Q. After seeing many top doctors who told her to eat a bland diet of bagels and pasta for her irritable bowel syndrome, my sister consulted Dr. Peter Green at Columbia Medical Center. There, she was given appropriate tests and diagnosed with celiac disease. That may have saved her life.
It used to be hard to find gluten-free foods. Now they’re everywhere.
A. Celiac disease is finally getting the attention it deserves. This is an autoimmune condition in which the intestinal lining is damaged by the presence of gluten, found in wheat, barley and rye.
When susceptible people are exposed to foods like those recommended to your sister, they may suffer intestinal symptoms, migraines, skin rash, osteoporosis, joint pain or brain fog, among other problems. This condition may also increase the risk for lymphoma (Lebwohl, Annals of Internal Medicine, Aug. 6, 2013). The treatment for celiac disease is to follow a strict gluten-free diet (no bagels or pasta).
To learn more about celiac disease, its diagnosis and the range of other consequences associated with it, you may want to listen to our interview with Peter Green, MD, Director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University.
The FDA has just issued a definition for gluten-free foods that restricts gluten to no more than 20 parts per million. The new standard should make it easier to find safe gluten-free foods.
