Food intolerance What you should know about celiac disease

Expert clarifies food intolerances

Around one percent of the European population suffers from the chronic autoimmune disease celiac disease. Many patients and their relatives do not know what exactly that means or how best to deal with it. Most sufferers notice intolerance to certain celiac-related foods as early as infancy. A nutrition expert explains the right way to deal with the disease.

Dr. Katharina Werkstetter is a Zölliakie expert at Dr. Ing. from Haunerschen Children's Hospital. As project leader, she has teamed with her team to develop a free and ad-free online food intolerance course focused on gluten allergy, which was recently put online. "Our online course is designed to familiarize celiac sufferers with the latest scientific findings on food intolerance," says the specialist. Below are the main contents summarized.

Those who suffer from gluten intolerance must follow a strict gluten-free diet in order to permanently alleviate the symptoms. (Image: ferkelraggae / fotolia.com)

What exactly is celiac disease??

Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disease that can occur at any age if a person has the genetic predisposition to do so. In most cases, celiac disease manifests itself in early childhood. The cereal protein gluten is Dr. According to Werkstetter as a trigger. Gluten is used primarily for the cohesion of dough in pasta, bread and other baked goods.

What happens in the gastrointestinal tract of celiacs?

"Gluten can cause a reaction of the immune system in the small intestine in persons with a genetic predisposition, in which the mucous membrane of the small intestine is damaged", report the experts of the foundation child health in a press release to the new information portal. The result: intestinal villi waste away and the surface of the intestine shrinks. As a result, nutrients can be absorbed worse. There are often nutrient deficiencies in iron, calcium and / or vitamins.

How does a celiac disease express itself??

An external characteristic for Zölliakie is according to the expert team a vorgewölbter Blähbauch. If the gluten intolerance already occurs in infants, it often shows growth disorders and chronic diarrhea. Later, the symptoms become more diffuse, which is why celiac disease is not always recognized immediately. Those affected complain of frequent digestive problems, chronic fatigue and exhaustion. Often, these signs are attributed to iron deficiency and anemia. Other possible symptoms include:

• difficulty concentrating,
• chronic headache,
• depression,
• hair loss,
• brittle nails,
• Enamel defect,
• Tendency to bone fractures (osteoporosis),
• itchy rash.

How to diagnose celiac disease?

If it is suspected, a simple and inexpensive blood test will be used to diagnose celiac disease. Those affected produce autoantibodies to the body's own enzymes, which can be detected by a blood test. If the test is positive, tiny tissue samples can be taken from the small intestine for more accurate diagnosis. For this purpose, gastroscopy is usually performed.

How is a gluten intolerance treated??

"For celiac disease, only a lifelong, strict diet helps eliminate all gluten-containing cereal products and foods made from them," say experts at the Celiac Information Portal. Especially at the beginning, this presents a great challenge for patients. Not only the walk to the supermarket will be such a study for itself, the food outside the home can sometimes be a problem. According to the specialists, however, the effort is worth it, because under a strictly gluten-free diet, patients usually experience a quick and lasting improvement in their symptoms.

Constancy is needed

An important rule for lasting freedom from symptoms is the constant adherence to the diet. "Even with a good course, it may take one to three years, especially in adults with celiac disease, to fully recover the mucous membrane and the villi have reached the usual length," the experts emphasize. Non-compliance threatens long-term health consequences. These include an increased risk for:

• prematurity,
• Impairment of fertility,
• osteoporosis,
• Colon cancer (in rare cases).

German Celiac Society warns against false reports

The Internet provides a good platform to learn about the disease and its effects. "Unfortunately lurking in the net, a lot of false information," warn the experts of the German Celiac Society (DZG). For this reason, the online course www.zoeliakie-verstehen.de was developed to support those affected and to enable a healthy and carefree life despite chronic illness. (Vb)