Everyone that has phenylketonuria or celiac disease knows that this is something serious and it will affect them. Emily Meyers is a mother of a child with phenylketonuria; she says it was the hardest thing. Because not only does she have to give her baby a diet. She knew that if she didn’t take her of her health, her daughter could be affected with it in the future because she could be causing mental retardation. It was even harder for her because she had older children and they could eat whatever they wanted. It was hard for her to tell her daughter that she couldn’t eat ice cream like her brothers.
When they would go to parties or other places, she needed to take care of the daughter and what she would eat. It was hard to tell her daughter no when she didn’t even know why her mother didn’t let her eat what she wanted to eat like all the kids. She as a mother had to tell people not to give her food because of her disease many people didn’t even know what her disease was. Knowing that her daughter is older she told her daughter that now it’s not her responsibility to keep her healthy; now it is only her responsibility to keep herself healthy and keep her diet going.
There was a time when she stop doing her diet but many things happened to her and she was having a lot of health problems as soon as she started to do her diet again she felt better. Now her mother is proud because she is very motivating and driven. She knows it takes a lot for her daughter to keep a diet because she as well has tried diets for losing weight but she has failed unlike her daughter that’s why she’s impressed and a proud (Meyers, 2000). There are many diseases we should be aware of but most important to know about them and know how they affect us.
For example, celiac disease is a disease that is gluten intolerant and which means gluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and grains, and also including rye and barley. Many diseases that can affect us in the future just by the food we all eat in our daily lives. Also, it is hard to have a diet because you want to lose weight or gain weight but it is harder to have a diet for your health because you need to have it. If people with this disease don’t do their diets how they supposed to do it, it will hurt them in the long term because these diseases have serious affects like type 1 diabetes, and or death.
It is more serious because these diseases don’t have any medicating they only have diets which makes it harder. The causes, diagnosis, and treatment of celiac disease or gluten intolerance, is important to mention physiological damage in vulnerable individuals. In America 20% of the people are intolerance to milk or just wheat and other grain (2012). Celiac disease is a disease everyone should be aware of, one out of 141 American have celiac disease (2013). Many people don’t even know what it is or that it even exists. Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestines and absorbs nutrients from the food (Palmer, 2013).
The small intestines are important because if people eat gluten it damages the villi. Microscopic finger-like pieces of tissue start to line up inside the inner wall of the small intestine is called villi. And this is why the nutrients are absorbed into the body through the villi. Gluten is just food like wheat, cereal grains that is responsible for the elastic texture of dough. Many people believe that they can’t be intolerance to some food because they never been when they were young but the body changes. Also, this disease can harm everyone age doesn’t matter this is one other reason why it’s important.
This disease also is harmful because individual with celiac disease are suffering from type 1 diabetes. If someone with this disease has celiac undiagnosed for a long time, this is bad because it can cause cancer in the small intestines or cancer in the blood. There are different types of intestinal cancer that can be causes from celiac disease. There are also other disease of food for example phenylketonuria (pku) which is a disease that some new born suffer of, it is a condition were your body can’t break down an amino acid. One in every 10,000 infants born in Europe and the USA have pku.
(Fickie, 2008) It isn’t clear what cause celiac disease. This disease is usually passed down genetically, by family members. Sometimes this disease can come out of the blue just after pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection or even surgery. Like everyone has different eye color, or hair color, this disease can be inherited from parents or grandparents. The disease affects everyone no matter the age, backgrounds, or male or females. This disease is more common with females other than males. Caucasians have a bigger risk to have celiac disease other than African American, and other ethnic groups.
About 2 million Americans are suffering from celiac disease and they don’t know it. There are many factors that can cause celiac disease research say, but genes are the strong reason why people have celiac disease. It’s good to know your families genes because maybe people have celiac disease and they don’t know. Not knowing is very common because many people have no idea about this disease. There are many symptoms for this disease, for example, anemia, weight loss, diarrhea, abnormal bleeding, fatigue, and lactose intolerance.
People don’t know they have celiac disease and they think it’s because of other things maybe they are sick form stomach or something smaller. Knowing you have celiac disease is hard to find out but once they began a gluten diet they see the difference in their body. If it’s untreated for a long time the effects are including osteoporosis, tooth enamel defects, central and peripheral nervous system disease, pancreatic disease, internal hemorrhaging, organ disorders, and gynecological disorders. Celiac disease has many symptoms, there are about 300 symptoms for this disease.
This is why it is important to let people know about it and be aware. Children usually show signs of malnourishment, which is not having enough food to develop. For teens, celiac disease triggers when they are stressful. Little things like leaving home for college, suffering from an injury or even pregnancy. It is hard to diagnose celiac disease because of signs and symptoms (2013). The way many doctors know if there patient has celiac disease is by a blood test. Most children with type 1 diabetes are more likely to have celiac disease (2006).
The way to find out if someone has celiac disease is with the blood test. This test shows they have higher autoantibodies than others. The doctors administrate to find test blood for high levels of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) or anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA)(2006). When finding anti-endomysial,anti-tissue transglutaminase, deamidated Gliadin Peptide, doctors know you have celiac disease, and will tell you how you need to eat because of all the risks. People that have celiac disease are gluten intolerant. They need to have a diet for their ordinary life to stay healthy and not harm their body.
In stores they have their own section for people that can get gluten free food. Now in stores like Wal-Mart has their own gluten-free. If people have this disease they will have to buy everything gluten-free and also be very careful, because many foods have gluten. By being gluten intolerant don’t mean they can eat bread anymore. They make a lot of different gluten free food that even taste like the real thing. There are many foods that people with this disease can’t eat. Even foods that people wouldn’t think have gluten, that’s why people with this disease have to be cautious.
They need to remove all products that have any gluten in them for all their life, if they want to be healthy and not harm their bodies. With this disease they can’t eat wheat, barley, rye and oats. Food is very tricky because theirs many foods that they can’t eat like cookies, beer, dressings, and medication. Many people think that by starting to eat with a gluten-free they can lose weight, which is true, but at the same time is not. Knowing that theirs many things we are unaware of we need to take care of ourselves more. Health is very important and going to the doctor is always a good.
Even taking a blood test just in case, many people with these diseases don’t even know that they are in danger or that they aren’t healthy. Everyone should be taking care of their bodies, and many people don’t anymore. Fast food and other food are very unhealthy, and not only that but many people are intolerant to many food.
References Vojdani, A. (2013, January). Enhanced testing for gluten and food sensitivity. Townsend Letter, p. 56. (2013,January) National Foundation for Celiac Awareness Discusses Gluten-Free Requests. Entertainment Close-up. Nordyke, K. , Norstrom, F. , Lindholm, L. , Stenlund, H. , Rosen, A. , & Ivarsson, A.
(2013). Health-related quality of life in adolescents with screening-detected celiac disease, before and one year after diagnosis and initiation of gluten-free diet, a prospective nested case-referent study. BMC Public Health. 13, p. 142. Ekbom, A. , Ludvigsson, J. , Ludvigsson, J. F. , & Montgomery, S. M. (2006).
Celiac Disease and risk of subsequent type 1 diabetes: a general population cohort study of children and adolescents. Diabetes Care. 29. 11, p. 2483. Meyers, Emily. (2000). From a Mother’s Heart. Pkunews. Fickie, M. , Gentile, J. , & Waisbren, S. (April 2008). Phenylketonuria: outcomes and treatment. Pediatric Health. p225.