Difference Between Celiac and Gluten Intolerance
Gluten and celiac intolerance may seem foreign to many as they may not have heard of them. Those suffering from celiac disease or gluten intolerance, these are huge problems. Before going ahead and finding the difference between celiac and gluten intolerance, it is best to start with the basic principles.
Gluten is a protein that is found in our daily diet, especially in foods prepared from rye, barley and wheat. Now, gluten is found in almost all cereals and bread that we eat on a daily basis. It is a starch like substance which can be removed from the wheat in the form of wheat starch. Gluten is what makes the bread elastic. Some people in whom the percentage of gluten is about 15 suffer from gluten intolerance or celiac disease. On eating food containing gluten, they experience a negative reaction in their stomach. Celiac disease is really an inflammation in the small intestine, which is a result of this intolerance of gluten.
Of these people 15% who suffer from gluten intolerance, only about 1% is really suffering from celiac disease. But in reality this figure could be much higher if many are unaware they have the disease. If you have gluten intolerance or celiac disease, the treatment procedure is the same as both are similar and interrelated. The only treatment for those suffering from one or the other is a gluten-free diet regime. Those who continue eating a containing gluten diet, despite having gluten intolerance begin to develop various health problems such as anemia, intestinal damage, leakage of the intestine, depression, infertility, osteoporosis and even some cancerous formations. If developed in a first stage, gluten intolerance or celiac disease can cause many behavioral problems in kids and may even cause the imbalanced development.
There are many symptoms of gluten intolerance, but in countries where the equipment and facilities for a thorough check up are not available, parents force children to eat a diet full of gluten, though they show clear symptoms. Vomiting, constipation, anemia, pale stools, fatigue, collective pain, anxiety, irregular periods and so is some of the common symptoms of celiac disease but people misunderstand and think about these symptoms as real disease and continue to suffer as well as the real cause goes unnoticed. The symptoms are common for both gluten intolerance and celiac disease as gluten intolerance eventually causes celiac disease.
If a person with gluten intolerance eats a diet full of gluten, the body can not digest food properly, therefore he knows some of the symptoms listed above. Once such a person passes the stool, the gluten is removed from inside the body and the symptoms subside. So there is no damage to the intestine but the person feels the symptoms again when he eats gluten rich diet. If this continues for a long time, it is likely that inflammation in the upper part of the intestine may occur in the future, causing other health problems described above.
As such it is necessary to receive the proper treatment after the diagnosis by a doctor. The best treatment is obviously a gluten free regime as soon as a person with gluten intolerance begins on a gluten-free regime; he begins to feel relieved and is no longer disturbed by any of the symptoms.