Some of the known symptoms of CD are gastrointestinal problems, joint pain, headache, anemia, constipation and/or diarrhea, fatigue, depression, and skin conditions, but research is finding that the disease is a multisystem disorder and can cause other serious complications such as infertility, type-1 diabetes, thyroid disease, alopecia areata, peripheral neuropathy, rheumatoid arthritis, liver disease, and even cancer.  
    The true medical impact of celiac disease is just beginning to emerge. In the book Celiac Disease - A Hidden Epidemic, by Peter H. R. Green, M.D., Director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, and Rory Jones reported: "In the United States today, millions of patients suffer with symptoms that neither fit a specific diagnosis nor disappear. Young and old take drugs and see numerous specialists for gastrointestinal complaints, anemia, joint pain, itchy skin conditions, constant fatigue, or headaches and migraines. Their symptoms are treated, but no underlying cause can be found. One doctor diagnosed fibromyalgia, another chronic fatigue syndrome, a third irritable bowel syndrome. ... Celiac disease is a multisystem disorder whose primary target of injury is the small intestine. The disease is triggered by gluten, the main storage protein found causing food malabsorption continues and the disease progresses, the manifestation inevitably become more varied and complex. Celiac disease is the most common and one of the most underdiagnosed hereditary conditions in the United States today. ... Only recently have studies shown that celiac disease affects approximately 1 in every 100 people, and 97 percent of them are undiagnosed." Celiac Disease, p. 3.
      Dr. Green continues: "Frequently, the associated autoimmune disease is diagnosed first because it is more obviously symptomatic, while the celiac disease remains silent. Nevertheless, it is believed that celiac disease may come first, predisposing individuals to the development of the autoimmune diseases. Unfortunately, autoimmune disorders are often so well established by the time of diagnosis for celiac disease--with evidence of organ damage, not just the presence of antibodies, that a reversal of the condition is very unlikely." Ibid, p.155.      
      Celiac disease is an abnormal reaction to a normal food substance. I have learned that one man's food, especially glutinous foods like wheat, rye, barley, kamut, spelt and triticale, may be another man's poison. The body treats gluten, the storage protein in these foods as a foreign body that inflames the villi of the small intestine in order to protect the body from the invaders. The villi flatten and the condition causes malabsorption of nutrients which can predispose the body to an autoimmune disease. A large percentage of celiacs are deficient in folic acid and should take a B-Complex supplement. I was deficient in B-12 and noticed improvement once I started injections. Vitamin B-12 deficiency can manifest symptoms which are similar to MS. The gold standard for diagnosing CD is an internal biopsy, but a blood test, IgA Endomysial Antibodies (EMA), is highly specific, virtually 100% percent so, and about 90 percent sensitive. Dr. Green also gives a health questionnaire in his book that may indicate that you should take the IgA blood test. Here is the list of symptoms:
 
� Bloating, gas, and/or stomach cramping
� Diarrhea or runny stools
� Constipation
� Joint pain, fibromyalgia,  or numbness or tingling in your extremities
� Itchy skin lesions, eczema, or unexplained dermatitis
� Constant unexplained fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome
� Frequent headaches or migraines
� Lactose intolerance
� Osteopenia and or/ osteoporosis
� Autoimmune disorders (thyroid disease [hypo/hyper], type 1 diabetes, Sjoren's syndrome, chronic liver disease), or an immediate family member with an autoimmune disease
� Peripheral neuropathy
� Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
� Small intestinal cancer
� Psychiatric disorders or depression
� Anemia (iron deficiency)
� Infertility
 
    I experienced multiple symptoms whenever I ate gluten, and therefore must avoid it completely. Some of the symptoms which could change from episode to another were gas, diarrhea, constipation, bowel pain and bloating, depression, suicidal, extreme mood swings, irregular heart rhythms, and muscle twitching. I was also diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, but the symptoms disappeared when I stopped eating all gluten. In fact, I experience none of the symptoms as long as I follow a gluten-free diet. When I first was diagnosed with CD, I suffered from depression, diarrhea, and weight loss. Today if I eat gluten, I get hangover-like symptoms, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeats, muscle twitching, and a foggy brain. I also can have a delayed allergic reaction and symptoms on Wednesday if I eat gluten on Monday. Many people fail to realize the possibility of a delayed allergic reaction and, therefore, think the food they ate on the given day caused the reaction.
     Here is a letter from Kathy who suffered from rheumatic arthritis and psoriasis since childhood. Not one doctor had ever suggested or tested her for CD, which she finally learned was the cause of her life-long problems.
 
Dear Danny:
    
      One year ago, I came for a consultation because I had questions concerning my arthritis. Along with your recommendations of a vegan, whole foods diet, you also encouraged me to investigate celiac disease. After six months of dietary experimentation, I saw a gastroenterologist and received a diagnosis of celiac sprue. My only symptoms were arthritis (diagnosed at age 11) and psoriasis (diagnosed at age 3). I am also noticing an improvement in my overall health, both mental and physical after abstaining from gluten. I was on Methotrexate and NSAIDS for 14 years, and for the last five years have taken Prednisone (the only "safe" drug for the childbearing years). I now have been off Prednisone and all medications, (the first time in 20 years) for one year and I FEEL WONDERFUL!
      My goal in writing is to THANK YOU for your determination to provide quality health information. You have, by God's wonderful grace, influenced me, my whole family, many of my friends, and even my neighbors, towards better health. I especially appreciated the personal trainer you had on your radio show Healthline. I was a fitness professional and educator before having the privilege of becoming a fulltime mom. I can smell an un-educated trainer from a mile away. The gentleman you interviewed, Bobby Spencer, was well educated and has a true understanding of fitness and how the body works. Thank You!
      I am praying that one day you will do a show on Celiac Sprue. My Gastroenterologist and the celiac websites say it is highly under-diagnosed. When I mentioned being tested for gluten intolerance as a possible cause for Psoriatic Arthritis, people thought I was crazy (even my primary-care physician). A Gastroenterologist at UC Davis told us of a recent study in Italy where the group of people's only symptom was that they were short, and when put on a gluten-free diet they grew, and they were all past the growth stage in life. He also said they are making connections between Celiac and Alzheimer's disease. I know that many would benefit from a show on Celiac disease; the symptoms are so varied and numerous, and the diagnosis is as easy as a blood test.
 
With kind regards,
Kathy G.
 
     The late Dr. Lloyd Rosenvold, M.D., the physician who diagnosed me with gluten intolerance, or Celiac Disease, reported: "In the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology 21:20-23 (1992), a study is reported where our of 70 patients with various rheumatic complaints 23 persons were found by intestinal biopsy to have Celiac Disease. That is about 1/3 of all cases of rheumatic disease. Surely every case of any rheumatic problem or arthritis should be tested for CD." Rosenvold continued: "I recently learned of a case of rheumatism so severe that he was forced to discontinue his work. A gluten-knowledgeable friend dined with him one day and noted that he partook of enormous amounts of gluten foods. It has been shown in past observations that the gluten meat analogs consumed but many vegetarians tend to precipitate overt CD in cases of latent or previously unknown CD. Actually the gluten-based analogs are not really 'health foods.'"
     Dr. Rosenvold also reported: "We have records of patients who have suffered from heart beat irregularities caused by intolerance to gluten in the diet. Four of these suffered from extrasystole beats (skipped heart beats). When they discontinued gluten, the irregularities disappeared." I have noticed irregular heartbeats if I eat gluten. The late Ear, Nose and Throat specialist also said that gluten intolerance can cause auricular fibrillation and chronic fatigue syndrome. A study in Finland reported that in ten patients with CFS, seven of them obtained full relief as soon as they went on a gluten-free diet. Do you have friends that are chronically tired for no obvious reason? Try suggesting a gluten-free diet for a month or two. I remember watching a health series by Dr. Gary Null on PBS, years ago, and he advised everyone feeling tired and fatigued to get off all wheat products. I would go further than this -- I would suggest they get off all gluten products.
       I know of many people who were suffering with many symptoms but never suspected celiac disease as the root cause. Dr. Rosenvold treated me not only for CD, but a secondary condition called candida albicans which has a whole list of symptoms much like CD. He said, "When the villi lay flat in the small intestine, candida fungus has a greater opportunity to proliferate in the jejunum." If you have any of the diseases mentioned in this article and are at your wit's end in trying to figure out what is wrong with you, please consider a gluten-free diet for a month or two for it may make all the difference.    
     If you have any further questions, please email me at danny@modernmanna.org. For further reading get Dr. Green's book, Celiac Disease - A Hidden Epidemic.