Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance
Wheat Allergy, Gluten Allergy Also Often Overlooked by Doctors
Aug 21, 2009
Despite a strong family history of celiac disease and many symptoms that fit the bill for some kind of gluten intolerance, Jaime King’s (not her real name) found out that her family doctor refused to entertain the notion. He would not run a simple blood test. He rattled off the things he had been taught about celiac disease, gluten allergy and wheat allergy when he was in medical school
- Celiac is almost always found in babies – older children and adults can’t have celiac sprue.
- Gluten allergy and other problems cause extreme malnutrition which results in drastic weight loss, so fat babies can’t have it (and fat adults definitely can’t have it).
- Heredity is not a factor in celiac disease.
Fortunately, Mrs. King sought a specialist and was diagnosed with celiac disease just as her mother had been diagnosed 15 years before. Now she encourages others to be tested, whether or not they believe they have celiac or some other kind of gluten intolerance.
Missed Diagnosis of Gluten Intolerance Problems Common
Many diagnoses have been missed because doctors went by incorrect and outdated information. Diagnosis can be difficult in the best of circumstances. At the CSA Annual Conference in 2000, Robert Dahl, M.D., said, “Of 100 patients with CD (celiac disease), just over 10 of them present with classical overt symptoms of malabsorption.”
Malabsorption (poor absorption) is considered to be the classic symptom of celiac disease, but malabsorption of nutrients does not necessarily mean being underweight. Many who have problems with gluten (celiac, gluten allergy or gluten intolerance) are overweight. Difficulty losing weight can be considered a symptom of gluten intolerance. Dr. Dahl went on to explain that approximately 80% of celiac patients don’t show the classic signs. They either present in an atypical manner, or have clinically silent or latent celiac disease.
Knowledge of Gluten Intolerance is Growing
It is now commonly known that adults can have celiac disease and that celiac disease is not the only condition that involves gluten intolerance. People can be diagnosed with celiac disease, food allergy, and food intolerance at all stages of life. The Celiac Disease Foundation and the Celiac Sprue Association both seek to educate the public and celiac patients. They maintain websites that offer information and resources.
Books, articles, and news stories are raising awareness of the problems gluten causes in the human body. More gluten free foods are hitting store shelves, much to the delight of
- celiacs
- those with food allergies, such as wheat allergy or gluten allergy
- parents of children with autism, ADHD and asthma
Gluten Intolerance Not Limited to Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is a very specific kind of condition associated with a problem with gluten. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease. The Celiac Disease Foundation stresses that celiac disease is not a food allergy.
Wheat allergy and gluten allergy are not the same thing as celiac disease. Neither is gluten intolerance or wheat intolerance. For most people, however, the distinction between celiac disease and the other conditions is not important, because for all practical purposes, to the layperson, they are the same.
- In each condition, eating gluten can cause many symptoms, which can include pain (ranging from mild to excruciating), gas, diarrhea and other intestinal difficulties.
- In both instances, consuming gluten can lead to other health problems.
- The treatment for celiac disease and the other conditions (gluten intolerance, gluten allergy, wheat allergy) is the same – a gluten-free diet.
Educated patients can prompt their doctors to consider whether celiac disease, wheat allergy, gluten allergy, or gluten intolerance might be to blame for their symptoms.
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