My name is Kathy and I have celiac disease. I have just confessed to an autoimmune disease that has attacked me at the age of 48. What is celiac disease, you ask. In simple terms it's an autoimmune disease of the digestive tract. With Celiac, eating food with gluten damages small protrusions ( or villi) of the small intestine. The villi is what absorbs the nutrients from the food. This in turn causes a lot of issues.I have been doctoring for about six months on my digestive tract. It is good to have a name to go with all my symptoms. What causes Celiac disease? Well there isn't a doctor with the answer to that yet. Thoughts are that it is genetic. In my case, who knows as I was adopted at the age of two. As I have read many studies as to why, I have come to the conclusion that I was probably exposed as an infant. Could it be because my birth parents liked their alcohol? The other factor in this is that I also have another autoimmune disease. I have had thyroid disease for 22 years. But anyway, there it is. Now what can I do about it? I started by taking all the wheat, rye, and barley out of my "diet". It hasn't been that hard, though I love a good, cold beer and I love to bake! Take away the pasta, bread , cereal and processed foods.Which brings me to gluten-free foods and drinks. There are all kinds of choices available for people who suffer with this disease. There are also support groups that help.And in reality, we all should watch our intake of wheat.
I have been gluten-free for exactly 30 days now. My stomach is finally getting back to normal. I will go to Dr on Thursday for follow up blood for the thyroid and celiac. Probably will test for iron levels and other nutritional deficiencies. I will keep you posted as well as other nutritional facts and articles.
http://www.celiac.org/
Inner circle demonstrates little protrusions affected by Celiac disease.
Kathy
No comments:
Post a Comment