Treatments for Celiac Disease
While there has not yet been introduced a medicated treatment that will increase gluten tolerance in celiac disease sufferers, there is healthy life for those dealing with this condition. A diet that will exclude wheat, rye, barley and spelt grants a normal life and a healthy body for the rest of one’s life. Here are the detailed steps which a celiac sufferer needs to take in order to regain and keep their health.
- Gluten-free diet
As mentioned above, a gluten-free diet can be the key to deal away with celiac disease. Foods containing wheat, rye, barley and spelt must be deleted from your shopping list forever. Also, a thorough scan of all the ingredients used to produce a certain dish or snack is imperative as compounds of the above mentioned cereals may hide where you may not even think. Ice-cream, salad dressings, sauces and alcoholic drinks are only some of the culprits for your unconscious gluten intake. Also, some factories may handle products which are apparently gluten free with the same equipment they have previously handled products containing gluten. This may result in a contamination of gluten free products and in a potential threat for you. Yet, don’t worry as most of these ingredients are marked on their label with a text warning about gluten existence.
- Pills – not as safe as they may seem
Pills’ label should also be checked before use. Some pills may use fillings or binding compounds containing gluten, so be aware of this hidden threat. Vitamins and supplements fall in this category as well.
- Oats – better avoid it in the treatment phase
Most people with gluten intolerance have also oats intolerance. Thus, it is recommended to avoid oats products at least in the following months after you have been diagnosed. Oat products can be gradually reintroduced in the diet if no side effects are associated with their ingestion and only under medical supervision.
- Supplements
Celiac disease leaves your body void of any vitamin and minerals necessary for a healthy life. Furthermore, because the small intestine is incapable of absorbing nutrients properly even after starting the gluten-free diet, it is important to include supplements in your diet. Lactase, vitamin and mineral supplements are necessary for a proper healing of your small intestine as well as for an alleviation of anemia, depression, numbness and other such conditions caused by malnutrition.
Yet, before ingesting any supplements make sure that they are gluten-free and safe for you to take. If on the label is not mentioned “gluten free”, then you should contact the producer (importer) or settle for another product.
- Stay on this diet FOREVER
There are celiac sufferers who choose to slowly reintroduce gluten in their diets once they feel that their body has completely recovered. Such a strategy will not only increase the risk of re-experiencing the problems caused by gluten intolerance, but they may also conduct to serious side effects which may lower the quality of their lives on the long run. Thus, if you want a healthy life you should stay away of products containing gluten forever.
Gluten-free diets may not completely exempt you from the damage celiac disease has done to your body, but they will certainly bring your life close to normal. It is a small sacrifice you have to make in order to enjoy life properly. And if you come to think how many options for a gluten-free diet have been found recently, your sacrifice will be indeed extremely small.