Gluten enteropathy

Celiac disease or gluten enteropathy is a digestive disorder that occurs because villi in the small intestine are damaged by foods containing gluten. This substance is a protein. It is found in oats, wheat, barley, rye and other products that contain these cereals.

Symptoms of gluten enteropathy

The main clinical symptoms of gluten enteropathy are diarrhea, swelling and pain in the abdomen, weight loss and irritability. The patient may also have extraintestinal signs:

• Anemia (if there is iron deficiency);
• regular irregularities of the menstrual cycle;
• loss of hair;
• endocrine disorders;
• osteopenia;
• amyotrophy;
• peripheral neuropathy;
• Skin diseases (for example, herpetiform dermatitis);
• dysfunction of the liver.

If there is a suspicion that a person has gluten enteropathy, it is necessary to do a blood test, because with this disease, characteristic antibodies appear in the blood.

To clarify the diagnosis, a biopsy of the intestinal mucosa can also be performed. This study takes place against the background of the usual diet for the patient. If the patient limits himself to products that cause symptoms of the disease, the results of the biopsy may be incorrect.

Treatment of gluten enteropathy

The main method of treatment for gluten enteropathy is a gluten-free diet . Only this method will help to completely restore the intestinal membrane. Since the sensitivity to gluten is of a constant nature, the patient must adhere to a dietary constraint throughout his life. At the beginning of therapy, it may also be necessary to include zinc, iron and vitamins in the diet. If you do not follow the diet with gluten enteropathy, the risk of developing lymphoma increases 25 times!

The patient is strictly forbidden to use such products as:

• bread;
• pasta;
• matzo;
• beer;
• confectionery;
• muesli;
• oat flakes.

In addition, you should always carefully read the composition of ready-made foods and medicines, since in the food industry Gluten-containing products are often used for thickening or stabilizing. With gluten enteropathy, do not eat foods that contain the following written on the packaging:

• "gluten";
• "Stabilizers";
• "Vegetable protein supplements";
• "Thickeners";
• "malt";
• "Protein hydrolyzate";
• "starch".