Via: statesville.com

Celiac disease — a genetically inherited digestive and autoimmune disease — affects an estimated 2 million people in the U.S. It is the only autoimmune disease of which the trigger is known. That trigger is dietary.

An autoimmune disorder, by definition, is a condition that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. There are more than 80 different autoimmune disorders. Examples of other autoimmune disorders include type 1 diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

In the case of celiac disease, the dietary trigger is the consumption of foods with wheat, rye or barley (in particular, the proteins in these grains called prolamins). These grains are in most mainstream types of spaghetti, bread, cereal, crackers, flour, beer, imitation fish, seasoned chips, soups, soy sauce, french fries, communion wafers, cookies, pizza crust and more. There are many obvious sources of prolamins, while others may be more hidden such as in vitamins, medicines, envelope adhesive and condiments.

On a side note, the word “gluten” is generally used to identify the prolamins in wheat, barley, rye and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye), even though the gluten protein itself is only found in wheat.

When the gluten source is from an unsafe grain, it must be avoided by those with celiac disease.

Full Story