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I've written about Celiac Disease a lot lately. It’s come to the forefront as doctors have started to understand the disease more clearly. Celiac Disease causes severe intolerance to gluten. The illness damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents the absorption of nutrients in the body, causing a host of associated issues including anemia, fatigue, bloating, and even brain damage. The symptoms are more likely associated with digestion at younger ages and malnutrition later in life.
According to an article in USA Today, more and more of us are being diagnosed with the disease and it’s not just because doctors are seeing it more often. Doctors have a number of reasons why they think the disease is spreading. One of the speculations is that our society is too clean. Cleanliness in our society has changed the face of the gut bacteria making it not as effective at fighting this autoimmune disorder.
According to USA Today:
"It's because this increase occurs primarily in industrialized countries, where things are cleaner," [Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research and the Mucosal Biology Research Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine said]. "We abuse antibiotics, we wash our hands too often, we are vaccinated more often."
Another speculation is that more gluten is being used in our foods than ever before causing an increased response. Doctors are also pointing to the fact that less women are breastfeeding than ever before as a potential reason. It’s unclear why but the evidence that Celiac Disease is becoming more and more of a problem is mounting.
This may be what is leading to the trend of going wheat-free. Just today a Facebook friend proclaimed that she had gone wheat-free for a month and had never felt better. Last week in a yoga class the girl one mat over explained that since giving up gluten she felt the weight of depression lift. Would you consider going wheat-free? And if so, what are your motivations?
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More on Celiac Disease
Emeril Green Episode: Gluten Free NO Style
Emeril Green Episode: Gluten Free
7 Reasons to Go Wheat-Free (At Least For a Bit)
