Summary

The definitive book on celiac disease, one of the most common and underdiagnosed autoimmune diseases in America.

Do you suffer from gastrointestinal complaints, fatigue, headaches, joint pain, anemia, and/or itchy skin conditions? Have you consulted numerous doctors, and been prescribed drugs and diets that have only temporarily alleviated some symptoms? If so, you may have celiac disease, a hereditary autoimmune condition that affects nearly one in every hundred people--97 percent of whom remain undiagnosed and untreated.

The real answer to your medical problems may lie in this book. Dr. Peter H.R. Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University and internationally renowned expert on the disease, together with Rory Jones, an accomplished science writer who was diagnosed with the disease in 1998 and has been researching it ever since, have written this authoritative guide on how celiac disease is properly diagnosed, treated, and managed. The disease is triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, which damages the lining of the small intestine so that it cannot properly absorb food. Without essential nutrients, the entire body begins to suffer. Complications from celiac disease can include infertility, depression, liver disease, other autoimmune diseases (such as type 1 diabetes and thyroid disease), and even cancer. This is a disease that you do not outgrow. At present, the only way to treat it is to follow a lifelong gluten-free diet.

This revised and updated edition contains the most current information on celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and gluten sensitivity. It examines the disease's many manifestations and includes an entire section devoted to coping with the psychological aspects of living with a chronic illness and following a gluten-free diet. It also includes a guide to ingredients and safe grains, a selection of gluten-free manufacturers, and a list of national and international support groups.