Coach DanielleCeliac Disease
Updated: Sep 13, 2021
As many of you may know already, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease about 6 years ago. While I was still living Saskatoon, the results finally came through a series of blood tests and an Endoscopy, the whole process lasting around 6 months. Although the procedure, and the word itself, seemed pretty scary after what seemed liked seconds I was waking up from a nap in the hospital bed; I do not to remember a thing!
So what is Celiac Disease?
"You can't have like, bread and stuff right?"
So basically the easiest way to describe it is in my words is: The ingestion of gluten causes an extreme autoimmune response causing a range of unpleasant symptoms, mainly in the digestive track, but also can include a variety of other symptoms.
In more scientific words, according to Celiac.org:
"When people with celiac disease eat gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye and barley), their body mounts an immune response that attacks the small intestine. These attacks lead to damage on the villi, (small fingerlike projections that line the small intestine,) that promote nutrient absorption. When the villi get damaged, nutrients cannot be absorbed properly into the body."
*This is a stuffed animal intestinal villi that I own! I purchased mine in a shop in Kingston, ON. but if you are looking for one, or one related to your condition, they can be found here!
So what's are we talking about, what does this mean?
Intestinal villi are "Tiny hair-like projections that line the inside of the small intestine. They contain blood vessels and help absorb nutrients." When these become shriveled up, (like our friend in the picture above) we cannot absorb the nutrients we need from the food we are eating which leads to an array of health concerns, especially if untreated over time. Malnutrition from this improper absorption of nutrients can slow the healing process down, and double the workload on the already weakened immune system.
Cures?
As with many health problems, Celiac Disease cannot be fixed overnight or by taking a medication. The only thing that has been found to help people with the symptoms is a strict gluten-free diet. The good news is that because it mainly targets your digestive tract, there are things you can incorporate into your diet, and things you can take out to speed up the recovery process! Whether it is needed at the beginning of your diagnosis or an accidental ingestion or cross-contamination things like ginger, turmeric, and a good probiotic are a Celiac suffers best friend!
How does cross-contamination work?
