Digestive Disorder May Prompt Gluten Allergy
Condition Often Diagnosed As Ulcer, Irritable Bowel Syndrome
UPDATED: 10:56 a.m. EDT August 12, 2003
NEW YORK -- Doctors diagnose millions of people with irritable bowel syndrome, a nervous stomach or ulcers every year. But they are finding that some of these patients actually have a digestive disorder called celiac sprue.
It is believed that people with celiac sprue may become allergic to foods that contain gluten, including wheat, barley, bread, bran and beer.
What happens to patients who have celiac sprue? The small intestine is lined with fingerlike projections called villi. When food passes through, each one of these fingers absorbs protein and fat. But in celiac sprue, gluten causes the villi to disappear, and the intestine then has trouble absorbing nutrients.
People with celiac sprue may experience weight loss, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and an itchy rash. Some patients can also develop iron and calcium deficiencies.
Doctors can test a patient's blood, and gluten antibodies can usually show if a patient has celiac sprue.
In the past, people suffered from this condition, and controlled it though a gluten-free diet, often having to give up many of their favorite foods.
Now, thanks to Joanne Lentini, a woman who has suffered from the disease herself, there is a way to control celiac sprue and still enjoy foods like pizza and pasta.
Her restaurant, Cafe Baldo in Long Island, N.Y., has a complete menu for people with celiac sprue. Her special gluten-free recipes allow fellow sprue patients to eat dishes they haven't had in years, such as chicken parmesan, mozzarella sticks, pasta, cookies, and cakes. Her son has even come up with a recipe for gluten-free pizza.
"I want to make sure that there is a place where they can eat and not get sick. It's a special touch here, because there's someone in the restaurant, in the place, that has celiac," Lentini said.
It is believed that people with celiac sprue may become allergic to foods that contain gluten, including wheat, barley, bread, bran and beer.
What happens to patients who have celiac sprue? The small intestine is lined with fingerlike projections called villi. When food passes through, each one of these fingers absorbs protein and fat. But in celiac sprue, gluten causes the villi to disappear, and the intestine then has trouble absorbing nutrients.
People with celiac sprue may experience weight loss, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and an itchy rash. Some patients can also develop iron and calcium deficiencies.
Doctors can test a patient's blood, and gluten antibodies can usually show if a patient has celiac sprue.
In the past, people suffered from this condition, and controlled it though a gluten-free diet, often having to give up many of their favorite foods.
Now, thanks to Joanne Lentini, a woman who has suffered from the disease herself, there is a way to control celiac sprue and still enjoy foods like pizza and pasta.
Her restaurant, Cafe Baldo in Long Island, N.Y., has a complete menu for people with celiac sprue. Her special gluten-free recipes allow fellow sprue patients to eat dishes they haven't had in years, such as chicken parmesan, mozzarella sticks, pasta, cookies, and cakes. Her son has even come up with a recipe for gluten-free pizza.
"I want to make sure that there is a place where they can eat and not get sick. It's a special touch here, because there's someone in the restaurant, in the place, that has celiac," Lentini said.
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