Natural Choices — Health Food, Organic Produce, Gluten Free, Vitamins, Supplements — Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana

May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month. I find it difficult to be aware of something when I don’t know what it is. Celiac disease is sometimes also called celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy and gluten intolerance.

The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and this is what they say about Celiac disease:

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins and lip balms.

For those of you who want to know what actually happens in the body with a disease, the NDDIC explains that, too:

When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi – the tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small instestine. Villi normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats.

There are a whole host of symptoms, some of which are symptoms of many maladies. Only a physician can diagnose the disease with appropriate tests.

A portion of the gluten-free selection at Natural Choices.

Restricting or eliminating foods and products containing gluten is the key to healthy living for those who have celiac disease.

Natural Choices has one of the largest selections of gluten-free products in Indiana. Not only will you find flour and grain substitutes, but you will find prepared foods that are gluten-free. Check out the refrigerated section and the frozen foods. People who need to stay on a strict gluten-free diet can still have the convenience of those who don’t!

The staff at Natural Choices is always happy to point you in the right direction, or answer any questions you might have.

Now that you are aware of what Celiac disease is and what gluten in your diet can do if you have a sensitivity to it, spread the word. Living gluten-free may just change the life of someone you know!

–Ellie of the Natural Choices Blog Team

Natural Choices in Columbus, Indiana is your local, organic and gluten-free market. Stop in or call (812) 375-1677 to place an order to have vitamins, herbal supplements or foods shipped directly to your door.