By David Fowler
This is not exactly the most cheery topic for sufferers and their families, but it is important to remember that untreated Celiac Disease is more than a quality of life issue, it’s life threatening.
1. Dehydration – Extreme damage to the intestinal lining can lead to death through dehydration. In this case, the lining that is supposed to hold water in your body no longer functions. The gut actually pulls water from your body.
2. Malignancies – Malabsorption of nutrients or consistent damage to cellular structures leads to cancers: lymphoma, leukemia, intestinal, esophageal, etc.
3. Pregnancy complications – Nutrient deficiencies can lead to cardiomyopathy in the mother or birth defects in the fetus from folic acid deficiency, protein deficiency, etc.
4. Immunodeficiency – A weakened immune system can allow common illnesses to become deadly – the flu for example. Other illnesses normally fought off, are not.
5. Autoimmune diseases – Celiac disease, if not diagnosed and treated early, causes the body to react to other things in the body. As the body tries to unsuccessfully attack and remove gluten (because the person keeps eating it), the immune system stays on a heightened alert and starts attacking other things.
6. Malnutrition – Any health problem that comes from malnutrition of any one or more nutrient that can lead to death can be caused by celiac disease.
Of course, the cure is a life long gluten-free diet. For those of you uncertain if you have Celiac Disease, use this as your motivation to get tested.