My son and granddaughter have been diagnosed with Adult Celiac Disease several years ago. Even though my husband has never been diagnosed we think he’s the one who is the carrier since he’s had many of the symptoms over the years so he also eats a gluten-free diet. Even though I knew all about Adult Celiac Disease and was aware of foods allowed and waht foods to eliminate, I wrote this blog for those who have just been diagnosed with Adult Celiac Disease.  In addition, I have been on a mission to create gluten-free recipes by altering some of our favorite family recipes.

What is Adult Celiac Disease?

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine because of a sensitivity to gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. This hereditary disorder interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food.

When persons with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small intestine. Tiny fingerlike protrusions, called villi, which line the small intestine and enable the absorption of nutrients from food into the bloodstream, are lost. Without these villi, nutrient deficiencies occur, regardless of how much food a person consumes.

An estimated 3 million Americans have been diagnosed with celiac disease. However, recent studies have suggested that as many as one in every 133 Americans may have it, and the disease is under-diagnosed.

Image from: https://diabetes.org/food-nutrition/food-and-diabetes/gluten-free-diet

What causes celiac disease?

Celiac disease is a genetic disease that runs in families. A person can have the disease and not know it until it is triggered by severe stress, pregnancy, surgery, physical injury, infection, or childbirth.

Symptoms of celiac disease

Celiac disease affects people in different ways. Some persons may develop symptoms as children, or adolescents, whereas others do not experience symptoms until adulthood. Some may have diarrhea and abdominal pains, while others have irritability or depression with the onset of the disease.

While the following are common symptoms of celiac disease. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:

• chronic diarrhea or constipation
• weight loss, however, even overweight and obese individuals have celiac disease 
• recurring abdominal pain and bloating
• gas
• unexplained anemia
• muscle cramps and/or bone pain
• pain in the joints
• tingling numbness in the extremities
• delayed growth in children
• fatigue
• painful, blistering skin rash
• menstrual irregularities
• male and female infertility issues
• tooth discoloration or loss of enamel
• cloudy or foggy mental alertness

Sometimes, persons with celiac disease are asymptomatic. However, these persons are still at risk for complications of the disease.

The symptoms of celiac disease may resemble other medical conditions or problems. Always consult a physician knowledgeable about Celiac disease for a diagnosis.

How celiac disease is diagnosed

Since symptoms of celiac disease are similar to those of other digestive diseases such as Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, diverticulosis, and intestinal infections, it can be difficult to diagnose.

In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination, diagnostic procedures for celiac disease may include the following: 

• blood work (to measure the level of antibodies to gluten)
  Researchers have found that persons with celiac disease have higher than normal levels of certain antibodies in their blood. These antibodies by the immune system in response to substances (such as gluten) that the body perceives as threatening.
• biopsy
  To diagnose celiac disease, the physician may remove a tiny piece of tissue from the small intestine to check for damage to the villi. During the procedure, the physician eases a long, thin tube, called an endoscope, through the mouth and stomach into the small intestine. A sample of tissue is then taken using instruments passed through the endoscope.

Treatment for celiac disease:

A gluten-free diet is the only treatment for persons with celiac disease. Adhering to a gluten-free diet is a lifetime requirement, as eating any gluten will further damage the intestine.

For most persons, eliminating gluten from their diet will stop symptoms, heal intestinal damage that has already occurred, and prevent further damage. Usually, a person will see an improvement in symptoms within days to weeks of starting the diet and, within one year, the small intestine is usually completely healed, with villi intact and working. For older persons, complete healing may take up to two years.

Here’s a Basic Gluten Free List of Foods Allowed.

FRUITS

• ALL fresh fruits
• ALL frozen whole fruits with no additives

VEGETABLES AND LEGUMES

• ALL fresh vegetables
• ALL frozen vegetables with no additives, breading, or sauces
• *Beans, canned
• Beans, lentils, and peas, dried
• Olives
• Potatoes (all varieties)
• *Pumpkin, canned, 100% pure puree

SEAFOOD

• ALL fresh fish and shellfish
• ALL frozen fish and shellfish with no additives or sauces

LEAN PROTEINS

• ALL fresh meats and poultry with no breading or additives
• ALL frozen meats and poultry with no breading or additives
• Eggs
• Tofu

NUTS AND SEEDS (Preferably Unsalted)

• ALL natural nut butters
• ALL nuts
• ALL seeds (except rye and barley)

GRAINS, CEREALS, PASTA, AND MORE

• Amaranth
• Arrowroot starch
• Buckwheat
• *Cereals, dry: puffed and flake varieties made with amaranth, buckwheat, corn, millet, rice, or soy
• *Cereals, hot: cream and flake varieties made with amaranth, cornmeal, buckwheat, hominy grits, rice, quinoa, or soy
• Corn bran
• Corn chips, plain
• Corn flour/corn meal products
• Crackers, gluten-free (such as brown rice, corn, and lentil)
• Flour: amaranth, buckwheat, carob, chickpea, lentil, millet, potato, quinoa, rice, sago, sorghum, soy, tapioca, teff
• Grits (corn or soy)
• Kasha (not the same as Kashi)
• Masa
• Millet
• Pasta made from beans, brown rice, corn, peas, potato, quinoa, lentils, or soy
• Polenta
• *Popcorn, air-popped and gluten-free packaged varieties
• Potato chips, plain or *flavored
• Quinoa
• Ragi
• Rice (preferably brown or wild)
• Rice cakes, plain
• *Soba, 100% buckwheat
• Sorghum
• *Soy crisps
• *Tacos shells made with corn, hard and soft
• Tapioca starch/flour
• Teff
• *Tortillas made with corn, soy, or brown rice
• Tortilla chips, plain or *flavored

DAIRY

• *Cheese (preferably reduced-fat), not blue cheese
• *Cottage cheese (preferable fat-free or 1% low-fat)
• *Cream cheese (preferably reduced-fat)
• *Ice cream (check labels; ingredients will vary from flavor to flavor)
• Milk (preferably fat free or 1% low-fat)
• *Milk alternatives (soy, almond, rice)
• *Sour cream (preferably fat-free or reduced-fat)
• *Yogurt (preferably fat-free or low-fat)

MISCELLANEOUS

• ALL pure herbs (check ingredients of *herb mixes)
• ALL pure spices (check ingredients of *spice mixes)
• Apple cider vinegar
• Baking chocolate
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Canola oil
• Cocoa powder
• Coffee, instant and ground (check ingredients of *flavored coffees)
• Corn syrup
• Cornstarch
• Cream of tartar
• Garlic
• Gelatin
• Honey
• *Hummus (check labels; ingredients will vary from flavor to flavor)
• Jam and jelly
• *Ketchup
• Maple syrup
• *Mayonnaise (preferably reduced-fat)
• Molasses
• *Mustard
• Olive oil
• Pickles
• Relish
• *Salsa
• *Soft tub, trans fat–free spread (regular and reduced-fat)
• Sugar
• Tea, black and green (check *flavored and herbal tea varieties)
• Vanilla and other extracts
• Vinegar, balsamic, red wine, or white
• Wine, red and white

SAFE (GLUTEN-FREE) ADDITIVES

• Acacia gum
• Adipic acid
• Agar
• Algae
• Algin/alginate
• Allicin
• Annatto
• Arabic gum
• Arrowroot
• Ascorbic acid
• Aspartame
• Aspic
• Astragalus gummifer
• Benzoic acid
• BHA
• BTA
• Dextrose
• Ester gum
• Fructose
• Guar gum
• Locust bean gum
• Malic acid
• Methylcellulose
• Microcrystallin cellulose
• Pectin
• Pepsin
• Stearic acid
• Sulfites
• Tapioca starch/flour (not pudding)
• Whey
• Xanthan gum

* The asterisk (*) indicates foods whose labels need to be carefully checked for gluten. You can use the GF app to make sure the brand you choose is indeed gluten free.

Foods that Contain Gluten

Less Common Foods that Contain Gluten

Nutritional Supplements Suggested on a Gluten Free Diet

Multivitamin.  Use a multivitamin like Centrum Performance because it contains 300% of the Daily Value (DV) of B vitamins and 00% of folate.

Calcium plus Vitamin D.  Many people who have celiac disease also have osteoporosis or have a malabsorption of calcium, a calcium supplement with added vitamin D is indicated.  For women take 500 – 600 milligrams (mg) of calcium twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening for a total of 1,000 to 1,200 mg per day. Make sure the brand also contains vitamin D1 (cholecalciferol) which will give you a total of 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D per day.  Men to check with their physician about using this supplement because too much calcium may increase the risk of prostate cancer. 

Strategies that Help Your Manage Your Celiac Disease

• Don’t cheat.
• Whenever possible, choose gluten-free (GF) packaged foods.
• Go easy on gluten-free baked goods
• Be a gluten sleuth – read all food labels.
• If you can’t figure out what’s in a food, skip it.

Food Companies That Offer Gluten-Free Items

Adrienne’s Gourmet Foods (www.adriennesgourmetfoods.com): Papadini Lentil Pasta

Amy’s Kitchen (www.amys.com) Gluten-Free Chil, Salsa, Soup, Pasta Sauce,  Look for the Gluten-Free symbol on product descriptions.

Annie’s Naturals (www.anniesnaturals.com): gluten-free dressings sauces, and marinades; look for Special Dietary Needs on the Products page.

Barbara’s Bakery (www.barbarasbakery.com): look for the Special Diets section under the Product Line tab.

Bell & Evans (www.bellandevans.com): look for Black Box packaging for its Gluten Free Chicken Breast Nuggets and Gluten Free Chicken Tenders, both breaded with rice and corn flour.

Eden Foods (www.edenfoods.com): large assortment of gluten-free products (condiments; Japanese).

Ener-G Foods (www.ener-g.com): gluten-free bread products.

Enjoy Life (www.enjoylifefoods.com): breads, cereals, snack bars and more.

Fantastic World Foods (www.fantasticfoods.com): Gluten-Free Bean Dish Mixes, Soups, and Soup Mixes.

Food for Life Bread (www.foodforlife.com): gluten-free breads.

Gluten-Free Mall (www.glutenfreemall.com)

Josefs Gluten-Free (www.josefsglutenfree.com)

Quinoa Corporation (www.quinoa.net): gluten-free grains and pasta.

Thai Kitchen Asian (www.thaikitchen.com/allergyinfo.html):  gluten-free noodle products and sauces.

Westbrae (www.westbrae.com/products/condiments.php): condiments.

www.glutenfree.com

www.glutenfreedelights.com

www.glutenfreemarket.com

www.glutenfreepantry.com

www.glutenfree-supermarket.com

www.glutensolutions.com

www.glutino.com

www.missroben.com

 Gluten Free App helps to Determine if Gluten is a Product

There is a FREE Gluten Free App you can get through the Apple App store. You scan the Barcode and it will tell you if the product contains gluten. It’s been a great help for me and my family to use at the grocery. 

Resources for Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Disease

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20352220

https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/default.htm

www.celiac.com

www.celiac.org