Veterinary Diagnostic Skills

I am writing a story about the woman who started the National Celiac Awareness Foundation for a local magazine and recently spent an afternoon interviewing her. Her story is quite amazing. 23 doctors could not figure out what was wrong with her--even after she lost a baby and gave birth to one very prematurely--and it was her vet who finally solved the puzzle!

Celiac disease is one in which the person cannot tolerate products made with wheat, rye or barley. At the time when this woman felt the sickest, her doctors actually had her on a high carbohydrate diet, which was the worst possible thing that she could do. She happened to mention it to her vet, who suggested she get tested for a wheat allergy because she had seen many dogs with similar symptoms--diarrhea, cramping, weight loss. Bingo!! A simple blood test confirmed her suspicions.

With celiac disease, food is the cure--the proper type of food that is. You may have noticed a rash of gluten-free products at your local store. Well gluten-free is one of the top ten food trends for 2009 because 1 in every 133 Americans have celiac disease even though 97% of them may not have been diagnosed.

This woman is the driving force behind celiac awareness and has done much to educate the public, the medical community and the food industry about this disease. Through her efforts, the NIH recently changed the classification of celiac disease from "rare" to "common."

She is alive, well and living quite happily on a gluten-free diet and she has her vet to thank! You can get more info on celiac disease at their website.