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Wheat-free, Worry-free
The Art of Healthy, Happy Gluten-free Living
By Danna Korn
Simply stated, celiac disease is a genetic intolerance to gluten. Unlike an allergy, celiac disease is an autoimmune condition, meaning that the body essentially turns against and "destroys" itself. Normally, the cells of the immune system can distinguish between body tissues and foreign organisms such as bacteria, viruses and other invaders. It's the job of the immune system to fight off these invaders, and it does so with antibodies produced by the body. In the case of an autoimmune disorder, though, the immune system mistakenly interprets the body's own tissues as foreign and launches an all-out attack on them.
Collectively, autoimmune diseases strike women three times more often than men. According to a recent study, autoimmune diseases are among the top 10 leading causes of death among American women age 65 and younger.
The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) points out that autoimmune diseases are frequently misdiagnosed or never diagnosed at all. The fact that these diseases often have seemingly unrelated symptoms and unpredictable patterns of flare-ups and remissions and are often not well understood even by physicians are cited as reasons for late or misdiagnosis. According to the AARDA, 45 percent of patients who are diagnosed with serious autoimmune disease are initially written off as "chronic complainers" and not given proper treatment.
The "Compromised" Immune System?
When people are diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, they often assume that their immune system is compromised, making them more susceptible to colds, viruses and other illnesses. Not true. Someone who has an autoimmune condition has an overactive immune system, not an under-active one. In most people, gluten doesn't trigger any type of immune response. But in people with celiac disease, certain cells in the intestines react against toxic portions of the gluten molecule and launch an attack on the intestinal wall, specifically affecting the villi of the small intestine. As mentioned earlier, the villi are small, hairline projections that act to increase the surface area of the small intestine, providing more opportunity for nutrients to be absorbed and digested into the bloodstream.
