Celiac Support - It Could Be a Matter of Life Or Death

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have the disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley.

The disease can lead to terminal illnesses if untreated. There is no cure for it and there is only one known treatment for it. It is effective in eliminating the symptoms of the disease.

The only known treatment is a change of diet to a gluten free diet. This diet will need to be followed for the rest of the sufferer's life. Because the treatment is a lifetime matter, a support team is needed to help the sufferer to change diet and maintain that change.

It is difficult to change a habit. Eating patterns are a habit. To change eating habits that have been developed over time, and in some cases a long time, requires the help of a support team comprised of health professionals, family and friends, and contact with other celiac sufferers.

Celiac support and education

The first step in the treatment of the is education. Some elements of a support team provide education. Other elements require education. Health professionals and other celiacs provide education. The sufferer and the sufferers family and friends require education.

Education involves the following:

understanding the disease
understanding the symptoms
understanding what triggers the symptoms
understanding the treatment of the disease
understanding how to treat(regard or think about) a sufferer


Support from health professionals

The health professionals are a physician, who is knowledgeable in the treatment and care of the disease, and a dietitian or nutritionist.

It is important to know that there is no such thing as a typical sufferer. While all sufferers are alike in that they have a reaction to gluten, each is very different in ways which only the individual and his/her physician will know. Symptoms of the disease vary from sufferer to sufferer. The physician will help the sufferer to understand the disease, its symptoms, and its treatment.

The dietitian or nutritionist will know all about the foods and products that contain gluten. As gluten triggers the disease, the transfer of this knowledge from the dietitian or nutritionist to the sufferer is vital. The sufferer will learn:

what foods to eat
what foods to avoid
what foods can be substitutes for glutenous foods
how to read labels on foods to detect gluten

Support from family and friends

Family and friends provide emotional and attitudinal support. In order to do this, they must understand the disease, its symptoms, what triggers them, and how to prevent the appearance of the symptoms. They must also understand that its treatment is a lifetime matter. But most of all, they must come to view the disease as as something similar to an allergy - an allergy to gluten.

Just as someone allergic to cats will have an allergic reaction when in contact with a cat and just as a hay fever sufferer will have a reaction when the pollen count is high, a celiac sufferer will have a reaction to eating food containing gluten. People with allergies lead normal healthy lives when they are not experiencing a reaction to their allergy. So too with a celiac. When the their diet remains gluten free, they live a normal healthy life.

Support from other sufferers of the disease

Every state in the US has a celiac support group. These groups are composed of sufferers, family members of sufferers and others who have been touched by the disease in some way.

It is important for a sufferer to become part of, or be in touch with, a local support group. It will provide:

an understanding of how to live with the disease
the location of local stores that stock a large range of gluten free food
the local restaurants that gluten free menus and also restaurants that have an array safe foods
gluten free recipes and sources of gluten free recipes


Working closely with a knowledgeable health professionals, receiving emotional and attitudinal support from family and friends, connecting with other celiacs and practicing wise self-discipline in food consumption, will help a person with the disease to live life to the fullest.
If you are a celiac sufferer, knowing how to live a gluten free life is essential.

If you are a friend or family member of a loved one who is a sufferer, it is essential for you to encourage the sufferer to form a celiac support team of which you are a part. This is a vital element in helping the sufferer to return to full health and well being and to live a full and active life.

Written By: Jay_Hurwitz

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