Monday, July 20, 2009

Should we test everyone for celiac disease?

A new study by the mayo clinic found that celiac disease is far more prevalent today than it was 50 years ago and that those with undiagnosed celiac disease are more likely to die earlier. It raises the question of whether we should be testing everyone for celiac disease like we do for cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. Here's the link to information about the study:

http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2009/06/29/celiac-disease-prevalence-and-mortality/

As someone who struggled for my entire childhood and into my early twenties, I believe we should test everyone for celiac disease. It should be part of our preventive care. It may not be a yearly test like cholesterol but maybe it could be something we test every five years or whatever length of time seems appropriate. I can think of several people off the top of my head that I'm fairly sure have undiagnosed celiac disease. I know for some the diet is a huge challenge but I choose to look at it as such an simple way to be well. Could people avoid other autoimmune diseases, infertility, and just missing out on life if we could identify celiac disease earlier?

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