Celiac Disease and Women

Celiac disease or celiac sprue is a disease that was identified as early as 2nd century AD in present-day Turkey and the cause was unexplained until a Dutch pediatrician recognized an association between eating bread and cereals and relapsing diarrhea in his young patients during World War 2.

Celiac disease causes malabsorption of the intestines which can be reversed when certain cereals are eliminated from the diet. These cereals are: wheat, barley, rye and to a minor degree, oats.

In fact, this auto-immune disorder can not only affect the skin, cause diarrhea, malabsorption problems but  is also linked with recurrent miscarriages, unexplained infertility, late onset of periods and early onset of menopause.

One study shows the prevalence of celiac disease in these groups:

Recurrent spontaneous miscarriage: 6.7%

Stillbirth: 5.7%

Infertility: 5.6%

Intrauterine growth restriction: 9.3%

Control group: 1.3%

Iron deficiency anemia-As many as 5-10% of all patients with iron deficiency anemia may have underlying celiac disease

Type 1 Diabetes

Auto-immune Thyroid Disease

Symptoms: chronic diarrhea, bloating, chronic constipation, fatigue, malabsorption, weight loss, vitamin deficiencies

Affected Population: Usually Northern European but increasingly diagnosed in North Africans, Midlle Easterners,Asian Indians, and Northern Chinese have been affected. In some populations, the prevalence is 1 in 100 to 1 in 200.

Diagnosis:  A blood test will help make the diagnosis. Some may require intestinal biopsies.

Management: Yet, the solution to this complex and wide ranging disease can be controlled by simply eliminating gluten from your diet. This includes all foods that contain wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats.