Everything you need to know about coeliac disease (and whether you really have it)
Thinking of jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon? Better think again.
GlutenFreeChops/Flickr
Jason Tye-Din, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
The Neolithic Revolution introduced a whole range of new foods and proteins into the human digestive tract. But this phenomenal change created the perfect conditions for the rise of coeliac disease.
While most proteins were readily consumed, some people’s immune systems struggled to tolerate others. Wheat was the first cereal to be widely domesticated, and in the case of the gluten protein from wheat, the result of this struggle was coeliac disease.
When people with coeliac disease consume gluten, an abnormal immune reaction occurs causing inflammation and damage to the small bowel lining. This impairs absorption of nutrients and can lead to a wide range of symptoms and medical complications.
Ancient condition, 20th century treatment
The second century Greek physician Arateus is credited with coining the term coeliac disease, or “koilia…
Read more