About Celiac Disease
Celiac Disease (CD), (also known as gluten intolerance, celiac sprue and gluten sensitive entropathy), is a chronic, inherited disease in which ingesting gluten causes damage to the inside lining of the small intestine.
Gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, or barley (and any of their derivatives) may affect 1 in 133 Americans, many who are undiagnosed. For those with CD, three things have happened: they have inherited the gene, ingested gluten and have had the gene triggered. Common triggers may include stress, trauma or viral infections. The disease mostly affects people of European (especially Northern European) descent, but recent studies show that it also affects Hispanic, Black and Asian populations as well.
With repeated consumption of foods containing gluten, people with CD will start showing the classic symptoms the disease, which include: diarrhea, bloating, weight loss, anemia, chronic fatigue, weakness, bone pain, and muscle cramps.
The only acceptable treatment for CD is strict adherence to a 100% gluten-free diet for life. By adhering to a gluten-free diet, which means avoiding all products that contain gluten, preventing almost all complications caused by the disease is possible.
The GF/CF diet
Like gluten, casein is also a protein and found in dairy products such as milk, ice cream, cheese and yogurt.
Although there are theories, it is still unknown why a gluten-free/casein-free diet helps many autistic individuals. Some parents report that removing casein and gluten from their child's diet increases eye contact, attention span, and general mood while decreasing problems like tantrums, self-stimulatory behavior (such as hand-flapping and rocking) and aggression. Some find that providing a diet free of casein and gluten aids children in successfully learning daily living skills like dressing, personal hygeiene, as well as improving coordination and imaginative play activities.
A 100% dedicated gluten-free facility.
