top of page
What is celiac disease?
Celiac disease is a multisystem disease, that is, it can affect different parts of the body. It should be noted that it has an autoimmune basis, with gluten being the trigger that triggers this immune alteration. It appears only in people with a genetic background. As a curious fact, 30% of the population has a genetic predisposition, although only 1% develop celiac disease, with many of these cases still undiagnosed. I hope this situation will change soon since celiac disease is associated with dermatitis herpetiformis, thyroiditis, diabetes, osteoporosis, anemia, digestive cancer such as lymphoma, etc.
How is celiac disease diagnosed?
​As for the diagnosis of celiac disease, it is usual for them to ask you in a blood test to identify the corresponding genes, mainly HLDQ2 and HLDQ8 and anti-transglutaminase, anti-gliadin and anti-endomysial antibodies and IgA. However, confirmation of the diagnosis will always be made with the corresponding biopsy of the small intestine and with the help of an endoscope, which is inserted through the mouth while the patient is under anesthesia.
The first day of a celiac
The moment you know you have celiac disease, a thousand things come to mind. In my case, I confirmed it by observing the result of the biopsy of the duodenum and I understood that I had a lesion in the intestine according to the Marsh scale and I thought how I could have been "assaulting" my body for so long without knowing it, since I practically did not present symptom. Meanwhile, I was also thinking about my genetic makeup. In my case, I deduced that I had inherited my mother's genes, because she had presented the extraintestinal complications that celiac disease offers, without ever knowing it.
accept celiac disease
The opposite can also happen to you: if you had symptoms of celiac disease and you couldn't deal with them anymore, you may experience some relief. However, another situation may be that you get angry and do not accept the diagnosis. In many cases, it is difficult to accept celiac disease and there are celiac people who continue to damage their body through a non-adapted diet. This refusal to accept it will make you even angrier with yourself because you know perfectly well that you are harming yourself… The sooner acceptance comes, the better. If necessary, go to a clinical psychologist to help you in this process of accepting celiac disease.
Currently, the only possible treatment for celiac disease is to wear a gluten-free diet forever. This would not be complicated if it were only a matter of removing the following cereals with gluten from your diet:
Oatmeal (due to contamination)
Barley
Rye
Wheat with its derivatives (kamut, spelled and triticale).
However, gluten is found in many products, whether it has been deliberately added to its composition for its technological benefits or whether it is present in the form of traces due to cross-contamination.
Ideally, from that first day of diagnosis, we focus on thinking about all those foods that celiac patients CAN eat. Actually, it is the best thing we can do if we do not want to get depressed, since fortunately, there are many healthy foods that you can eat such as: vegetables, fruits, washed legumes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yucca, corn, rice, fish, shellfish, eggs , meat, oil and shelled nuts…
What if I'm celiac and I don't eat at home?
The decision to take care of yourself is yours and it should not be important what other people who do not suffer from celiac disease consider. Luckily, there are always empathetic friends and family who prepare you gluten free dishes when they invite you to their homes. But, in any case, nobody can guarantee that there has been no cross-contamination even if they have put the best of their will, so at some point you will have to go with your gluten-free tupperware.
How to start a gluten-free diet
bottom of page