Coeliac disease is a chronic eating disorder based on gluten intolerance, specifically of some other proteins contained in gluten, called prolamines, whose particular name varies depending on the foods in question.

Gluten is found in foods such as wheat, oats, rye and barley, among other goods. There is a long list of bread flour-derived foods, including cakes and pasta, confectionery and even drinks such as beer and whisky.

Labels: vital information
However, most foods we commonly eat also have tiny proportions of flour and are also out of bounds for those who suffer gluten intolerance. These include cold meats, precooked foods, those containing colourings, some cheeses and sweets, and even dried fruits and ice creams. This is why labels are so important, as they inform you of the ingredients used in any food, and advise you clearly if they contain gluten.

Symptoms and diagnosis
The symptoms of this disorder tend to display themselves from an early age, when children start consuming cereals in their diet. The symptoms are as follows:
- sickness.
- frequent diarrhoea and constipation.
- voluminous stools.
- cutaneous disorders.
- loss of weight.
- growing difficult1es.
- lack of appetite.
- abdominal pain.

It is usually a while before coeliac disease is diagnosed because its symptoms are often confused with other intestinal diseases. If you suspect it, you should ask the doctor for an intestinal biopsy, which is the best way of discovering the disease. The detection process involves several test of this type, including samples when gluten is eaten and when it is removed from the diet, to ascertain whether disorders are occurring and how they develop. The biopsies are usually complemented with other types of analysis.

A strict diet: the only treatment
It is known that the problem lies with gluten, which is not tolerated by the lower intestine and if ingested continuously produces disorders. The gravity of these disorders can end up being considerable, preventing the body from absorbing essential nutrients such as fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

What is not yet known is why some people are affected by the disease while others are not. There is also no other known cure apart from a strict diet from which gluten is completely cut out, which severely limits the nutritional options of sufferers.

Although coeliac disease suffers can live a normal life. If they take the necessary precautions, there are major obstacles correct labelling of foods and the high price of special gluten-free products, such as bread, biscuits and pasta made of corn and rice offered by diet establishments.

The difference in price compared to normal foods is huge, sometimes ten times the
price. Coeliac disease associations have been demanding a subsidy for these goods
for some time now or else that governments fund investigation into and development of
new gluten-free foods. In addition these same associations, via their federation, are ensuring that special labels are attached to approved foods, thereby giving sufferers the highest guarantee.

This is a problem that takes t1me coming to terms with, as in many other chronic disorders, and integrating it with daily habits. What is required is special education from a young age so that the child knows what to eat and what not to eat, and fits it into his daily routine.