Get Your Gluten Guidance

Community Education is excited to offer a new class this month- Understanding Food Choices for Celiac Disease. Our goal is to bring valuable information and advice to our community about Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. While very different sides of a similar coin, learning what gluten is and where you may find it in your diet, whether diagnosed with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, is critical to health and safety.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, which requires lifelong avoidance of gluten, the protein in wheat, to keep the small intestines healthy. As little as one crumb of gluten can trigger symptoms ranging from gastrointestinal symptoms like bloating and diarrhea to headache, fatigue, joint pain, and others. Without a cure, understanding how to avoid gluten in your foods, and learning which substitutions you may enjoy, makes living with Celiac disease less daunting.

Gluten sensitivity, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), is much more common than Celiac disease. Symptoms may be similar to Celiac, but are limited to the gastrointestinal tract, and they improve by limiting or avoiding gluten. While NCGS is not an allergy, the cause is unknown. If wheat allergies and Celiac disease are ruled out, a person may have NCGS.

Join us this month to learn more about Celiac disease and how to make healthy food choices while avoiding gluten.