Oddly enough I was reading up on the coeliac disease when Biscuit posted her piece on orthorexia. A friend of mine, an Australian woman, had emailed me yesterday with some good news about her condition (she cannot eat wheat under any circumstances). To me, life without bread would be horrendous so I began to read up on it last night.
Most of us would happily dig into a nice flaky pastry or a ciabatta filled sandwich for breakfast. We probably don’t have to think too hard about which sausages we buy for dinner or even which breakfast cereal to eat. But if you had a condition called coeliac disease, however, planning your meals is much more complicated.
This could change with a new vaccine being developed by a Melbourne researcher.
Wheat is a fundamental source of carbohydrate in many parts of the world, where it is mostly ground into flour. Flour contains a protein called gluten, making it useful in binding ingredients together in breads, biscuits, pastries and pastas. Gluten is actually made up of two smaller proteins called gliaden and glutenin, which are easily digested in our intestines.
While most of us have the enzymes which can break down gliaden, people with coeliac disease react slightly differently. Enzymes in their digestive system change gliaden’s shape. Unfortunately, this new shape causes an immune reaction that attacks the lining of their small intestine by mistake. In response, the intestine’s lining – a wavy tissue called villi – inflames and flattens, reducing its ability to transfer nutrients into the bloodstream.
People with coeliac disease are often diagnosed young due to the symptoms caused by poor nutrient absorption such as diarrhoea, weight loss and fatigue. Unfortunately, some aren’t diagnosed until later in life and risk complications from lifelong exposure to reshaped gliaden. Sounds familiar?
Treatment, according to my friend, initially seems simple; avoid eating gluten. Yet in our modern world, especially in the developed world, this can be difficult as so many foods contain wheat products in their ingredients. Even small amounts could trigger an uncomfortable reaction, I’m told.
Now for her good news: Melbourne gastroenterologist Dr. Robert Anderson is currently working on research which could potentially lead to a vaccine capable of helping the body recognize the harmful form of gliaden and reduce its impact. Robert’s work might also lead to new diagnostic tools, making the process of identifying coeliac disease sufferers much simpler. I’ll keep you informed as to when the vaccine becomes available, and any pertinent news.
Tags: , Coeliac Disease
14 Comments
Eewww! What happened to my nice font? I’m using another laptop, and moving writings from one place to another…
What nice font do you want?
I’d suspect that you were writing it in Evil Microsoft Word, because there were span tags and all kinds of font tags thrown all over the place in there.
I normally use Times New Roman, but it seems it went out of the window!
The board is set to use Verdana, I think.
Thanks Kate, I’ve set it up to Verdana, we’ll see what happens when I do the recipe of the day (which, btw, will be gluten free!)
Yay for gluten-free! I’m not celiac but am allergic to wheat. I break out in hives and have – um – gastrointestinal distress, as they say on the commercials.
Yes, I’m on Microsoft word, and it is evilly!
Write it in Word, then when it’s done copy and paste the whole thing into Notepad. Then copy and paste that into the Write a New Diary box, and all the evil codes will disappear.
I’ll try that! Thanks.
Yep. But seriously, it’s not so bad. I think it would have been, had I continued on my way because I was literally an invalid as a child and getting quite scared about my ability to even hold a job as I got older. Although I had other symptoms going on, as well, the worst was the migraines.
Now, though, it’s just entirely second nature. And I’m fairly fortunate because I *can* eat a little bit of wheat – say, like once a month, I’ll get one of those spectacular small loaves with a hard crust and gorge on it and some good cheese or butter, and I’m fine. I just can’t eat it like most other people.
According to the Celiac Foundation, it’s so common in Italy that they test all children for it when they first enter school. Kind of gives lie to the notion that all Italian food is about is pasta.
It’s also rampant in Ireland, so if you see Irish children with huge, pushed out bellies, they’re usually celiacs.
Btw, the way you feel about life without bread is how I would feel about a life witout dairy. ZOMG, I simply wouldn’t survive without my cheese, my butter, my yogurt, my eggs from chickens I’m personally acquainted with!
Confessions of an Outlaw Chickener
Someone else has the same type of city problem I do. AAF, that attic idea is looking better and better.
Cool post! Can we cross-post it here?
I had a very strange dream last week. I was flying around a city (not sure if I was doing the flying myself or inside a contraption) at twilight, and began to notice that the central building, shaped like a pyramid (if you saw the film “Bladerunner, that’s the kind of edifice I “saw”) was actually a giant farm, with large open spaces throughout, with wheat & corn fields, fruit orchards, and cattle being raised at the ground levels, the whole thing rigged to what appeared to be belts of solar panels…I was conscious in that dream that this was the future of mankind. So vivid it was that I’m going to try to draw a sketch, and add some poetic license. I might need some help here guys!
I’ll write to the author and ask if we can cross-post it, or if he’d like to join and do so. I don’t want to lift it without his permission, though.
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