Gluten-Free Foods | Celiac Disease Foundation (2024)

FAQs

What disease is triggered by gluten? ›

Gluten exposure in people with celiac disease damages the villi, making it hard for the body to absorb nutrients necessary for health and growth. Celiac disease is an illness caused by an immune reaction to eating gluten. Gluten is a protein found in foods containing wheat, barley or rye.

The Foundation is a recognized member of Independent Charities of America (ICA), a nonprofit association of America's best charities, and Health & Medical Research Charities of America (HMR), a nonprofit organization that pre-screens high quality national and international charities.

However, researchers know for a fact that it isn't an autoimmune disease. There is, therefore, a clear link between gluten and autoimmune disease in the sense that people with coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease, should avoid the protein found in wheat, barley and rye at all costs.

Celiac disease is the most severe gluten-related disorder. It's an autoimmune disease that affects about 1% of the population and may damage the digestive system ( 2 ). Celiac disease can cause many symptoms, including skin problems, digestive issues, and mood changes.

For example, gluten has long been linked to psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia. More recently, researchers postulated that either the gut allows gluten to cross the blood-brain barrier or triggers an immune response in the brain. This causes hallucinations and psychosis in some people.

If you have Celiac disease, you can eat bananas. But it's following a gluten-free diet that's going to protect your health and prevent gastrointestinal issues and potentially serious health problems.

Meats and eggs are naturally gluten-free and are safe to consume in their natural form, regardless of whether the source animal consumed gluten-containing grain. Gluten should not be present in properly handled meats. Processed meats such as deli meats could contain gluten, but it is not typical for gluten to be added.

Celiac disease has no cure but can be managed by avoiding all sources of gluten. Once gluten is eliminated from your diet, your small intestine can begin to heal. The earlier the disease is found, the less time healing takes.

Does oatmeal have gluten? ›

Although oats themselves don't contain gluten, they're often grown alongside other crops. The same equipment is typically used to harvest crops in neighboring fields, which leads to cross-contamination if one of those crops contains gluten.

Silent celiac disease is also known as asymptomatic celiac disease. Patients do not complain of any symptoms, but still experience villous atrophy damage to their small intestine.

After starting a gluten-free diet, 6.2% of the patients who had not had diarrhea before the diagnosis of celiac disease experienced diarrhea. Constipation occurred in 18.6%; in many cases, it responded to a subsequent increase in fiber intake.

Coeliac disease is a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This damages your gut (small intestine) so your body cannot properly take in nutrients. Coeliac disease can cause a range of symptoms, including diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloating.

Celiac disease is clinically defined as classic, non-classic, subclinical, potential, and refractory.