Celiac Disease Causes Diarrhea, Bloating, and Fatigue for Some Sufferers

Celiac disease causes a number of uncomfortable symptoms including abdominal distress, anemia, and fatigue. Occasionally, celiac disease can cause other additional symptoms, such as vomiting, and, in rare cases, malnutrition.

These symptoms result from a lack of vital nutrients. In celiac patients, absorption of nutrients is hindered because small villi or projections in the small intestine flatten when gluten is consumed due to an auto-immune response to the presence of the protein. When the villi lay flat and become damaged , they can't properly absorb nutrients.

These symptoms can be avoided by excluding gluten from your diet. Unfortunately, that can be difficult for some people because gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye -- popular components of the standard American diet. Bread, some cereals, muffins, and pastas are just some of the staples of our daily diets that contain wheat flour or wheat products.

Even though forgoing these foods may be difficult, if celiac disease causes you to experience uncomfortable symptoms on a frequent basis, you may want to consider adopting a celiac disease diet because over the long term, consuming gluten can damage your body. Fortunately, it's becoming easier to eat gluten free as public awareness of celiac disease increases and gluten-free (GF) products and gluten-free diet recipes become more available.

Of course, before you change your diet, check with your doctor for a proper diagnosis of celiac disease. He will probably order a celiac disease test and discuss your symptoms with you to determine your diagnosis.