I wanted to write my first blog on Celiac Disease. It is something that has controlled my life for so long and will continue to be something that I constantly struggle with. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease. People with Celiac cannot consume any shape or form of gluten. Gluten is a protein found in many grains. We cannot eat/drink/consume wheat, rye, barley, tritical, hops or Oats. To give you a bit of background I started to have issues when I was 10 or 11 years old. I would have extremely bad pains in my abdoman area and would have constant nausea and vomiting. It was terrible, I would be stuck in bed on pain killers for 3,4 and sometimes 5 days at a time. I would have these episodes at least twice a month. I was in and out of the doctor. I had blood work done, ultrasounds, exams, cat scans. Almost anything that you can think of I've had it done. I found out that I was lactose intolerant and anemic but that didn't solve my problem. A little over two years ago a friend of mine mentioned gluten. After a series of tests and trial and error we diagnosed the problem and figured out how to deal with it. I've been gluten free since November of 2007. I was recently diagnosed as having Celiac Disease. When people with Celiac Disease consume gluten the villi in our intestines break down and are extremely damaged and can no longer absorb nutrients. They either react intestinally with pain and discomfort or they react epidermically and their skin rashes. Celiac Disease if not treated can be chronic. Recent statistics state that 1 in 100 people have Celiac but 90% of those people don't know that they have it.
I felt like it was important to write about this because it is something that effects my daily life. I have to analyze everything I eat, if I am at a restaurant I have to know exactly what is in the food and how it is cooked. I am limited by the foods that I eat but consequently I am a lot healthier then a lot of people I am surrounded by because I am forced to eat natural foods and healthy foods. I believe that everyone can benefit from eating gluten free even if they don't have any allergies to it. If anyone wants to learn more about it I recommend reading "The G-Free Diet" by Elizabeth Hasselback. It is an extremely common allergy and at a point in everyone's life they will encounter someone who struggles with food allergies. If you are a waitress or waiter or a cook at a restaurant, it will be beneficial to know more about common food allergies other then nuts. I guarentee you if you are able to communicate with the customer about it, the process will be much smoother.
