The Benefits of Eating Gluten-Free!!

     Celiac disease is currently effecting over 3 million Americans, and most don't even realize it. Some early symptoms include joint pain, fatigue and bloating. Celiac disease can wreak havoc on your body and even predispose you to cancer or liver disease. The reason most people don't know they have it is, because its commonly misdiagnosed by doctors. This can all be eliminated by living a life free from gluten. Celiac disease is a digestive disorder, that prevents the intestine from absorbing nutrients correctly. That is why people with Celiac cannot tolerate gluten, which is a protein commonly found in wheat and other grains such as rye and barley. 
Gluten is found in many things, including and not limited to the following:

• Bread
• Some Pills
• Beauty Products and Treatments
• Bacon Bits
• Blue Cheese
• Beer
• Soy Sauce
• Licorice
• Flavored Coffee

     The problem is that when you have Celiac Disease, you can no longer absorb nutrients properly. This leads to malnutrition, no matter how much you eat. This leads to intestinal damage, not to mention uncomfortable abdominal symptoms. The other problem is that the symptoms are pretty common so they can be very hard to pinpoint to just Celiac disease. The most common are bloating, abdominal pain and intermittent diarrhea. In some rare causes there is no abdominal symptoms reported at all, instead joint pain, irritability, mouth sores, tingling in the feet, muscle cramps, and even a rash called dermatitis herpetiformis, which is an itchy, blistering skin disease caused by gluten intolerance. The only real treatment for these symptoms are maintaining a gluten free diet. 

     Researchers believe that Celiac is more common in the U.S. than previously thought, because of that high rate of misdiagnosis. Recently they have developed blood tests to help your doctor determine if you have Celiac. Like I said before there really isn't a cure, the only real relief is a gluten free diet. Main foods, recommend to not consume are.

• Cookies,Pies and Cakes                                                         
• Cereal                                                            
• Gravies/Sauces with Flour                                                     
• Bread, or Cracker                                                               
• Pasta

Make sure to check packaging and labels, to ensure something you are consumming is in fact Gluten-Free. Most people with Celiac Disease find the following foods safe to consume.

• Fruits and vegetables
• Meats, fish and poultry (unbreaded)
• Most dairy products
• Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato)
• Potatoes

If you accidentally do consume gluten, you may experience diarrhea or stomach cramping because even trace amounts of gluten can cause damage. The key is learning to read food labels and eliminating foods with gluten. A G-free diet generally leads to full recovery for most sufferers.