The two types of gluten-related diseases are celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity disease. Over three million people across all races, ages and genders suffer from gluten related diseases. Medi-Rents will compare the two diseases and explain what to do in case of you or someone you know having celiac disease.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that damages the small intestine and the villi, or finger like strands, in your small intestine. This happens because your body isn’t getting enough nutrients from the food you take in. The gluten protein can be found in foods like wheat, barley or rye. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is less severe than celiac disease and it causes minimal intestine damage and isn’t genetically based.
Celiac disease affects one in 133 Americans and can affect any person at any age. NCGS affects around eighteen million Americans and it only affects adults. Although symptoms may vary from person to person, celiac and NCGS do share similar symptoms and some people who may not realize they have one of these diseases may not feel any symptoms at all. Symptoms may include:
- Abdominal pain
- Fatigue
- Infertility
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Weight loss
- Delayed growth
- Depression
- Anemia
Doctors or specialists may take a simple blood sample from you to test for celiac disease and sometimes may need to perform a small intestine biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, while NCGS doesn’t have any lab tests to diagnose it.
If either celiac disease or NCGS go untreated or undiagnosed, both can lead to further complications such as osteoporosis, infertility, thyroid disease or cancer. The end result and only treatment for either disease to eat a strict, 100% gluten-free diet for the rest of your life.
Medi-Rents promotes that you, or someone you know, who may have a gluten disease to get tested. Medi-Rents can help with any enteral nutrition you may need. An added plus is that most of our enteral products are gluten free!
Tags: Celiac Disease, Gluten, Healthy Diet, Healthy Living