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Coeliac disease is a genetic autoimmune disorder where your immune system attacks the small intestine causing atrophy of the villi which leads to lack of nutrie

Coeliac disease is a genetic autoimmune disorder where your immune system attacks the small intestine causing atrophy of the villi which leads to lack of nutrient absorption. It’s diagnosed by the presence of anti-Gildain antibodies in the blood and an intestinal biopsy showing the atrophy of the villi. Gluten sensitivity is a condition where ingestion of gluten causes digestion problems and sometimes intestinal distress. The diagnosis is by elimination diet. There’s some research that suggests this is due to FODMAP digestion issues with the gut bacteria and it may be resolvable by removing and slowly reintroducing FODMAPs. In both cases the solution is a gluten free diet. All traces of gluten must be removed from the diet. That’s everything that contains wheat, barley, rye and oats, along with everything derived from those grains and anything that has been in contact with those grains. You’ll have to read a lot of labels, and only eat out at restaurants that are known to have a proper allergy control policy. Also if coeliac specify when ordering as diet-fad gluten free people cause a lot of problems. I have coeliac disease, feel free to ask anything.

unwind 9y ago
My understanding is that oats only contain gluten due to cross-contamination by other grain during processing. In Sweden you can buy special "pure oats" that are gluten free due to more careful handling.
- colmvp 9y ago
  Yeah this is my understanding too. Quaker Oats for example wrote: "Yes, oats are naturally gluten-free. However, during farming, transportation and storage, gluten-containing grains like wheat, rye, barley and spelt may be unintentionally introduced." Just like Sweden, in North America you can buy gluten free oatmeal that's made specifically to not include cross contaminates.
- sitharus 9y ago
  For the most part cross-contamination is the major issue, but it’s a bit more complex than that. Oat proteins are similar to the giladins in wheat that trigger coeliac disease. Certain oat cultivars are more similar than others. This means that some varieties of oats and some coeliac sufferers are not compatible. I can’t eat oats. Originally oats were considered gluten containing until a new more sensitive enzyme-based gluten test was developed which does not trigger for non-contaminated oars. Unfortunately enzymes aren’t how coeliac disease works.
cpuguy83 9y ago
To add to that, celiac can be so bad that even the smallest cross contamination can be devastating. Think about it like this: You cut some raw chicken on a cutting board, then wipe(not wash) the cutting board and reuse it with something else. That cutting board is now likely to contaminate anything else you put on it with salmonella. The same is true for gluten. While the effects of gluten contamination is not likely to be be fatal from one contamination, a celiac will be sick for the next week or two and causes lasting damage to the small intestine. Celiac is not cured, but with a totally gluten free diet within approx 5 years the damage to the villi has seen to be mostly healed (depends on the individual). Each contamination sets this back. Important to note that celiacs still must not ever have gluten even after the villi have recovered. My wife has celiac, I have a gluten sensitivity (causes migraines, brain fog, other intestinal issues). When we go out we just say we both have celiac. So many restaurants claim to be be gluten conscious but really have no idea... Sometimes it's obvious ("hey, I can see that you put croutons on this and then took them off"), often not without seeing the kitchen, though. When we found out my wife has celiac we had to replace all of our cookware, toaster (obviously!... But didn't think about it at first), cooking utensils, pots and pans, etc. The good news of celiac is that it is easy to treat and feel much better relatively quickly. Societal nicities like going to to a restaurant, eating at a friend's or family's house, having a drink, etc are all much more stressful, though.
- jk2323 9y ago
  > toaster (obviously) I removed the outer metal casing, put the whole thing in the dish washer. Put the metal casing back afterwards. The toaster was like brand new and worked fine.
- 52-6F-62 9y ago
  I can't imagine having to adjust that way. It's awful. I love everything wheat so much. I'm sure much of the lax approach to celiac meal care is the recent "gluten free" trend that caused many uninformed people to think it wasn't something worth taking seriously. My girlfriend's stepmother has celiac and it was eye-opening to learn about. She's kicking ass in spite of having to eliminate easy energy sources like that—Iron Man worlds this fall in Kona. It certainly explains why her dad went so crazy on the baguettes when we went out for dinner, though :)
jk2323 9y ago
This is an oversimplification of gluten problems. DH for example does not necessarily go together with small intestine causing atrophy.
- jmulho 9y ago
  What is DH?
  - borne0 9y ago
    A skin condition associated with Celiac Disease: https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disease-2/dermatitis-herpetiformis/ https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disea...
- jefe78 9y ago
  You may have just helped me identify celiac disease. I've had gastro issues for over 10 years. I've also experienced the DH symptoms with no resolution. Tuesday I have a gastro/endoscopy scheduled to check for issues. This feels like another clue on the long road to figuring this all out. Thank you!

unwind 9y ago

My understanding is that oats only contain gluten due to cross-contamination by other grain during processing. In Sweden you can buy special "pure oats" that are gluten free due to more careful handling.

colmvp 9y ago
Yeah this is my understanding too. Quaker Oats for example wrote: "Yes, oats are naturally gluten-free. However, during farming, transportation and storage, gluten-containing grains like wheat, rye, barley and spelt may be unintentionally introduced." Just like Sweden, in North America you can buy gluten free oatmeal that's made specifically to not include cross contaminates.
sitharus 9y ago
For the most part cross-contamination is the major issue, but it’s a bit more complex than that. Oat proteins are similar to the giladins in wheat that trigger coeliac disease. Certain oat cultivars are more similar than others. This means that some varieties of oats and some coeliac sufferers are not compatible. I can’t eat oats. Originally oats were considered gluten containing until a new more sensitive enzyme-based gluten test was developed which does not trigger for non-contaminated oars. Unfortunately enzymes aren’t how coeliac disease works.

cpuguy83 9y ago

To add to that, celiac can be so bad that even the smallest cross contamination can be devastating. Think about it like this: You cut some raw chicken on a cutting board, then wipe(not wash) the cutting board and reuse it with something else. That cutting board is now likely to contaminate anything else you put on it with salmonella. The same is true for gluten. While the effects of gluten contamination is not likely to be be fatal from one contamination, a celiac will be sick for the next week or two and causes lasting damage to the small intestine. Celiac is not cured, but with a totally gluten free diet within approx 5 years the damage to the villi has seen to be mostly healed (depends on the individual). Each contamination sets this back. Important to note that celiacs still must not ever have gluten even after the villi have recovered. My wife has celiac, I have a gluten sensitivity (causes migraines, brain fog, other intestinal issues). When we go out we just say we both have celiac. So many restaurants claim to be be gluten conscious but really have no idea... Sometimes it's obvious ("hey, I can see that you put croutons on this and then took them off"), often not without seeing the kitchen, though. When we found out my wife has celiac we had to replace all of our cookware, toaster (obviously!... But didn't think about it at first), cooking utensils, pots and pans, etc. The good news of celiac is that it is easy to treat and feel much better relatively quickly. Societal nicities like going to to a restaurant, eating at a friend's or family's house, having a drink, etc are all much more stressful, though.

jk2323 9y ago
> toaster (obviously) I removed the outer metal casing, put the whole thing in the dish washer. Put the metal casing back afterwards. The toaster was like brand new and worked fine.
52-6F-62 9y ago
I can't imagine having to adjust that way. It's awful. I love everything wheat so much. I'm sure much of the lax approach to celiac meal care is the recent "gluten free" trend that caused many uninformed people to think it wasn't something worth taking seriously. My girlfriend's stepmother has celiac and it was eye-opening to learn about. She's kicking ass in spite of having to eliminate easy energy sources like that—Iron Man worlds this fall in Kona. It certainly explains why her dad went so crazy on the baguettes when we went out for dinner, though :)

jk2323 9y ago

This is an oversimplification of gluten problems. DH for example does not necessarily go together with small intestine causing atrophy.

jmulho 9y ago
What is DH?
- borne0 9y ago
  A skin condition associated with Celiac Disease: https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disease-2/dermatitis-herpetiformis/ https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disea...
jefe78 9y ago
You may have just helped me identify celiac disease. I've had gastro issues for over 10 years. I've also experienced the DH symptoms with no resolution. Tuesday I have a gastro/endoscopy scheduled to check for issues. This feels like another clue on the long road to figuring this all out. Thank you!