If you, or someone close to you, has recently been diagnosed as suffering from Coeliac Disease it takes quite a while to understand the implications of this condition.
After possibly experiencing some unpleasant and troublesome symptoms for quite a long time, it is likely to be a relief to know the true nature of your illness.
The benefit of becoming a celiac is that the remedy is totally in your control.
There is no medical cure at the present time, but by making some lifestyle changes, you can get rid of those distressing symptoms.
The changes will also allow your digestive system to re-grow the damaged parts of your small intestine.
A food allergy causes a reaction from the immune system that protects the organs of the body from attack.
The reaction to the food, to which the person is allergic, can be severe or life threatening.
Even a tiny bit of the food can cause immediate reaction to it.
These reactions can be vomiting, or nausea, perhaps cramps or diarrhoea.
It can also cause uncomfortable feelings around the lips and mouth, or even swelling around the tongue and throat.
In extreme cases this can cause anaphylactic shock.
A good example would be, people who are allergic to peanuts.
Their reactions can vary in intensity, depending upon how seriously they are allergic to the peanuts.
If you are allergic to a specific food, or medication etc, you have to avoid that food totally.
Food can become contaminated if the same utensils are used for making items, not containing peanuts, as those that do contain peanuts.
A person allergic to peanuts could eat the food and have an allergic reaction even though the item does not actually contain peanuts.
A food intolerance does not involve a reaction from the immune system and usually comes on in a gradual way.
The symptoms can be similar to an allergy, but are less extreme.
The sufferer can intermittently eat small amounts of the food without experiencing violent reactions.
Often there are ways of avoiding the intolerance.
If you are lactose intolerant then you may be able to drink a lactose free milk.
The confusion for Coeliacs is the disease actually embraces both food allergy and food intolerance.
Firstly the reaction of the immune system is involved and the body has become allergic to gluten.
If absorbed, in any form, the damage to the small intestine is immediate.
Fortunately it does not cause life-threatening symptoms, but if ignored it can lead to other damage to the organs of the body.
The intolerance of gluten causes unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
If gluten is removed from the diet, totally, the intolerance will be addressed.
If gluten is removed the allergic reaction, which damages the small intestine, will also be addressed and the Celiac can enjoy a more comfortable lifestyle.