Diet cause of common disorders

Unexplained weight loss, diarrhoea, iron and folic acid deficiencies are often ignored as common medical symptoms. However, the next time you experience one or more of these, scan your diet, because it could well be Celiac Disease you are suffering from.

You’re not alone if you feel ill or fatigued after eating wheat, rye, barley, and oat products. Millions around the globe become breathless, fatigued, have stomach upsets or intestinal problems since they are sensitive to gluten, a protein found in these cereals.

The incidence of this malabsorption syndrome or Celiac Disease, a life-long condition accompanied by a wide range of symptoms, is on the rise in Calcutta, warn doctors and dietary experts. The fact that many may have latent disease with absence of frank symptoms further complicates matters, they say.

“Celiac Disease is no longer a problem typical of the West and is manifesting itself in a large section of the wheat-eating Indian population. The prevalence is growing in Calcutta too, with anaemia and growth retardation often the two tell-tale symptoms,” says Mahesh Goenka, head, gastroenterology, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals.

The condition damages the lining of the small bowel, which affects the absorption of food. A gluten-free diet is the only long-term treatment for Celiac Disease, confirms nutritional therapist Prithpal Singh. Complete removal of gluten from the diet allows the gut to recover to normal over a period of time, he adds.

Since obvious symptoms or damage may not occur at the exact time of consumption, there are lots of people allergic to wheat/gluten and hence, keep unwell, but are not aware of their allergies, observes dermatologist and allergy specialist Sachin Varma.

While an initial serological screening can be performed to identify Celiac Disease, an endoscopy and biopsy would be required to confirm the finding, declares Goenka.

Even as gluten intolerance is reported to be on the rise, the good news is availability of food alternatives on Calcutta’s retail racks claiming to be free of wheat, gluten, dairy, lactose, casein, yeast and even egg.

“Now, there are brands like Orgran, which produces a comprehensive range of natural gluten-free foods,” says Deepak Saraf of Health Shoppe, “India’s first one-stop, self-help alternate-care” store. The Rowland Road outlet offers alternatives like grain pasta, crumbs and crispbreads.

Food allergy is caused when the immune system “mistakes the proteins in food as a dangerous substance” and produces antibodies to fight it, triggering a reaction to that particular food, according to alternative food expert Sunira Chamaria of Sunira Food Products. The company’s Heal’thySelf range is “devoid of allergens as far as possible”.