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Dr. Stengler: Hi, I'm Dr. Mark Stengler. Today I'm going to talk about celiac disease. This is a condition where people have an allergy to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, and it affects at least one percent of the American population. Yet seventy percent of people who have this disease have not been diagnosed, and they suffer as a result of it.
One of the things I want to point out today, which new research has shown, is that most people with celiac disease do not have the classic symptoms that most people and doctors would think of. Most people do not have diarrhea or weight loss — those can be symptoms of celiac disease, but new research has shown that more people have problems with things like bone loss, anemia, migraine headaches, fatigue, and bloating. So if you have any of these symptoms, or other unexplained symptoms, get tested for celiac disease. In other European countries, celiac disease is tested for even in childhood, and I think we're getting to that point in America, because it's a very serious problem.
Also, many people don't have celiac disease but have gluten sensitivity, so they still react to the gluten. It won't kill them, but it can cause a lot of discomfort — fatigue, some digestive upset, skin rashes, and things like that. We screen patients both for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity here at the Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine. If we can help you out with testing and treatment of these conditions, give our clinic a call, and for more information on integrative medicine, see our website at markstengler.com.
Most people don't have the classic symptoms one would think of when diagnosing celiac disease. In fact, 70% of people with celiac disease go undiagnosed, and they suffer as a result of it. More people with celiac disease have problems with things like:
...or other unexplained symptoms. Furthermore, plenty of people who don't have celiac disease still have a gluten sensitivity and may not know it. Watch this short video for some important tips on spotting and testing for celiac disease. If you have problems with any of these and have never been screened for celiac disease, give us a call today!
