Back in 2005, I started writing about celiac disease, a condition that calls for avoiding all foods that contain gluten (a protein found in the grains wheat, barley and rye).

Since then, the disease has been all over the news.

And it’s been gratifying to see how many gluten-free products are now in supermarkets.

So I was disappointed when I read in a recent study that the vast majority of people with celiac disease still don’t realize that they have it!

How can that be? One reason is that there are lots of potential symptoms of celiac disease, and most of them can be “explained away” by blaming them on other illnesses…allergies…aging…a “bad” diet…or even just stress. But when this happens, the symptoms go on and on and eventually get worse.

So today, I want to make sure that every reader is up-to-date on all the common symptoms of celiac disease—especially anyone who just doesn’t feel well—so that no one in the Daily Health News community has to suffer needlessly.

MOST PEOPLE ARE IN THE DARK

In people with celiac disease, consuming gluten damages the intestinal lining, so certain nutrients are eliminated in stool before they can be absorbed. Eventually the condition can cause malnutrition, anemia, osteoporosis, autoimmune disorders and other potentially life-threatening conditions. So being in the dark about your celiac disease is a very, very dangerous situation—as I noted when I called Alberto Rubio-Tapia, MD, author of the new celiac study.

Dr. Rubio-Tapia and his colleagues found that celiac disease occurs in about 0.7% of Americans (that’s roughly 1.8 million people), yet an astounding 83% of them do not know that they have it!

You might be thinking, This doesn’t apply to me. But just because you haven’t had it before doesn’t mean you won’t develop it. The disease can develop at any age—in fact, the average age of diagnosis is 45.

WATCH OUT FOR WARNING SIGNS

Dr. Rubio-Tapia said that symptoms can range from mild to severe and, surprisingly, some people with celiac disease have few or no symptoms. But the majority of people do experience symptoms, he said, and these are some common ones to look out for…

  • Diarrhea. Patterns of attacks vary from daily to weekly—a few people experience it monthly.
  • Constipation. It can happen regularly or every now and then.
  • Fatigue. If you’re unusually tired, that’s a red flag.
  • Gradual weight loss. People with the disease tend to get thinner due to the body’s inability to absorb some nutrients.
  • Abdominal pain or discomfort. This includes feeling bloated and having gas.
  • An itchy skin rash. It’s called dermatitis herpetiformis.

If you experience any of the above symptoms without obvious causes, ask your doctor about getting tested for celiac disease, Dr. Rubio-Tapia advised. In addition, he said that if you have any of the following risk factors, then you have higher odds of developing celiac disease and should also ask your doctor about getting tested…

  • A family history of the disease (first-degree relatives—parents and siblings)
  • Unexplained anemia
  • Down syndrome
  • Unexplained abnormal liver test results
  • Type 1 diabetes

Your primary care doctor can administer a blood test to see whether you might have celiac disease, and if that test comes out positive, a biopsy of intestinal tissue will be taken (it’s an outpatient procedure) to confirm the diagnosis.

One day, it’s possible that all people will be tested for celiac disease, since some people can have the disease and experience no symptoms. And those with no symptoms are likely hurt by the disease in the same way as those with symptoms, said Dr. Rubio-Tapia—the damage to their intestines may cause similar health problems. For now, mass testing is not on the horizon, and you may well have to ask for—even insist on—the initial blood test for yourself. Please don’t hesitate to do so if you think you might have celiac disease!

GOING GLUTEN-FREE

The good news is that while celiac disease can’t be cured, the harm that it does can be stopped—and in many cases totally reversed—when a patient stops consuming gluten. Going gluten-free involves more than just avoiding pasta and bread. Wheat, barley and rye are used to make many foods—soy sauce, for example, contains gluten—and because gluten is a good binding agent, food companies sneak it into everything from salad dressings to prepared meats. It’s even in certain supplements. If you are found to have celiac disease, you will learn to read labels carefully and spot all the “aliases” for gluten, and you can start by checking out this list from the Mayo Clinic of common foods that contain gluten.

The best news: A gluten-free diet can be a very healthy and enjoyable diet full of fresh vegetables and fruits, healthful fish, meats, and legumes and dairy products—it’s not really very limiting once you get the hang of it. And as Dr. Rubio-Tapia noted, if you have celiac disease, within a few days of changing your diet, you’ll likely feel much better…and in a few weeks or months, your symptoms may simply be gone.

Get tested, OK?