CELIAC DISEASE - Causing Intestinal Discomfort For Millennia
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Celiac disease is a digestive disorder that prevents people with a particular genetic makeup from eating gluten. Gluten is a protein found primarily in the kernels of wheat, barley, rye and a variety of other cereal grains, so a celiac sufferer is basically not allowed to eat anything with wheat. This includes common fare like bread, pasta, pie, cakes & cookies but also extends to anything that uses wheat as a filler or thickener like soups, sauces, breading, etc … learning you have celiac means making some major changes in your culinary life style, but it is definitely possible!
There's a particular gene sequence inside all of us that is directly related to how our immune system works. One small area of that sequence helps to tell our body the difference between which cells are part of our own body and which ones are not. People with celiac disease have a version of this gene that gets the signal mixed up when gluten is ingested.
The gluten binds with this gene in the lining of the small intestine and mistakenly sends a message to the body saying "this spot right here is not part of the body anymore, get rid of it". In response to this, antibodies are sent out to get rid of what they now think is foreign matter, and they waste no time trying to destroy the lining in that area of the small intestine. Antibodies that attack the host's own body are called auto-antibodies and consequentially this bizarre process is referred to as an auto-immune response.
Wheat was first domesticated over ten thousand years ago, and it's quite likely that the celiac gene could have existed in humans back then as well. If so, there may very well have been people suffering from celiac disease for millennia. Aretaeus was a reputed Greek physician who lived during the first or second century. Even during this time, he documented what was called a coeliac affection. The symptoms he described seem to resemble those that we know to be indicative of celiac today, including malabsorption and severe diarrhea.
Genes mutate, it's one of the important things they do, but in this particular case it has led to a very uncomfortable condition for a significant percentage of the earth's population. Unfortunately the condition makes it impossible to enjoy one of the most commonly available foods ever grown and used. The widespread use of wheat may in itself be part of the problem but nobody can say for sure. In the meantime the real challenge remains proper diagnosis of celiac disease to help correctly identify and relieve discomfort before it gets too severe.
The problem with celiac and any intolerance to gluten is that the symptoms are so general that they could be mistaken for a wide variety of conditions. The auto-immune response that takes place could easily be mistaken for any number of digestive issues, and not too many doctors are quick to suggests blood tests and in-depth research when the original complaint is along the lines of an upset stomach. So unfortunately celiac disease often goes undiagnosed and people suffer needlessly, all the time unaware that the comfort food they're enjoying might be the very thing causing them harm.
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