Coeliac Disease Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
What is coeliac disease?
It is a condition in which the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged when it is exposed to even small amounts of gluten.
Gluten is a substance found in wheat, barley, rye, oats and millet. As a result affected patients absorb food and nutrients poorly, resulting in deficiencies of vitamins, minerals and sometimes protein, carbohydrates and fats.
Coeliac disease is easily treated by scrupulously avoiding the consumption of all products including gluten, i.e. a gluten free diet.
How is coeliac disease diagnosed?
Your doctor’s assessment and if appropriate, blood tests will determine whether coeliac disease is likely.
A gastroscopy is required to collect a tissue sample from your intestine. This is a simple, safe and painless procedure. A pathologist examines this tissue biopsy in order to make a proper diagnosis.
Biopsy results take 7 days to reach your GP or specialist. If coeliac disease is diagnosed then follow up consultations can begin, including individual dietary planning.
What are the symptoms?
Although there are no specific symptoms of the disease, diarrhoea, weight loss, nausea, flatulence and abdominal discomfort are commonly experienced. Tiredness and weakness may also occur — often the only sign is an unexplained iron deficiency anaemia.
At times there can be no recognised symptoms at all.
In children coeliac disease can also cause delayed growth and development, irritability and a poor appetite, in addition to gastro-intestinal problems and anaemia.
Of course many of the above mentioned complaints are very common in the community and are not necessarily due to coeliac disease.
Does it run in families?
It certainly can. About one in ten close family relatives of an affected patient may also have coeliac disease.
There is also an association with diabetes.
What should I do if someone in my family has coeliac disease?
Again, your GP should be your first contact. You may like to produce this fact sheet indicating where you read about this condition.
What is the treatment if I have coeliac disease?
The following is intended as a general guide only and you are encouraged to consult with your doctor and/or dietician.
All that is needed is a strict diet avoiding all gluten containing foods. Medication is rarely necessary. This needs to be continued for life because all coeliac patients remain sensitive to gluten indefinitely and simple measures can transform the lives of people affected by the disease.
| FOODS TO AVOID |
FOODS TO INCLUDE |
| Flours - wheat flour, rye flour, millet meal, cornflour made wheat, custard powder |
Rice flour, arrowroot, cornmeal, pure cornflour, soya flour, potato flour, lentil flour, wheat starch, gluten-free baking powder. |
| Bread - all bread including rye and commercial soya bread, biscuits, pastries, buns, muffins, pikelets, crumpets, croissants, breadcrumbs (unless labelled gluten-free). |
Rice cakes, some ricecrackers (check label), gluten-free bread, biscuits, rolls |
| Cereals - Breakfast cereals containing wheat, oats, semolina, barley, rye, malt millet, wheatgerm, wheatbran, oatbran. |
Rice and corn breakfast cereals, homemade muesli using allowed ingredients |
| Pasta - Spaghetti, noodles, vermicelli, pasta, instant pasta meals (unless labelled gluten-free) |
Rice - brown, white or fragrant cornmeal, rice, vermicelli, tapioca, buckwheat, infant rice cereal, taco shells, gluten-free pasta. |
| Fruit - Commercial thickened fruit pie filling (unless checked) |
Fresh, canned, frozen and dried fruit, fruit juices. |
| Vegetables - Canned or frozen in sauce, commercially prepared vegetable and potato salad (unless checked) |
Fresh, frozen or canned without sauces, dehydrated, vegetable juices. |
| Meat, fish, poultry - Foods prepared or thickened with flour, battered or crumbed, sausages, processed meats and fish (unless checked), meat pies, frozen dinners. |
Fresh, smoked, corned, frozen without sauces, crumbs or batters, canned meat or fish without sauce or cereal, Ham, bacon, corned beef, gluten-free sausages |
Gluten free bread and biscuits and other products are now widely available from supermarkets and health food shops.
| FOODS TO AVOID |
FOODS TO INCLUDE |
| Dairy products - Cheese mixtures, pastes and spreads (unless checked), malted artificial cream, ice cream with cone or crumbs. |
Block or processed cheese, cream or cottage cheese, UHT, evaporated, powdered milks and condensed milk; yoghurt; buttermilk; plain or flavoured ice-cream; fresh or canned cream. |
| Legumes, nuts - Processed varieties of legunes if thickened, textured vegetable protein products. |
Dried or fresh beans, nuts and seeds, peanut butter, gluten-free canned baked beans. |
| Takeaway foods - Hamburgers, pizza, souvlaki, sausages, battered food (e.g. fried fish) crumbed food (e.g. crumbed chicken). |
Steamed rice, grilled fish, chicken, steak, steamed vegetables (see commercial food list). |
| Snacks - Packet savoury snacks, some sweets and filled chocolates, licorice, many frozen deserts. |
Plain chocolate, popcorn, jelly, meringue, gluten-free corn chips, rice cakes. |
| Beverages - Coffee substitutes, Ovaltine, Milo; drinking chocolate, milk flavourings, malt, ale, stout, most beers. |
Water, tea, coffee, cocoa milk, cordials, soft drinks, soda water, mineral water, fruit and vegetable juices. |
| Miscellaneous - Malt vinegar, soy sauce containing wheat, baking powders mixed seasonings, beef extracts (e.g. Marmite) sauces, pickles, relish, chutney, salad dressing (unless checked). |
Tomato sauce, vinegar, honey, jam, yeast extracts (e.g. Vegemite), peanut butter, salad dressings without flour, gelatine, gluten-free baking powder and custard powder, gluten-free soya sauce, sugar, golden syrup. |
Most foods display gluten free logo
For further information:- www.corecharity.org.uk
Download our Coeliac Disease brochure
Our Coeliac Disease brochure is in Adobe pdf format, please click here to download from Adobe.
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