Home // Celiac Disease – A Naturopath Speaks Up!
For those who don’t suffer from celiac disease, the thought that a meal as innocuous as a sandwich could set off an array of painful symptoms, much less cause serious damage to the body, might seem too incredible to believe. For the estimated 2 million people in the United States who do, however, it’s an all-too-familiar reality. The chronic digestive and autoimmune disorder is triggered by eating food that contains gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.
Avoiding foods and products containing gluten is more difficult than one might initially realize. In addition to bread, pasta, and baked goods, gluten is often found in prepackaged foods, lipstick and lip balms, vitamins, and other nutrient supplements, toothpastes, and sometimes even medicines. Labeling doesn’t always make this clear, either, leaving some celiac patients to deal with a frustrating process of trial-and-error in finding safe foods and products.
Understanding the symptoms and effects of celiac disease only underscores the importance of keeping the condition under control. The condition can be debilitating in the short term as well as causing damage to the small intestine that can lead to long-term malabsorption and malnutrition.
Although celiac disease can affect both children and adults, it is not a condition that is routinely screened for in the absence of symptoms. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with celiac disease than men. Digestive symptoms can include:
These types of symptoms are more common in children. When it affects their ability to absorb nutrients, it can also harm normal growth and development.
Other types of symptoms can affect other parts of the body. These can include:
Because consuming gluten sets off the abnormal immune response that attacks the small intestine, adopting a gluten-free diet usually results in improvement of symptoms. In some cases, they may go away entirely. However, patients often find that consuming even a small amount of gluten can make symptoms come roaring back. Constant vigilance is necessary to maintain good health, let the small intestine heal, and avoid further damage.
A significant challenge in living with celiac disease is ensuring that you get all the nutrients you need for good health even though there’s a wide array of foods that you can’t consume. Accelerated osteoporosis, anemia, and malnutrition are among the possible long-term complications of celiac. Fear of encountering unsuspected gluten in a new food, meal, or dietary supplement can keep celiac patients to an even more restricted diet than is strictly necessary, though. Worse, patients may attribute nonspecific symptoms like fatigue to their celiac disease when they may stem from a dietary imbalance instead.
At the Natural Healing Center, we can help those with celiac disease protect their overall health. We understand that creating and maintaining a nutritious diet can feel like a dangerous tightrope walk, where even a minor slip has severe consequences. Our method takes the guesswork out of determining what your body needs. We then use those findings to create your individualized gluten-free diet plan and set you on the road to long-term wellness. How does it work?
Step One: Nutrition Response Testing
This non-invasive process analyzes the body to determine the underlying causes of troublesome symptoms.
Step Two: Consultation and Diet Plan
The results of your Nutrition Response Testing inform your personalized diet plan, which is devised to ensure that you’re getting the right balance of nutrients through healthy, natural foods and gluten-free whole food supplements.
Step Three: Monitoring
We continue to work with you to assess the effects of your new regimen and to make any adjustments, as necessary, to keep you healthy. We’re committed to your long-term wellness and keeping you symptom-free.
Living with celiac disease can feel like an anxious, isolating battle. If your efforts to stick to a gluten-free diet haven’t produced the improvements you’ve been hoping for, the Natural Healing Center can help you find the answers you need. To schedule your free initial consultation either in person or via telehealth, contact us here today. We consult with individuals and families nationwide.
