Synonyms
- Locals
- Coeliac condition
- Gluten induced enteropathy
Explanation
This is damage to the intestinal wall caused by cereal protein from wheat, rye, barley and oats (gluten). In the course of the disease, the intestinal villi are destroyed in varying degrees and the absorption of nutrients through the intestinal wall is reduced. The enzyme lactase, which breaks down lactose, is also often missing and in the majority of cases fats are excreted with the stool (steatorrhea).
The appearance of the native Sprue is differently pronounced and ranges from an extreme utilization disorder of the food and deficiency supply with severe diarrhea to uncharacteristic complaints in the digestive tract. Since the cereal proteins of the above-mentioned cereals are known to be the trigger of the disease, the therapy of celiac disease consists in a consistent elimination of these foods and the adherence to a gluten-free diet. Protein from corn and rice and pure starch from wheat, rye, oats and barley do not trigger the disease.
In practice, the following must be observed: Apart from pure starch, all products made from wheat, rye, barley and oats should be avoided. This does not only mean that the patient must avoid bread, rolls, cakes, semolina, barley, pasta, etc., i.e. foods whose production and composition are generally known. It also means that the patient must not eat foods in which the addition of cereal products, especially flour, is not so obvious.
These are in particular finished products manufactured by the food industry such as soups, sauces, tinned food, some types of sausage, cocoa-containing drinks and much more. There is a particular danger of absorbing grain protein when eating in restaurants and canteens. With a strictly gluten-free diet, the symptoms disappear completely for most of those affected.
Avoid gluten-containing foods (made from and with wheat, rye, barley, oats) for the rest of your life and replace them with rice, corn, chestnuts and pure wheat starch (very sensitive patients, however, still react to the smallest traces of gluten in pure wheat starch). Adapting the diet to the different types of damage to the intestinal wall, such as reducing the fat supply in fatty stools or avoiding lactose in the case of lactase deficiency (described in the clinical picture “lactose intolerance“). In the early phase of treatment, it is recommended to avoid foods rich in oxalic acid, especially if no dairy products can be eaten.
These are primarily: oxalic acid combines with calcium to form water-insoluble calcium oxalate, cannot be absorbed in this way and the calcium deficiency is aggravated. For stubborn fatty stools, MCT fat can also be used. MCT-fats and their use are described in detail in the chapter “Condition after stomach surgery”.
As the digestive performance of the mucous membrane of the small intestine improves, fats and lactose can be consumed again in normal quantities. Avoiding gluten, however, is necessary for life.
- Wholefood, 5 meals daily
- Swiss chard,
- Rhubarb,
- Spinach
- Cocoa
- Red beets
- Parsley.
