Tami Holliday has lived with celiac disease for ten years. She's learned with practice, it's easy to manage.
People with celiac can't properly absorb nutrients in their small intestines. It can lead to weight loss, anemia and fatigue. Celiac is also known to cause unpleasant stomach problems. When a blood test confirmed Tami's problem, she didn't need any special medication. But for some people diagnosed with celiac, the treatment prescribed is much more difficult to swallow than any pill.
People with celiac can't tolerate anything with gluten, a protein found mainly in wheat, rye and barley. Breads, cereal, chips and pasta are some of the common offenders. But gluten can also be found in many other products that contain food starch. Holloway says there's gluten hidden in, “salad dressings, any kind of coating, and any kind of gravy that could be made form wheat. It's in so many more things than you would even think.”
Many people newly diagnosed with celiac limit their diet to a few foods. “You're pretty safe with your meats, potatoes and vegetables,” assures Holliday.
Holliday says she treats even trace amounts of gluten as poison. Holliday lives alone and does her own cooking, but she knows families who struggle to avoid cross contamination when not everyone is following a gluten-free diet.
Cross contamination can happen when, “cooking in the same pot or pan, or using the same utensils.” Holliday knows families that use two toasters, one for regular toast and another for bread that's gluten free. But the danger of cross contamination doesn't stop there. Even a gluten-free piece of toast can be contaminated if a butter knife touches a regular piece of bread and then spreads the crumbs to the butter.
For some the consequence of eating foods with gluten is immediate. Dr. George Kistler, a gastroenterologist with Capital City Medical Associates says many of his patients suffer crampy diarrhea. If left to their old diet long-term, people with celiac who continue to eat gluten could face more serious health problems. Kistler says thinning bones is a risk, as is malnutrition. While rare, a cancer called lymphoma is associated with celiac.
Jefferson City mother Ashley Hopkins agrees that following a gluten-free diet for the past four years has made a huge difference in how she feels. “You never want to go back to feeling sick again, so you won't touch it.” Since her diagnosis, two of Hokpins' daughters were diagnosed. Celiac is more common in woman than men and is known to run in families.
Dr. Kistler has seen the numbers of patients with the disease increase, and so has the number of local businesses that cater to their needs.
Leslie Voigt is the Health Market Manager at Hy-Vee in Jefferson City. A couple of aisles are packed with gluten-free foods marked with colorful stickers offering shoppers discounts on the pricey goods.
Some cereals run just a few cents higher per ounce in the Health Market than cereals on the main aisle. But, a box of gluten-free cookies is almost twice as expensive per ounce as the gluten containing name brand.
Armed with a list of gluten-free foods, found on Hy-Vee's web site, Hopkins has spent hours learning to navigate the store. She describes her first shopping trip after being diagnosed. “It took me an hour to go through one aisle.” She says it was a joke in her family that four hours later she was finally done shopping.
Now people with celiac may find shopping is much easier, and so is eating out. Jefferson City businesses like Hy-Vee, Madison's Cafe, Kate and Ally's, JC Health Foods and My Gluten Free Bakery are giving patients with a restricted diet many more options.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKRCG