Celiac Disease, also known as Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Sprue, is an autoimmune disorder that affects 1 in ever 133 people in America, yet 99% of these people are undiagnosed. Celiac disease mostly affects those of Northern European descent, but has also been tracked in Hispanics, Africans, and Asians.

A person who is affected by the disease suffers damage of the villi in their small intestine when eating gluten. There is villious atrophy and villious flattening.

The disease presents in many different manners and a wide variety of symptoms including, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal bloating, and progressive weight loss. Yet there can be other symptoms including constipation, weight gain, lethargy, anemia, muscle weakness, Dermatitis herpetiformis, and many more.

Because of the wide variety in symptoms, doctors think that it is a difficult diagnosis to make, yet a simple blood test and intestinal biopsy is all that is needed to confirm the diagnosis of Celiac Disease. The disease can also mimick other diseases, and that makes it harder for a doctor to diagnosis as well. Sometimes a simple diet change and a very good response to the diet can be considered enough of a diagnosis, yet many doctors require at least the blood test for diagnosis. If your doctor wants to do testing on you, DO NOT CHANGE YOUR DIET if you want a positive diagnosis. If you change your diet before the blood test and/or biopsy, you may not get a positive diagnosis, even if you have the disease, you NEED to be on gluten to get a positive diagnosis.

The only "cure" for the disease is strict adherance to a gluten free diet. Cheating on the diet will make you sick and everytime you do it, your villi will be damaged and your disease will become active.

If you want to be a celiac in remission, you must stay on the diet for life. That is the only way that you will become better and your disease will go into remission, but every time you eat gluten your villi will be damaged, even if you don't get symptoms.

The disease is hard to deal with at first, especially when you are in your teenage years, but once you go on the diet, and you feel better, if gets easier every day, and you should feel better as well.