Fox News Medical Team reporter Beth Galvin with Dr. Rudert reports on "Understanding Celiac - w
As interviewed on Atlanta Fox 5 News by Beth Galvin, Fox News Medical reporter, Dr. Rudert, gastroenterologist and celiac expert discusses celiac disease which can have any of 250 plus symptoms. Click here to watch Fox video. Exerpt from article by Beth Galvin with Dr. Rudert is below:
ATLANTA -
Atlanta gastroenterologist Dr. Cynthia Rudert has one of the largest celiac disease practices in the South. She's following more than a thousand Georgians with the disorder. And she sees a lot of patients not feeling well, wondering if gluten – a protein found in wheat and other grains - may be their problem. Dr. Rudert says may are experiencing uncomfortable GI symptoms. She says, “They want to know, do I have celiac? Do I have a gluten- sensitivity? do I have a wheatallergy? Do I have nothing?"
At the grocery store, it seems like everyone is going gluten-free to feel better. But, Dr. Rudert says celiac disease is more than a sensitivity, it's an autoimmune disorder. In certain, genetically-predisposed people, ingesting gluten triggers their immune systemto attack and damage their small intestine. Rudert says you can see the damage under a microscope. She says, "You see again these nice fingerlike projections, trillions of them. With celiac, you start to break those off. Mild, moderate, severe, totally flat."
And celiac disease can cause over 250 symptoms. Rudert says, "It's a very chameleon-like disorder. I say that because you can be overweight with celiac, or you can be thin with celiac. You might have heartburn, you might not have heart burn."
Dr. Rudert says the most common celiac symptom she sees is fatigue. But people may also have iron-deficiency anemia, bone and joint pain, osteoporosis, seizures and migraines and unexplained infertility and miscarriages. Rudert says, “If you have celiac disease and you don't know you have it, you can develop other immune problems. One being infertility. Another being osteoporosis." (See below for a list common celiac symptoms.)
For more celiac symptoms and to read the rest of the article by Beth Galvin please click here.
