Food Allergy or Celiac Disease - Do You Know The Difference
Do you Know the Difference Between celiac disease and Wheat Allergies?
Because the symptoms of Celiac disease so closely resemble wheat allergies, many people get them confused. The [primary difference that needs to be understood is that Celiac disease refers to an autoimmune disorder that triggers when someone comes into contact with or who consumes gluten.
Symptoms of Celiac Disease and Allergies
Many individuals with Celiac disease do not experience any symptoms at all for many years as the disease can live in dormancy. But, when an individual with Celiac disease experiences many common stressors, the disease can be triggered to come out of dormancy. Some common triggers include trauma, stress, surgery or infection. Allergies however are triggered when the body comes into contact with a specific allergen.
How does the body respond to Gluten?
When a person who has Celiac disease comes into contact with gluten, immunoglobulin A and transglutaminase are released where when a person who is allergic to gluten comes into contact with the allergen, antibodies are formed and released. A person that is allergic to gluten, their body will begin to show symptoms, but when someone with Celiac disease comes into contact with gluten, their body will begin to attack itself, specifically in the small intestine. The same drugs that are used to treat gluten allergies will not be effective when treating the symptoms of Celiac disease.
How to Test for Celiac Disease
After a full body examination is performed by a physician, a person will be tested for antibodies within the blood stream. Many health care professionals will want to rule out the potential for a gluten allergy before considering Celiac disease as they are commonly confused. If it is not a gluten allergy, a gut biopsy will be performed which is the only method of actually diagnosing the disease.
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