Celiac Disease

Topic: Hidden epidemic of Celiac Disease

Source: http://www.celiaccentral.org/Celiac-Disease/21/?gclid=CK-3s-TinbcCFScV7Aod9l0Aew

Description: The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness has a website dedicated to information and statistics about the disease. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food.. Essentially the body is attacking itself every time gluten is ingested (National Foundation). The article continues to state that Celiac Disease is triggered by the protein gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, and rye. When Celiacs eat gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the nutrient absorbing finger-like villi of the small intestine. When villi are damaged, the body is unable to absorb nutrients into the bloodstream, which leads to everlasting malnourishment. When left untreated, Celiac can lead to other complications such as osteoporosis, thyroid and liver disease, or cancer. 

Analysis: Since May is Celiac Awareness Month, I thought I would pay my dues and discuss the horrifying disease, which I myself am diagnosed with. Celiac is a lot more serious than an allergic reaction or a bad intolerance, because when an individual has Celiac, his or her body attacks itself, destroying their insides. Growing up in America, it took my doctors 17 years to diagnose me with Celiac Disease. I had been hospitalized several times within my first 17 years, but no doctors thought to ever test me for Celiac. On the other hand, every individual in Europe is testing by age 6, because it is mainly a European disease. Since I am half Scottish, I am assuming I carried a gene from my European side. A frightening statistic states that Celiac Disease is the most common autoimmune disorder in America, affecting 1 in every 133 Americans; the scariest part being only 6% of Celiac patients being diagnosed. I was lucky enough to discover I had Celiac, but to think about all the individuals globally that have this disease, and cannot afford to stay away from gluten. A gluten-free diet is extremely expensive, because a lot of wheat is mass produced and genetically modified to try to sustain the world's hunger. It is very inexpensive, and is a grain to satisfy people's hunger. The most consumed food in America is bread, which is frightening, because our consumption of gluten in America is what is triggering Celiac in all these Americans. If gluten was eaten in moderation in America, I'm sure that the statistics would drop lower. But with the poverty rate, sometimes all families can afford are cheap, processed foods that contain gluten fillers. Celiac Disease is a hidden epidemic that is now haunting America as well as the rest of the world, and the diagnostics keep rising, because of the amount of gluten an individual consumes daily. If we want our society in the best shape, it would be ideal to have mandatory Celiac Disease testings at a young age, following the footsteps of Europe, to help keep every generation energized and healthy for the future.