By Julie McDermott

Have you noticed that more food products have been touting that they are gluten-free? Many people don’t know what gluten is or why food manufacturers are selling gluten-free versions of their products, but it is because more and more people are being diagnosed with celiac disease, a gastrointestinal autoimmune disorder. If you have heard of it, it’s probably because you know someone who has it. Because there are no medications to treat celiac disease yet, the only way to manage this disease is to follow a gluten-free diet. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2007. Although I am not a doctor or a dietician, I want to raise awareness and share the information I have learned, based on my own research and experience.

What it Is

I’ll start with an explanation of gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.  Oats should also be avoided. (Although oats do not contain gluten, they are often grown close enough to wheat fields, so they are often coated in wheat germ.) When people with celiac disease ingest gluten, it causes their immune system to attack their digestive system.  More specifically, the protein attacks the villi in the small intestine. These villi are microscopic, finger-like tissues where nutrients are absorbed.  Over time, exposure to gluten will cause the villi of celiac patients to flatten. This flattening of the villi makes it difficult, if not impossible, to absorb nutrients your body needs. This can lead to a host of other conditions as a result, including infertility, osteoporosis, diabetes, intestinal lymphoma, malnutrition, tooth enamel defects, skin conditions, mental disorders, central and peripheral nervous system disease, pancreatic disease, migraine headaches, internal hemorrhaging, allergies to other foods and more.

What it Does

Symptoms of celiac disease can vary from person to person, making it difficult to diagnose. In fact, it takes an average of seven years before most celiac patients are diagnosed. Some patients don’t have any symptoms at all, and therefore, are never diagnosed until the disease has caused other health problems. In a way, I was fortunate to be diagnosed as early as I was–starting the gluten-free diet when I did kept me from developing other conditions and food allergies.

Awareness and Planning are Key

Even though celiac patients won’t go into anaphylactic shock or die immediately if they eat foods that contain gluten, they will get very sick. Because of that, celiac patients are sometimes viewed as just being “picky eaters.” This is due to a lack of awareness about celiac disease. (Honestly, if I had never been diagnosed, I wouldn’t understand much about it either!) Awareness makes it easier for celiac patients to plan meals, and fortunately, awareness is on the rise. This has lead to more gluten-free products on store shelves. Locally, people can find a good selection of gluten-free products at HyVee, Nature’s Grocer and Clover’s Natural Market. In addition, gluten-free baked goods can be found on Saturdays at the Columbia Farmers’ Market. These are prepared by Chamber member Mary Manulik, who owns Senza Foods, a gluten-free bakery in Columbia. If you can’t make it to the Farmers’ Market to try Mary’s gluten-free baked goods, you can purchase from her website at www.senzafoods.com.

Awareness has also led to restaurants becoming more sensitive to the needs of those who have celiac disease. Many chain restaurants have gluten-free menus, or at the very least a list of foods that contain gluten in the “Nutrition” section of their websites.  It’s easy to get gluten by accident at a restaurant, so it’s a good idea for celiac patients to research restaurants ahead of time, talking to the server, restaurant manager or chef, whenever possible. It used to be surprising to find restaurants that knew what gluten was (one time a waiter confused it with glucose) but these days, it’s becoming more surprising when a restaurant doesn’t know what it is. There are a lot of restaurants that still cannot accommodate a gluten-free diet, but savvy celiac patients will have a pretty good idea about what they can order to avoid getting a dish that contains gluten, or if they should avoid the restaurant altogether.

Local gluten-free support groups are a good resource to find gluten-free restaurants. Many of these groups have websites that have information about restaurants that have a gluten-free menu or can accommodate a gluten-free diet. In Columbia, some of these include The Rome, Bangkok Gardens, Hu Hot, Ruby Tuesday, Longhorn Steakhouse, Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, Chipotle, Macaroni Grill, Chili’s, Five Guys, Addisons, Ingredient and Noodles and Company, just to name a few.

Celiac disease also adds an extra challenge when traveling, so planning ahead is key.  The Internet can provide a lot of information about restaurants in different cities that can accommodate a gluten-free diet. I went to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico that was very accommodating, as was Universal Orlando, and I even took a cruise on Royal Caribbean without getting sick. All it took was a little planning ahead on my part.

If you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance, be sure to do plenty of research and take it seriously. Although medications are being developed, at this time the only way to manage celiac disease and feel well is to follow a gluten-free diet.