Terms and diseases are often confused, in the case of children, it can be very harmful. This is what happens with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, which is still largely unknown. For this reason, decisions should never be made regarding the feeding of children without first having the opinion of pediatricians.
Since, although the parents are responsible for the care of the children and the last decision is always made by the parents, in health matters it is preferable to have as much information as possible. If you think your child may be celiac, the best thing is that you take him to the pediatrician, tell him why you believe it and ask for the pertinent analyzes to obtain the decisive results.
What is it to be celiac?
Celiacs are people with a disease called celiac diseasewhich is a digestive disorder. This causes damage to the small intestine and alters, among other things, the absorption of essential nutrients for the body, such as vitamins and minerals in food that are consumed. These nutrients are very important, because the body cannot function properly without them.
Therefore, people who are celiac often suffer from other types of diseases caused by poor absorption of nutrients. Until celiac disease is discovered, it can take a long time and this aggravates the situation of other possible pathologies. Until recently it was a practically unknown disease and many people have suffered from digestive problems for years without knowing why, until much later.
Today many of the common symptoms of celiac disease are known and therefore it is easier to determine the problem even in children. Being celiac means that the body does not tolerate gluten well, which is a protein found in some cereals such as wheat, rye or barley. When people with this disease eat foods with gluten, their body mounts an immune system response. This detects a harmful element and causes damage to the mucosa of the intestine.
Symptoms of celiac disease
The traits, symptoms, and characteristics of people with celiac disease are quite common. Among them, the following are found:
- Weight loss
- Diarrhea chronicle
- When making the stools these are very abundant and even greasy
- Pain in the abdomen regularly, especially after meals
- Gases continuously
- Joint and bone pain
- Anemia
- May appear muscle cramps regularly and meaninglessly because no physical effort is being made
- Tiredness and frequent fatigue
- In children, growth retardation
Being celiac in children can be very dangerous because it affects their growth. The lack of nutrients caused by their poor absorption due to being celiac, prevents them from growing correctly and in the long term they can suffer consequences of varying severity. However, removing a nutrient from the diet without being aware that this is the problem can be just as dangerous. Especially when it comes to children.
Therefore, before eliminating foods with gluten from the child's diet, it is preferable to go to the pediatrician's office and perform the necessary analyses. Thus, it will also be possible to detect possible nutritional deficiencies that may have caused celiac disease before being diagnosed. Being celiac is very common nowadays and fortunately there is a lot of knowledge about this disease.
For this reason, you can find all kinds of adapted products so that people who suffer from the disease can eat a normal diet as much as possible. If you have to explain to your child what it means to be celiac, you should start with tell her it's a food-related problem. This way you can teach him what to eat and what to avoid. Something fundamental for the control of the disease, since there is no treatment for celiac disease, other than avoiding the intake of gluten.