1. Celiac Disease Slideshow
2. Gluten-Free Diet Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the Celiac Disease Quiz

Medical Author:

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

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Medical Editor:

Bhupinder Anand, MD

In this Article

• Celiac disease facts
• What is celiac disease?
• What causes celiac disease?
• What are the signs and symptoms of celiac disease?
• How do symptoms of celiac disease differ with age of onset?
• What is latent and silent celiac disease?
• What diseases are associated with celiac disease?
• How is celiac disease diagnosed?
• What is the treatment of celiac disease?
• What if individuals don't respond to gluten free diet?
• What is refractory celiac disease?
• What is the treatment of refractory celiac disease?
• What are the complications of celiac disease?
• Can cancer risk be reduced in celiac disease?
• What's new in celiac disease?
• Celiac Disease (Celiac Sprue) FAQs
• Patient Comments: Celiac Disease - Diagnosis
• Patient Comments: Celiac Disease - Symptoms
• Find a local Gastroenterologist in your town
• Celiac Disease Index

There is no cure for celiac disease. The treatment of celiac disease is a gluten free diet. Patients with celiac disease vary in their tolerance to 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 calls for complete avoidance of gluten for life. The principles of a gluten free diet include:

1. Avoid all foods made from wheat, rye, and barley. Examples are breads, cereals, pasta, crackers, cakes, pies, cookies, and gravies.
   
   
2. Avoid oats. Some individuals with celiac disease can tolerate oats in the diet. But long-term safety of oats in individuals with celiac disease 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 may be reintroduced into the diet under medical supervision.
   
   
3. Pay attention to processed foods that may contain gluten. Wheat flour is a common ingredient in many processed foods. Examples of foods that may contain gluten, to name only a few, include:

   • canned soups,
     
     
   • salad dressings,
     
     
   • ice cream,
     
     
   • candy bars,
     
     
   • instant coffee,
     
     
   • luncheon meats,
     
     
   • ketchup,
     
     
   • mustard,
     
     
   • processed and canned meats,
     
     
   • yogurt,
     
     
   • sausages and,
     
     
   • pasta.

4. Beware of tablets, capsules, and vitamin preparations that contain gluten. Wheat starch is commonly employed as a binding agent in tablets and capsules. Gluten also can be found in many vitamin products, and cosmetic products such as lipstick.
   
   
5. Avoid beer
   
   
6. It is all right to drink wine, brandy, whiskey and other non-wheat or barley alcohol (in moderation!)
   
   
7. Avoid milk and other dairy products that contain lactose. Untreated individuals with celiac disease often are lactose intolerant. With successful treatment, dairy products can be reintroduced slowly into the diet.
   
   
8. It is alright to consume fish, fresh meats, rice, corn, soybean, potato, poultry, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products (for individuals who are not lactose intolerant)
   
   
9. Consult dietitians and national celiac disease societies for lists of gluten free foods. Read the food and product labels before buying or consuming any product. This is necessary because a manufacturer may change a product's ingredients at any time. A product that was gluten-free in the past may now contain gluten. Even branded products may be gluten free in one country but contain gluten in another country. If one is not certain after reading the labels, call the manufacturer.
   
   
10. Because individuals with severe malabsorption can develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies, vitamin and mineral supplements are important. All individuals should take a multivitamin daily. Individuals with iron deficiency anemia should be treated with iron. Individuals with anemia due to folate or B12 deficiency should be treated with folic acid and B12. Individuals with an abnormal ProTime should be treated with vitamin K. Individuals with low blood calcium levels or with osteoporosis should be treated with calcium and vitamin D supplements.

In most individuals, a gluten free diet will result in improvements in symptoms within weeks. Many individuals report symptom improvements within 48 hours. In children with celiac disease, the response to a gluten free diet can be dramatic. Not only will diarrhea and abdominal discomfort subside, but the child's behavior also improves, and growth resumes (with rapid catch up in height). These improvements in symptoms are followed by reappearance of intestinal villi. Complete normalization of the intestinal villi may take months. In many adult individuals, the improvement in symptoms is followed by only partial regeneration of intestinal villi. In individuals with dermatitis herpetiformis, the skin lesions also improve with a gluten free diet.

Many individuals with celiac disease may not understand the importance of life-long adherence to a gluten free diet. A study found that in patients diagnosed at least 20 years earlier with celiac disease, only half of the patients were following a strict gluten-free diet. The primary reason that patients followed the diet was to prevent symptoms-not to prevent complications. There was evidence of mild iron deficiency and abnormal bone density in one-third of the patients, suggesting that the lack of adherence to the diet was having health consequences.