Obvious symptoms and signs of Coeliac Disease are:
- diarrhoea and bloating
- abdominal pain
- nausea and vomiting
- fatigue
- weight loss
- anaemia
- fainting
- fatty/smelly stools
These symptoms can occur in babies, children and adults.
What causes the symptoms of Coeliac Disease?
In a Coeliac sufferer, the presence of gluten causes the immune system to react to a protein (gliadin) in the gluten (found in wheat, rye, barley and oats) and this reaction damages the lining of the intestine, preventing absorption of food. An undiagnosed coeliac will continue to lose weight until the gluten is removed from the diet.
Discovering you have Coeliacs Disease
Diagnosis is simply done through a blood test at your doctors. You may be asked to undergo and endoscopy to confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment for Coeliacs Disease
This is simple. Stop eating gluten! Unlike many medical conditions, you do not have to take a medicine or undergo a treatment to prevent your illness. You simple have to eat differently, excluding harmful products that can contain gluten from your diet, such as bread and pasta. There are suitable alternatives in the supermarkets if you still want to treat yourself, but mainly, as long as you eat a diet of plain fish and meat, fruit and vegetables, you can still enjoy a varied, if not healthier diet.
There are support groups if you have been diagnosed.
In most cases, when the gluten is removed from the diet, symptoms rapidly improve or completely disappear. The villi, lining your intestine, recover and begin to reabsorb food, however if the condition has been left untreated/undiagnosed for an extremely long time, then the villi can be so incredibly damaged that they never reacquire their full ability or function.
Once diagnosed, it is your responsibility to make sure the food you eat is right for you. To start with, you will have to learn how to read food labelling. The law states that allergens have to listed on labels now, so this makes things easier. Just look for the little yellow box, but it is also important to read the ingredients list, too. Just to be on the safe side and make sure there's nothing in there that's going to upset your stomach.
Below is a list of things to be careful about:
- alcohol
- barley
- bran
- cereals
- cheese spreads
- couscous
- powdered herbs and spices
- fruit drinks
- instant drinks
- prepared meats
- breaded hams
- malt
- modified starch
- mustards and pickles
- gravy
- salad dressings
- sausages
- sauces and sauce mixes
- semolina
- soups
- soy sauce (look for Tamari instead)
- sweets
If there's no label, then ask!
The last thing to remember, is to have separate cooking utensils for your food. Replace wooden spoons with plastic or metal, as wooden can crack and small particles of food can transfer from utensils, no matter how much you think they are clean.
Having Coeliac's is no longer a difficult disease to live with. With a little knowledge, you can be living and eating a much healthier lifestyle than you ever did before!
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