How many times do we sit at our restaurant tables, and pick at each other’s plates? “Can I try your carbonara, it looks great!” “Sure, but only if you give me a piece of your garlic bread…” it’s a playful and fun trading game with no costs involved, that puts a light twist on the more serious negotiations we have to navigate in our daily lives. Work, finances, relationships.

“Food-sharing is an innate way that we show our love for people we care about. Including others in times of celebration is an act of kindness.”

Dr. Theresa Nicassio

We are a sharing species. We love getting together over good food, sharing our stories and being close to family and friends. These times of love and togetherness can become a trial for us, when the spectre of celiac comes into our lives. It seems strange that our bodies can, apparently overnight, decide to attack themselves. One day you could be completely unaffected, the next, you exhibit recurring symptoms which appear to have no connection to your life. The free exchange of friendship and flavours has suddenly acquired a draconian tax!

But Why?

Celiac Disease is caused by a gene that is carried by around 30% of the population. That’s not a typo, it really is true! Imagine any other disease carried by so many of us; it would be a terrifying epidemic. So widespread are celiac genes that it is actually one of the most common genetic diseases on the planet; so why aren’t more people suffering the symptoms?

It comes down to the trigger. An event occurs in our lives that cause us intense stress, and a possible knock on effect is the activation of the celiac gene. A tough to beat virus, parasite, even strong emotional trauma or something as wonderful as pregnancy could be the physical trigger for celiac to activate, and this is why mainstream medicine has such difficulty in diagnosis.

Naturopaths like us know that our lives do not take place in the Petri dish. We need to look at all the factors to make an accurate diagnosis. A doctor, highly trained though they are, may not relate (for example) a sudden death in the family to a patient experiencing severe pain in the joints. It’s this relation between stress triggers and the activation of the common gene that results in such a low (1%) number of people actually experiencing Celiac Disease itself. Being a genetic autoimmune disease, the gene is hereditary.

So what can I do?

At Natural Point we say there is a bright side to Celiac. Detection of the disease is a simple blood test which we can perform for you in store. If you have family members with Celiac Disease, being screened for celiac is just good practice and will give you peace of mind- we recommend once every two to three years if there is a family history.

 

If you’re concerned about Celiac, our door is open to you to take a holistic, evidence based look at your health.

Celiac is serious disease, but thankfully with the aid of naturopathic medicine and professional dieticians we can avoid the problems caused by the combination of the disease, the lack of nutrition it causes, and the autoimmune response to gluten. The effects of Celiac are like the chameleon, hard to see against the background, unless we know where to look.

Learn more about Celiac Screen with Natural Point on our dedicated website page, or come down to our shop in Santa Eulalia to talk!

Managing the symptoms of Celiac Disease puts the power back into your hands. Ignorance is not a sin, but knowledge sets us free.

 

 

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