Celiac disease is a chronic (long-term) digestive and immune system disorder. Eating foods or using products that contain gluten triggers it. Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, barley, and rye. It’s common in bread, baked goods, and pasta.

Celiac disease isn’t the same as gluten sensitivity or wheat allergy. While those conditions have some of the same symptoms as celiac disease, they aren’t as serious. 

Celiac disease can cause long-term damage to the small intestine. This prevents your body from absorbing nutrients, leading to malnutrition.

Celiac disease symptoms include digestive problems such as:

• Bloating
• Belly pain
• Chronic diarrhea 
• Chronic constipation
• Excessive gas
• Greasy, bulky, or foul-smelling stool
• Lactose intolerance
• Unexplained weight loss in adults
• Not enough weight gain in children
• Nausea and vomiting

People with celiac disease may also have:

• Depression
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Joint or bone pain
• Dry mouth and canker sores
• Headaches and balance problems
• A blistery rash called dermatitis herpetiformis

The exact cause of celiac disease is not known. But research shows that the condition only occurs in people with certain genes who eat gluten. 

Risk factors include:

• Family history of celiac disease
• Having Down syndrome, Turner syndrome, or Williams syndrome
• Being white
• Being female
• Having a high number of digestive tract infections early in life

Our doctors arrive at a celiac disease diagnosis by asking about your symptoms and medical history. We’ll do a physical exam and run blood and other tests. We’ll do a biopsy of the small intestine to confirm celiac disease.

If you have celiac disease and continue to eat gluten, you may end up with:

• Malnutrition
• Anemia
• Bone loss
• Nervous system problems
• Infertility 

There’s only one treatment for celiac disease: You need to be gluten-free for the rest of your life.

Of course, avoiding gluten is easier said than done. It’s in everything from packaged foods to toothpaste to cosmetics.

Your celiac disease doctor at Carilion will work with our nutritionists to help you lead a gluten-free life.

Learn to read food labels

By FDA rules, a product can only bear a “gluten-free” label if it contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten.

• Read food labels carefully and look for ingredients or additives made from wheat, barley, or rye
• Look for labels that say “gluten-free,” “no gluten,” or “free of gluten”
• Don’t eat a food if you’re not sure if it contains gluten
• Store your gluten-free foods away from other family members’ foods

Choose gluten-free alternatives

Fortunately, many food companies now offer gluten-free options. It’s now easier to find gluten-free bread, pasta, and pizza dough in the grocery store. These products use flour made from potatoes, rice, nuts, soy, quinoa, buckwheat, or beans.

Of course, many foods naturally contain no gluten. Gluten-free foods include:

• Fish
• Meat
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Potatoes
• Rice

Use caution when eating out

It can be trickier to eat out when you have celiac disease. But you don’t have to miss family celebrations and other occasions.

• Look online for restaurants that advertise gluten-free options.
• Let your server know you have celiac disease. It’s okay to ask how the restaurant prepares its food and request gluten-free options.

Watch for “hidden” sources of gluten

Gluten isn’t only in bread and pasta. Some unexpected products can contain gluten. These include:

• Cosmetics
• Lip balm
• Modeling clay
• Toothpaste and mouthwash
• Communion wafers
• Herbal and nutritional supplements, including vitamins
• Food coloring
• Starches and thickeners
• Candy
• Condiments and salad dressing