Print Article for : Children With Celiac Disease

Your Online Guide » Guide to Medical » Alternative Medicine the Definitive Guide

[C590]Children With Celiac Disease

by Peter Hutch, Pet

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in products we use every day, such as stamp and envelope adhesive, medicines, and vitamins.

Celiac disease is an inherited, autoimmune disease in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats.

Celiac disease runs in the family. You inherited the tendency to get this disease from your parents. If 1 member of your family has celiac disease, about 1 out of 10 other members of your family is likely to have it. You may have this tendency for a while without getting sick. Then something like severe stress, physical injury, infection, childbirth or surgery can "turn on" your celiac disease.

Celiac disease affects each person differently. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system, or in other parts of the body. One person might have diarrhea and abdominal pain, while another person may be irritable or depressed. Irritability is one of the most common symptoms in children. Some people have no symptoms.

Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. Oats may contain gluten as well. When a person with celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, an immune reaction occurs in the small intestine, resulting in damage to the surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients from food.

The body's inability to absorb nutrients can also mean that young people with untreated celiac disease may not grow properly and may have weight loss and fatigue. In addition, people who have celiac disease may be prone to developing other diseases, such as thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes, and gastrointestinal cancer.

Normally, the body's immune system is designed to protect it from foreign invaders. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system forms antibodies to gluten which then attack the intestinal lining. This causes inflammation in the intestines and damages the villi, the hair-like structures on the lining of the small intestine. Nutrients from food are absorbed by the villi. If the villi are damaged, the person cannot absorb nutrients and ends up malnourished, no matter how much he or she eats.

Celiac Disease may appear at any time in a person's life. The disease can be triggered for the first time after surgery, viral infection, severe emotional stress, pregnancy or childbirth. CD is a multi-system, multi-symptom disorder. Celiac Disease symptoms are extremely varied, can often mimic other bowel disorders and are not always gastrointestinal.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune medical condition in which damage to the epithelia (inner lining) of the small intestine occurs following ingestion of a substance called gluten. Gluten is a grain protein used in food processing because it binds, stabilizes, and prevents crumbling. The gluten protein in wheat has a portion called gliadin, which is toxic to people with celiac disease. Barley, rye, and triticale also contain proteins toxic to celiac patients.

Celiac disease is referred to as the inability of the body to process gluten. Also called gluten sensitivity enteropathy, celiac disease is characterized by stimulation of the body to produce antibodies to harm or damage the tiny hair-like projections lining the small intestine of the person with this disease upon the ingestion of food containing gluten. This tiny hair-like projection that lines the small intestine is known as the villi. These tiny structures are responsible for nutrient absorption into the blood stream. Consequently, absorption of nutrients to the bloodstream is hindered due to unhealthy villi.

Therefore, if the body has the incapacity to absorb nutrients there will be greater chances of developing unhealthy body condition such as malnutrition and other health-related issues. There are studies showing association of heredity as the cause of development of Celiac disease while some studies are also based on certain medical conditions like childhood gastroenteritis as the causative factor. It often occurs on children and the only means of diagnosis is through biopsy of a colon tissue sample.

Celiac disease is often suspected when a child seems not to gain weight, to have a stomach that sticks out beyond the normal extent, usually constipated or sometimes have bulky, frequent and foul-smelling stools. Unfortunately, cure is not yet established to be effective; thus the only known cure is to eliminate gluten from the food that is eaten. On the other hand, careful supervision and consultation with the medical doctor is the best option that you can take on.

While this seems to be a very frustrating and tiresome disease to deal with; the good thing is the hope given by the cases wherein a patient suffering from Celiac disease outgrows the condition. When this happens, normal and usual diet is then resumed and normal healthy development of the body will resume as well.

Since most babies and young children with Celiac disease may have allergy to cow's milk; it is essential to feed them with other vitamin sources like fresh vegetables and fruits. Other nutrients could then be derived from fresh fish and nuts. It is highly necessary that you always include healthy non-gluten foods in the diet so as to restore health and reduce the risk of developing other damages to the intestinal tract. Seek the guidance of the doctor if a high-quality vitamin and mineral supplement is necessary to meet the nutritional needs essential to the developing body. The doctor is the right person to know if the vitamin or mineral supplement is totally gluten-free.

Some Ideas for vitamins for celiac:

Treat Celiac with vitamin D
People who have celiac are usually prone to bone problems like osteopoenia.

Vitamin D, along with calcium, can help fight off the effects of celiac in the body.

Doctors usually prescribe the daily RDA for Vitamin D and about 250 mg of calcium thrice a day. With these two nutrients working to address the issues that pertains to the bones, people with celiac should not worry about their bones thinning out due to the disease.

Vitamin C for Celiac

The use of Vitamin C in the body is just too many.

For one, it is a very good anti-oxidant. But in this case, Vitamin C is taken more to reduce histamine in the blood. Histamine is the term given to the by-product of the body's allergic responses.

Take note that people suffering from celiac have lowered nutrition levels, resulting to a weaker immune system. They are more prone to allergies than any other people. Around 2000 mg of Vitamin C a day should be sufficient. It is suggested that half of the dosage is taken during morning and the other one during the night.

Celiac disease needs proper management, it is therefore vital that vitamins for celiac is supplied to the body in order to ensure healthy development until symptoms are totally cleared out of the body.

Article Source : herbal remedies canada

About Author

Both Peter Hutch & Jack L Bloom are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Peter Hutch has sinced written about articles on various topics from Wellness, Alternative Medicine and belly fat. Read about . Also read about. Peter Hutch's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.

Jack L Bloom has sinced written about articles on various topics from Women, Alternative Medicine and High Cholesterol. Jack L Bloom is the owner of the . For more information visit the. Jack L Bloom's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.