Celiac Disease, neither a Gluten Allergy nor another Food Allergy
Many of us have heard of the medical term “Celiac disease”. But too often, we confuse its significance: Celiac disease, also called Coeliac disease, is not a food allergy. A food allergy is an immune system reaction towards a foreign food such as wheat, milk or gluten. 
Celiac disease in contrast is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues.
This “wrong” mechanism is triggered by gluten, a protein that is mainly found in wheat, rye and barley seeds. When gluten is consumed by celiac people and comes in contact with the small intestine walls, it generates an auto-immune reaction directed against the gut tissues. In doing so, intestinal villi are damaged and lose their function. These intestinal villi are tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine. They allow nutrients to be absorbed from food into the bloodstream. Left untreated, Celiac Disease can possibly lead to malnutrition among a variety of other neurological and physical problems.
Celiac disease is now considered a common disorder, affecting about 0.5–1% of the population. It is most common in either early childhood (between 9 and 24 months) or in the third or fourth decade of life. Celiac disease is not dependent on one specific external factor, such as a food or an infection, but correlated to genetic factors.
In children, symptoms of Celiac disease are generally similar to those of Cow Milk Allergy, including abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, in addition to pale, foul-smelling, or fatty stool. Moreover, malabsorption can trigger weight loss, failure to thrive and delayed growth.
But symptoms can vary, depending on the age a person started eating gluten-containing foods, the amount of gluten-containing foods and the degree of damage to the small intestine.
Due to its many various and unspecific symptoms, Celiac disease is hard to recognize and diagnose. An endoscopy can show the degree of intestinal villi damage.
The only treatment for celiac disease is a life-long gluten-free diet, because there are no medications that are able to stop the autoimmune reaction or prevent the gut damage. A gluten free diet is almost always effective in stopping the symptoms: in children, intestinal damages usually heal in in 3 to 6 months in the absence of gluten. Once the intestine has healed, they are then able again to absorb nutrients from food.
It is recommended that parents of a celiac toddler should work with a dietitian on a gluten-free diet plan to ensure a well-balanced diet. Moreover, a dietitian can help in teaching how to read the ingredient lists on food labels, identifying foods that contain gluten.
The following list, by the American Dietetic Association, summarizes the main BUT NOT ALL foods that contain or do not contain gluten:
Allowed Foods without Gluten |
- amaranth
- arrowroot
- buckwheat
- cassava
- corn
- flax
- Indian rice grass
- Job's tears
| - legumes
- millet
- nuts
- potatoes
- quinoa
- rice
- sago
| - seeds
- sorghum
- soy
- tapioca
- teff
- wild rice
- yucca
|
Foods with Gluten To Avoid |
- wheat
- including einkorn, emmer, spelt, kamut
- wheat starch, wheat bran, wheat germ, cracked wheat, hydrolyzed wheat protein
- barley
- rye
- triticale (a cross between wheat and rye)
|
Foods that contain Wheat |
- bromated flour
- durum 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
- candy
- chips/potato chips
- cold cuts, hot dogs, salami, sausage
- communion wafers
| - French fries
- gravy
- imitation fish
- matzo
- rice mixes
- sauces
| - seasoned tortilla chips
- self-basting turkey
- soups
- soy sauce
- vegetables in sauce
|
Source:
Forum:
The baby formula without milk...