celiac disease
Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Having celiac disease means a person can’t eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, or barley. Gluten may also be found in some medicines. Celiac disease is hereditary, meaning it runs in families. The treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet. Other names for celiac disease are celiac sprue and gluten intolerance.
In people with celiac disease, the body’s immune system responds to gluten by damaging the lining of the small intestine. This lining has small fingerlike growths called villi. The villi normally absorb nutrients from the foods we eat. When the villi are damaged, the body can’t get the nutrients it needs.
People with celiac disease don’t always know they have it because they don’t feel sick. Or if they feel sick, they don’t know celiac disease is the cause.
Is celiac disease serious?
Yes. Celiac disease can be very serious. Besides stomach pain, it can cause anemia, malnutrition, infertility, a certain skin rash, and other health problems.
What Are the Symptoms?
Celiac disease affects people differently. Some people develop symptoms as children, others as adults. One factor thought to play a role in when and how celiac appears is whether and how long a person was breastfed--the longer one was breastfed, the later symptoms of celiac disease appear, and the more atypical the symptoms. Other factors include the age at which one began eating foods containing gluten and how much gluten is eaten. Is celiac disease serious? Yes. Celiac disease can be very serious. Besides stomach pain, it can cause anemia, malnutrition, infertility, a certain skin rash, and other health problems.
How Is Celiac Disease Diagnosed?
Celiac disease can be hard to discover because its symptoms are like many other digestive diseases. People with celiac disease can go untreated for many years.
If your doctor thinks you have celiac disease, you will probably need a blood test. You will need to follow your regular diet before and while being tested. If you don’t, the results could be wrong.
If your test results show you might have celiac disease, the doctor will perform a biopsy to make sure celiac disease is the problem. For a biopsy, the doctor takes a small piece of tissue from your small intestine. To get to your small intestine, the doctor puts a long tube into your mouth and down into your stomach. At the end of the tube are small tools for snipping out the bit of tissue needed to view with a microscope. You will take medicine before the biopsy that makes you very sleepy. It also keeps you from feeling any pain. Many people sleep through the procedure.
How is celiac disease treated?
The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet. A dietitian can work with you to help you learn how to select gluten-free foods. A dietitian is an expert in food and healthy eating. You will learn to check labels of foods and other items for gluten. If you eliminate gluten from your diet, your small intestine will heal. If you eat gluten, or use items that contain gluten, you will harm your small intestine.
The following chart lists examples of foods you can eat and foods you should stay away from if you have celiac disease. This list is not complete. A dietitian can help you learn what other foods you can and can’t eat when following a gluten-free diet.
| Allowed Foods | |
| Amaranth Arrowroot Buckwheat Cassava Corn Flax Indian rice grass Job’s tears Legumes Millet Nuts |
Potatoes Quinoa Rice Sago Seeds Soy Sorghum Tapioca Wild Rice Yucca |
| Foods To Avoid | |
Wheat
|
Barley Rye Triticale (a cross between wheat and rye) |
| Other Wheat Products | |
| Bromated flour Duram flour Enriched flour Farina Graham flour |
Phosphated flour Plain flour Self-rising flour Semolina White flour |
| Processed Foods that May Contain Wheat, Barley, or Rye* | |
| Bouillon cubes Brown rice syrup Chips/potato chips Candy Cold cuts, hot dogs, salami, sausage Communion wafer French fries Gravy |
Imitation fish Matzo Rice mixes Sauces Seasoned tortilla chips Self-basting turkey Soups Soy sauce Vegetables in sauce |
| * Most of these foods can be found gluten-free. When in doubt, check with the food manufacturer. | |
Adapted from the following resource: Thompson T. Celiac Disease Nutrition Guide. 2nd ed. Chicago: American Dietetic Association; 2006. Used with permission.
Points to Remember
- People with celiac disease can’t eat foods or use items with gluten in them.
- Celiac disease harms the small intestine.
- People with untreated celiac disease can’t get needed nutrients.
- Without treatment, people with celiac disease can develop other health problems.
- Celiac disease is diagnosed by blood tests and a biopsy of the small intestine.
- A gluten-free diet must be followed for life.
- A dietitian can help people choose the right foods.
For More Information
Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse
2 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892–3570
Phone: 1–800–891–5389
Fax: 703–738–4929
Email: celiac@info.niddk.nih.gov
Internet: http://www.celiac.nih.gov/
American Celiac Society
P.O. Box 23455
New Orleans, LA 70183–0455
Phone: 504–737–3293
Email: info@americanceliacsociety.org
Internet: http://www.americanceliacsociety.org/
American Dietetic Association
120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60606–6995
Phone: 1–800–877–1600
Email: knowledge@eatright.org
Internet: http://www.eatright.org/
Celiac Disease Foundation
13251 Ventura Boulevard, #1
Studio City, CA 91604
Phone: 818–990–2354
Fax: 818–990–2379
Email: cdf@celiac.org
Internet: http://www.celiac.org/
Celiac Sprue Association/USA Inc.
P.O. Box 31700
Omaha, NE 68131–0700
Phone: 1–877–272–4272 or 402–558–0600
Fax: 402–558–1347
Email: celiacs@csaceliacs.org
Internet: http://www.csaceliacs.org/
Gluten Intolerance Group of North America
31214 124th Avenue SE
Auburn, WA 98092
Phone: 253–833–6655
Fax: 253–833–6675
Email: info@gluten.net
Internet: http://www.gluten.net/
National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
P.O. Box 544
Ambler, PA 19002
Phone: 215–325–1306
Email: info@celiaccentral.org
Internet: http://www.celiaccentral.org/
Acknowledgments
The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) would like to thank William F. Stenson, M.D., Washington University, for assisting with scientific and editorial review of this publication. Thanks also to Alice Bast and Nancy Dickens, National Foundation for Celiac Awareness; Cynthia Kupper, R.D., C.D., Gluten Intolerance Group; and Elaine Monarch, Celiac Disease Foundation, for reviewing the food chart.
Thanks to Joseph Murray, M.D., at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, New York, for facilitating the field testing of this booklet.
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse
2 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892–3570
Email: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/about/contact.htm
The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The NIDDK is part of the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 1980, the Clearinghouse provides information about digestive diseases to people with digestive disorders and to their families, health care professionals, and the public. The NDDIC answers inquiries, develops and distributes publications, and works closely with professional and patient organizations and Government agencies to coordinate resources about digestive diseases.
Publications produced by the Clearinghouse are carefully reviewed by both NIDDK scientists and outside experts.
This publication is not copyrighted. The Clearinghouse encourages users of this publication to duplicate and distribute as many copies as desired.
NIH Publication No. 07–5755
March 2007
Posted August 2008
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