predisposed towards it, have acquired it and can’t go back to eating any form of gluten. But at least now maybe you have one possible view as to how and why you got it.

While the conclusions drawn above are completely speculative it makes intuitive sense that too much of anything, particularly things you don’t know you are ingesting, can be a bad thing. Natural is almost always better and if you have CD but your child doesn’t have it yet, perhaps you could consider letting them eat low gluten grains rather than ‘eating just anything or abstaining completely’. Its worth a try?

SCIENTIFIC CAUSES OF CD – SOURCE 1 “The exact cause of celiac disease is not known; however, inheriting or developing certain irregular genes increases your susceptibility. You are more likely to have these abnormal genes and develop celiac disease if you have a first-degree relative (mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter) with the condition. In some genetically predisposed people, environmental factors, such as bacteria, viruses, or surgery, may cause changes in the small intestine; then, eating gluten can trigger an irregular immune system response, resulting in celiac disease.” Ref: http://digestive-disorders.health-cares.net/celiac-disease-causes.php

SCIENTIFIC CAUSES OF CD – SOURCE 2 “In celiac disease, an intramucosal enzyme defect produces an inability to digest gluten. Resulting tissue toxicity produces rapid cell turnover, increases epithelial lymphocytes, and damages surface epithelium of the small bowel. Celiac disease affects 1 of every 133 people in the United States and results from environmental factors and a genetic predisposition, but the exact mechanism is unknown. A strong association exists between the disease and two human leukocyte antigen haplotypes, DR3 and DQw2. It may also be autoimmune in nature. It affects twice as many females as males and occurs more commonly among relatives, especially siblings. This disease primarily affects whites and those of European ancestry.” Ref: www.wrongdiagnosis.com/c/celiac_disease/causes.htm

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in products we use every day, such as stamp and envelope adhesive, medicines, and vitamins.

Celiac disease runs in the family. You inherited the tendency to get this disease from your parents. If 1 member of your family has celiac disease, about 1 out of 10 other members of your family is likely to have it. You may have this tendency for a while without getting sick. Then something like severe stress, physical injury, infection, childbirth or surgery can “turn on” your celiac disease.

Celiac disease affects each person differently. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system, or in other parts of the body. One person might have diarrhea and abdominal pain, while another person may be irritable or depressed. Irritability is one of the most common symptoms in children. Some people have no symptoms.

Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. Oats may contain gluten as well. When a person with celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, an immune reaction occurs in the small intestine, resulting in damage to the surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients from food.

The body’s inability to absorb nutrients can also mean that young people with untreated celiac disease may not grow properly and may have weight loss and fatigue. In addition, people who have celiac disease may be prone to developing other diseases, such as thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes, and gastrointestinal cancer.

Normally, the body’s immune system is designed to protect it from foreign invaders. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system forms antibodies to gluten which then attack the intestinal lining. This causes inflammation in the intestines and damages the villi, the hair-like structures on the lining of the small intestine. Nutrients from food are absorbed by the villi. If the villi are damaged, the person cannot absorb nutrients and ends up malnourished, no matter how much he or she eats.

Celiac Disease may appear at any time in a person’s life. The disease can be triggered for the first time after surgery, viral infection, severe emotional stress, pregnancy or childbirth. CD is a multi-system, multi-symptom disorder. Celiac Disease symptoms are extremely varied, can often mimic other bowel disorders and are not always gastrointestinal.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune medical condition in which damage to the epithelia (inner lining) of the small intestine occurs following ingestion of a substance called gluten. Gluten is a grain protein used in food processing because it binds, stabilizes, and prevents crumbling. The gluten protein in wheat has a portion called gliadin, which is toxic to people with celiac disease. Barley, rye, and triticale also contain proteins toxic to celiac patients.

A lifelong autoimmune intestinal disorder, found in individuals who are genetically susceptible. Damage to the mucosal surface of the small intestine is caused by an immunologically toxic reaction to the ingestion of gluten and interferes with the absorption of nutrients. Celiac Disease (CD) is unique in that a specific food component, gluten, has been identified as the trigger. Gluten is the common name for the offending proteins in specific cereal grains that are harmful to persons with celiac disease.

What are the symptoms of celiac disease?

Failure to thrive in infants

Pale sores inside the mouth, called aphthous ulcers

Tooth discoloration or loss of enamel

Itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis

Celiac disease may also present itself in less obvious ways, including irritability or depression, anemia, stomach upset, joint pain, muscle cramps, skin rash, mouth sores, dental and bone disorders (such as osteoporosis), and tingling in the legs and feet (neuropathy).

Symptoms of celiac disease can occur at any time in a child’s life. Some kids experience symptoms the first time they are exposed to gluten, while others develop symptoms later in life after consuming gluten products without a problem for years.

What causes celiac disease?

The destruction of the inner lining of the small intestine in celiac disease is caused by an immunological (allergic) reaction to gluten in the diet that inflames and destroys the inner lining of the small intestine. There is evidence that this reaction is partially genetic and inherited.

European decent -It has been discovered that the highest rates of celiac disease are found in Western Europe and in areas where Europeans have emigrated including North America and Australia.

Diagnosis

There are several tests that can be used to assist in diagnosis. The level of symptoms may determine the order of the tests, but all tests lose their usefulness if the patient is already taking a gluten-free diet. Intestinal damage begins to heal within weeks of gluten being removed from the diet, and antibody levels decline over months. For those who have already started on a gluten-free diet, it may be necessary to perform a re-challenge with 10 g of gluten (four slices of bread) per day over 2–6 weeks before repeating the investigations.

Treatment of Celiac Disease

Improvement in symptoms begins within days of starting the gluten-free diet. Complete healing of the small intestine, meaning the villi are intact and working, usually occurs in 3-6 months, although it may take up to 2 years in older persons.

Initial treatment

When celiac disease is diagnosed, you should immediately adopt a strict gluten-free diet. Eating even the smallest amount of gluten can cause symptoms such as weight loss and diarrhea. You may be advised to temporarily avoid milk or milk products until your intestine heals, at which time you usually can gradually reintroduce them.