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1. What is Coeliacs Disease?
2. What causes Coeliacs Disease?
3. Is Coeliacs Disease hereditary?
4. Can Coeliacs Disease be cured?
5. How common is Coeliacs Disease?
6. How is Coeliacs Disease recognised?
7. What are the common symptoms of
Coeliacs Disease?
8. Where can I find more information about
Coeliacs Disease?
9. What is Gluten?
10. Why is Gluten added to bread?
11. Which grains contain Gluten?
12. What types of products do Bodhi's
make to cater for people wishing to avoid gluten?
1. What is Coeliacs Disease?
With Coeliacs Disease, the cells of the small bowel
(intestine) are damaged. This causes the loss of the
tiny, finger like projections, called villi, which line
the inside of the normal bowel. The cells on normal
villi are specialised so that they can break down and
absorb nutrients in food. In Coeliac Disease these
special cells are damaged and reduced in number. This
leads to deficiencies in vitamins, iron, folic acid and
calcium - due to the poor absorption of nutrients.
Sugars, proteins & fats are often poorly absorbed as
well.
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2. What causes Coeliacs
Disease?
Coeliacs are sensitive to gluten, which reacts with the
small bowel lining, damaging it and causing loss of
villi. The exact reason for this sensitivity & reaction
to gluten is not known. Some believe Coeliacs are born
with an enzyme deficiency (not yet identified) which
causes abnormal breakdown of gluten and the accumulation
of a toxic portion. Others think an abnormal immune body
defence reaction to the "foreign" (non-human) gluten is
responsible.
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3. Is Coeliacs Disease
hereditary?
Between 10 and 15% of all first degree relatives
(parents, brothers, sisters or children) of known
Coeliacs have the disease. If one identical twin is
affected, the other twin is virtually certain to be
affected also. So Coeliacs Disease certainly occurs in
family groups and is probably inherited.
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4. Can Coeliacs Disease be
cured?
Coeliacs remain sensitive to gluten throughout their
life so, in this sense, they are never cured. However,
after the removal of gluten from their diet, children
and most adults return to being perfectly normal. Older
patients will often take longer to recover. Coeliacs
will remain normal as long as they adhere to the diet.
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5. How common is Coeliacs
Disease?
This varies in different countries and among different
races. The incidence is high in Ireland, fairly frequent
in England & Australia, and lower in the USA. Although
the exact frequency is not known, there are thousands of
diagnosed Coeliacs in Australia.
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6. How is Coeliacs Disease
recognised?
The underlying abnormality is presumed to be present at
birth, but recognisable problems cannot develop until
gluten-containing solids are included in the infants
diet. While damage to the bowel lining occurs whenever
gluten is eaten, the effect on different Coeliacs varies
markedly, making diagnosis very difficult. Some infants
become rapidly & severely ill; other children develop
problems slowly over 2 or 3 years. Many Coeliacs have
few or no apparent problems during childhood, developing
symptoms only during adult life. Family studies suggest
that many Coeliacs in the community remain completely
undetected.
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7. What are the common symptoms
of Coeliacs Disease?
Chronic diarrhoea. - This may begin at any age and is
often present for years prior to diagnosis in adults. It
may first appear after other illnesses (eg
gastroenteritis) or abdominal operations. Poor weight
gain in infants & young children. Weight loss in older
children & adults. Chronic anaemia. - Iron or folic acid
deficiency anaemia are the most common. The anaemia will
either not respond to treatment or will recur after
treatment until the correct diagnosis is made and the
gluten-free diet is begun. Less common symptoms include:
Easy bruising of the skin. Low blood calcium levels with
muscle spasms in adults. Vitamin B¹² deficiency.
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8. Where can I find more
information about Coeliacs Disease?
The Coeliac Society of WA has a website that contains
lots of useful information.
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9. What is Gluten?
Gluten is a protein found in Rye, Wheat, Oats, Barley,
Triticale, Spelt & Kamut. This protein gives bread its
structure or sponginess. The more gluten in a loaf the
larger the holes or pockets of air & hence the lighter
the texture of the bread.
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10. Why is Gluten added to
bread?
Flours vary in the quantity of gluten they contain, due
to differing soils, climates & seasonal variations.
Sometimes its necessary to add extra gluten in order to
achieve consistency in loaf size.
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11. Which grains contain
Gluten?
Rye, Wheat, Oats, Barley, Triticale, Spelt & Kamut.
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12. What types of products do
Bodhi's make to cater for people wishing to avoid
gluten?
We make gluten free breads, rolls, bread mixes, cookies
& pizza bases. You can find more information about them
here.
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