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There has been a surge of Celiac disease awareness in recent years. This awareness has helped people become diagnosed, get the help they need, and, finally, understand why they’ve lived with pain and discomfort for years. It’s also left many people confuse. A lot of individuals have the symptoms associated with Celiac, leading them to self-diagnose, and sometimes cut out gluten for no reason whatsoever, while still failing to target their issue. Some people don’t believe that Celiac disease is even real (it is) simply because we rarely heard about it until the last decade or so. But there are a lot of conditions humans have suffered and even died from for centuries, that we really only came to understand in the 21st century. So here are facts about Celiac disease you should know, whether you have it or not.

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You’re born with it

You do not develop Celiac disease. It is an auto-immune disease, and you have it from the moment your little body enters this world. Some people think they develop it because symptoms can take decades to appear.

 

 

 

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It is different from gluten-sensitivity

Gluten-sensitivity and Celiac disease will produce many of the same symptoms (bloating, diarrhea, vomiting) but do not cause the same long-term issues. Only people with Celiac disease can struggle to absorb nutrients if they consume gluten.

 

 

 

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Yes, it’s very serious

If someone has Celiac disease, so much as a particle of wheat flour landing on their food can make them sick. So when your friend with Celiac asked if you cut any bread on the board that you’re now cutting her carrots on, she isn’t being difficult.

 

 

 

 

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Celiac doesn’t always show up in your tests

You can actually test negative for the disease and still have it. So, if you exhibit the symptoms of Celiac disease, and you feel tremendously better when you don’t eat gluten, then disregard what the test says and just stop eating gluten.

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Some symptoms are hard to catch

Celiac disease can cause symptoms clearly related to an intestinal condition, like bloating, constipation and vomiting. But the disease can also cause symptoms people don’t often associate with digestive diseases, like depression, skin rashes, fatigue and joint pain.