September 13th is National Celiac Disease Awareness Day.

September 13th is National Celiac Disease Awareness Day  The date of September 13 was chosen because it honors the birthday of Samuel Gee, MD a British physician and pediatrician. Dr. Gee published the first modern description of the clinical picture of celiac disease and is credited with being the first to identify the link between celiac disease and diet. One of Gee’s famous quotes on celiac disease is “if the patient can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet.” In people with CD, eating certain types of protein fractions, collectively called gluten, set off an immune mediated response at the site of the epithelial cells. This abnormal, cellular level immune activity evokes damage to the lining of the small intestine. The damaged small intestine lining, mucosa and villi, interferes with the ability to absorb the nutrients available in food. Without adequate nutrients available, malnutrition and a variety of other related complications become apparent. Celiac Disease is:    an inherited disease. Celiac disease effects those with a genetic predisposition. For more information on CD please visit: http://www.csaceliacs.info/celiac_disease_defined.jsp The gluten-free community has so much to celebrate and be proud of this year. On August 2, 2013 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  established a federal standard for gluten-free labeling. This ruling will now ensure that individuals with celiac disease have the basic information necessary to manage their health.  Effective August 2, 2014, companies opting to label their products as gluten-free, will be required to comply with the less 20ppm standard. Once in place, celiac and gluten-sensitive consumers will be able to choose products with confidence.  Prior to this ruling companies could print the "gluten-free" label on their food products but not be responsible of insuring the safety of that product by actually testing the product to a standard that is safe for the celiac individual.  For more information please visit: http://www.livingwithout.com/news/new-standards-gluten-free-labeling-3433-1.html?ET=livingwithout:p143890:336811a:&st=pmail My family and I have been in the GF world for 11 years now. My son, Josh,  was diagnosed at the age of 2 at a time when CD was considered "rare" in the United States.  Clearly, with over 3 million people diagnosed in the U.S. CD is not a rarity.  I am grateful for Josh's diagnosis because it led me to educate myself, my family, my friends, my community, my schools.  This education that we passionate people do, has led to the awareness of CD and with awareness comes change, tolerance and more importantly lead to others being diagnosed before serious medical complications set in. I urge you to help spread awareness of CD  today by sharing this post & these links with a family member, friend, or colleague who you may suspect is suffering from CD.  Review the symptoms of CD which do vary greatly from individual to individual. For a detailed list of symptoms go to: http://www.csaceliacs.info/symptoms_of_celiac_disease.jsp You may just be responsible for saving someone from unnecessary medical complications! Please post your comments below. We would love to hear your stories!  Let us know about your fabulous GF life.