I Think I May Be Intolerant To Gluten. What Now?

You should NOT begin a gluten-free diet before a diagnosis is made. Doing so will alter future testing for the disease. Speak with your doctor and if necessary he or she will arrange for a diagnosis.

Upon diagnosis, seek consultation from a registered dietitian with a specialty in celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. A support group is also a great way to help you cope with the disease and diet.

To find out if you have celiac disease you must, as part of the diagnosis, be consuming gluten.

Celiac disease is diagnosed by:

- Blood test screening.

- A biopsy of the small intestine.

- A dietary trial of gluten elimination.

The blood tests have been developed to help identify certain antibodies produced by the immune system in response to gluten.

It is recommended that patients with positive antibody tests have a small bowel biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and assess the degree of mucosal damage.

This biopsy can be done in either of two ways both of which, although sound unpleasant, are simple, painless procedures, which do not require an operation:

The tip of a small flexible tube can be passed through the mouth down into the stomach to the small intestine; a tiny knife at the tip of the tube then collects a biopsy. The use of an x-ray is needed to guide the tube.

Alternatively, an endoscope, which allows the doctor to see, can be passed through the mouth down into the stomach to the small intestine without need for x-ray to obtain biopsies in the small intestine.

If the diagnosis is positive the patient should be monitored to test their response to a gluten-free diet.
In essence, the diagnosis of celiac disease includes:

- A suspicion of celiac disease based on symptoms, physical appearance, delayed growth, or a genetic link.
- A positive blood test.
- A biopsy from the small intestine, which shows damage to the villi.
- A DEFINITE improvement of symptoms whilst adhering to a gluten-free diet.  This is confirmed by a follow-up biopsy obtained 4 – 6 weeks after starting on a gluten free diet.

You must follow a life-long gluten-free diet. This allows the intestinal villi to heal. Foods, beverages, and medications that contain wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats should be eliminated completely.

You must read food and medication labels carefully to look for hidden sources of these grains and their derivatives. Since wheat and barley grains are found abundantly in today's diet, keeping to this diet is challenging.

With education and planning, you will achieve the goal of healing.

Vitamin and mineral supplements may be prescribed to correct nutritional deficiencies. Following a well-balanced, gluten-free diet is generally the only treatment required for staying well.

For more information and a complete step by step action plan to help deal with celiac disease and living gluten free, visit: www.AGlutenFreeLife.com