Celiac Disease Awareness Month

According to the National Health Information Center's "2008 National Health Observances", May is Celiac Disease Awareness month.

An event is taking place in Los Angeles to acknowledge the disease and to create awareness. On May 3rd, the Celiac Disease Foundation is holding it's annual "Education Conference and Food Faire" at the Good Samaritan Hospital. The event will have over ten qualified keynote speakers, including physicians, dietitians, business owners, and authors. There will also be book signings and cooking classes, as well as a gluten-free breakfast, lunch and beer tasting.

One of the sponsors of the conference is Chex, a cereal company. Rice Chex, a popular brand of their cereal, is now considered gluten-free. Chex has replaced the barley and malt, gluten derivatives, with gluten-free ingredients. Chex offers a handful of recipes as well that can be made the gluten-free way with their products.

But what is Celiac Disease? According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, it is a "lifelong autoimmune intestinal disorder, found in individuals who are genetically susceptible. Damage to the mucosal surface of the small intestine caused by immunologically toxic reaction to the ingestion of gluten interferes with the absorption of nutrients." Furthermore, the CDF notes that it is a unique disease in that the trigger, gluten, is known, unlike other auto-immune disorders.

But what is gluten? It is a common name for the offending protein in grains in all forms of wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. Those diagnosed with Celiac Disease must obtain a diet of gluten-free food in order to live a healthy life.

Symptoms of Celiac include abdominal pain, anemia, fatigue, canker sores, delayed growth, and malnutrition. There are also diseases attributed to Celiac, which include Type 1 Diabetes, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Thyroid Disease, and Osteoporosis. There are also many long term conditions that can come along with Celiac including lactose intolerance, iron deficiency, pancreatic insufficiency, and other mineral and vitamin deficiencies.

When one who has Celiac Disease accidentally ingests gluten (a common mistake), the villi, tiny hair-like projections in the small intestine that absorb nutrients from food, are damaged. This is due to an immunological reaction to gluten. Damaged villi do not effectively absorb basic nutrients -- proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and, in some cases, water and bile salts. If CD is left untreated, damage to the small bowel can be chronic and life threatening, causing an increased risk of associated disorders -- both nutritional and immune related, notes the Celiac Disease Foundation.

As a US citizen, you can help take action to raise awareness for Celiac Disease, one of the most common auto-immune diseases. In fact, 1 out of 133 people have Celiac Disease, but many of them don't know it. It is commonly under-diagnosed, and misdiagnosed as well. One way to take action is to become an Advocate, which only takes three minutes! You can push elected officials to become get the ball rolling on nation wide awareness in supermarkets, restaurants, and other facilities.