Every day, the average human consumes around 15 to 20 grams of gluten, which is equivalent to 6-8 slices of bread. Now, imagine that you are diagnosed with celiac disease and are told that you can never eat gluten again in your life. While this sounds like a rare scenario, in the past few years, more and more people seem to be diagnosed with celiac disease. So what is it, and is it really increasing?

Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, rye, and barley. Wheat is used to make flour, which is found in pasta, baked goods, soups, sauces, chips/crackers and candy. While barley is more rare, it is found in yeast, malt extract, food coloring, and beer. As a result, gluten is found in almost everything we eat, but many people remain unaware of exactly what contains gluten and what doesn’t. 

Celiac disease is a chronic digestive and immune disorder that causes damage to the small intestines. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, when a person with Celiac consumes gluten, “their body mounts an immune response that attacks the small intestine. These attacks lead to damage on the villi, small fingerlike projections that line the small intestine, that promote nutrient absorption. When the villi get damaged, nutrients cannot be absorbed properly into the body.”

This lack of absorption can cause malnutrition which can lead to stunted growth and anemia, or in worst case scenarios, liver disease or intestinal cancer. 

Celiac disease is not the easiest to diagnose, and requires a long process in order to root out any other possible diseases. The symptoms of Celiac disease include diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, bloating and gas, abdominal pain, nausea, and anemia. Celiac is often confused with lactose intolerance or Crohn’s disease, which is why patients with these symptoms need to submit to a more rigorous testing process.

The first step is to meet with a gastroenterologist, who will most likely have you get blood work done if your symptoms match those of celiac. If your number of white blood cells exceeds the healthy amount, then an endoscopy has to be administered. An endoscopy is a procedure that uses a scope in order to examine the internal organs. If damaged villi are found in the small intestine, then it is likely that you will be diagnosed with celiac disease.

While some medicines have been produced in order to allow those with celiac to consume gluten, such as Latiglutenase or Larazotide, they haven’t been fully tested and put into regulation yet.

Only 1 in 100 Americans are diagnosed with celiac, but it’s a hereditary disease and those with a parent or sibling with celiac disease have a 1 in 10 risk of developing the disease. According to the National Institute of Health, “experts estimate about 2 million people in the United States have celiac disease and about 1 percent of people around the world have celiac disease.” 

The common demographic of those with celiac disease is that they are typically white, female, and have a relative who also has the disease. Women have a higher likelihood of developing celiac due to being more prone to autoimmune diseases in general. 

The number of people diagnosed with celiac disease has increased in recent years due to better technology available to diagnose it. According to a study done by the Celiac Disease Foundation, “Examination over time shows that these incidence rates are increasing, with an average of 7.5% increase per year over the past several decades.”  

This rise could be ascribed to the technology and testing methods that have been developed in order to make the diagnosis process easier, but the increase can also be attributed to the amount of gluten the average person consumes per day. 

Dr. Joseph Murray, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist said:   “Wheat itself probably hasn’t changed very much in the last 100 years. What we do with the wheat has changed. How we make our bread has changed. The amount of pizza we’re eating has gone up dramatically. The amount of fast food that we eat, of course, has increased dramatically.”

Modern life poses many challenges for people with celiac disease. More and more foods are being produced with gluten and it’s making it much harder for people to avoid it.  Many people are also misdiagnosed with lactose intolerance or IBS, and many continue to live their lives never being tested. This can lead to much worse health complications, and is why people need to be tested for celiac disease if they experience the symptoms, especially directly after consuming gluten.  Being aware of exactly why your body is doing what it is doing is the only way to ensure you can take the steps necessary to live and eat without the debilitating symptoms of the disease.