Conventional Treatments of Celiac Disease
There is no cure for celiac disease. The treatment of celiac disease is a gluten free diet. Celiac disease patients vary in their tolerance of gluten; some patients can ingest small amounts of gluten without developing symptoms while others experience massive diarrhea with only minute amounts of gluten. The standard treatment of disease patients calls for complete avoidance of gluten for life. The principles of a gluten free diet include:
- Avoid all foods made from wheat, rye, and barley. Examples are breads, cereals, pasta, crackers, cakes, pies, cookies, and gravies.
- Avoid oats. Some patients with celiac disease can tolerate oats in the diet. But long-term safety of oats in celiac disease patients is unknown. Also some oat preparations can be contaminated with wheat. Thus, it is probably best to avoid oats at least during the initial treatment with a gluten free diet. Once disease remission is achieved with a strict gluten free diet, small quantities of oats can be reintroduced into the diet under medical supervision.
- Pay attention to processed foods that may contain gluten. Wheat flour is a common ingredient in many processed foods.
Some of the conventions treatments of the Celiac disease include -
- Gluten free diet
- Copper
- Mineral supplements
- Intravenous nutrition supplements
- Psychotherapy
- Vitamin supplements
- Vitamin A
Conventional treatments include barium X-ray of the small intestine. Sometimes Biopsy is done taking the tissue sample from the small intestine. Medicines are recommended as per requirement.
Patients Medical Treatment of Celiac Disease
At patients medical we provide gluten free diet for the Celiac disease. Some of the allowed foods for Celiac disease include rice, millet, potatoes, nuts, quinoa, flax, soy, buckwheat, corn, wild rice, tapioca and many other cereals and grains.
A gluten-free diet means not eating foods that contain wheat (including spelt, triticale, and kamut), rye, and barley. The foods and products made from these grains are also not allowed. In other words, a person with celiac disease should not eat most grain, pasta, cereal, and many processed foods. Despite these restrictions, people with celiac disease can eat a well-balanced diet with a variety of foods, including gluten-free bread and pasta. For example, people with celiac disease can use potato, rice, soy, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, or bean flour instead of wheat flour. They can buy gluten-free bread, pasta, and other products from stores that carry organic foods, or order products from special food companies. Gluten-free products are increasingly available from regular stores.
Checking labels for "gluten free" is important since many corn and rice products are produced in factories that also manufacture wheat products. Hidden sources of gluten include additives such as modified food starch, preservatives, and stabilizers. Wheat and wheat products are often used as thickeners, stabilizers, and texture enhancers in foods.
"Plain" meat, fish, rice, fruits, and vegetables do not contain gluten, so people with celiac disease can eat as much of these foods as they like. Recommending that people with celiac disease avoid oats is controversial because some people have been able to eat oats without having symptoms. Scientists are currently studying whether people with celiac disease can tolerate oats. Until the studies are complete, people with celiac disease should follow their physician's or dietitian's advice about eating oats. Examples of foods that are safe to eat and those that are not are provided in the table below.
The gluten-free diet is challenging. It requires a completely new approach to eating that affects a person's entire life. Newly diagnosed people and their families may find support groups to be particularly helpful as they learn to adjust to a new way of life. People with celiac disease have to be extremely careful about what they buy for lunch at school or work, what they purchase at the grocery store, what they eat at restaurants or parties, or what they grab for a snack. Eating out can be a challenge. If a person with celiac disease is in doubt about a menu item, ask the waiter or chef about ingredients and preparation, or if a gluten-free menu is available.
Gluten is also used in some medications. One should check with the pharmacist to learn whether medications used contain gluten. Since gluten is also sometimes used as an additive in unexpected products, it is important to read all labels. If the ingredients are not listed on the product label, the manufacturer of the product should provide the list upon request. With practice, screening for gluten becomes second nature.
Definitions of Various Terms
Dermatitis Herpetiformis - It is an extremely itchy skin eruption. It is the effect of an immunologic reaction to chronic stimulation of the intestinal mucosa by dietary gluten.
Autoimmune - It is a misdirection of immune system of the body which attacks the body itself. Though it is harmless, but it can cause illness to human body.
Next Steps:
While you may find this medical information useful, as the next step we strongly recommend that you make an appointment to see one of our physicians to ensure that your health issues are properly addressed.
To schedule an appointment with our physicians, please call our patient coordinator at 1-212-679-9667, send the form below or an email to: info@patientsmedical.com. We are currently accepting new patients and look forward to being of assistance.
We are located at: Patients Medical PC, 800 Second Avenue, Suite 900 (Between 42nd & 43rd Street), Manhattan, NYC, New York, NY 10017.
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Article Last Updated: 06/26/2009