How You Can Help To Prevent Celiac Disease In Your Child

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Celiac disease tends to run in families. At least 1 in 10 children of celiac parents will develop the disease. However, research suggests that the child's early diet (in infancy) plays a major role in the development of the disease.

In breastfed children, symptoms have been found to occur later, and to be less severe than in bottle fed children, especially if breastfeeding continues for over 3 months.

According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC), Some studies have shownthat the longer a person was breastfed, the later the symptoms of celiac disease appear and the more uncommon the symptoms.

Later introduction of foods containing wheat, rye or barley (and possibly oats, because they are often contaminated with wheat) can help prevent the disease. It is widely suspected that gluten is particularly difficult to digest, and can actually damage the infant's immature digestive system.

Children introduced to wheat, barley or rye before or at 3 months were found to be 5 times more likely to develop celiac disease than children introduced to those foods after 4 to 6 months.

The quantity of gluten in the diet is another factor. The typical western diet these days is very high in wheat, which is one of just 6 major cereals eaten by humans. (In comparison, human societies 1000 years ago consumed a much greater diversity of grains and cereals, which put much less stress on the body's digestive enzymes). Eating less wheat and gluten can also decrease risk of celiac disease, as well as other digestive disorders and allergies.

It can also be helpful to delay the child's introduction to dairy, as milk can also damage the infant's immature digestive system. Milk early in the child's diet will increase the risk that the child will become gluten intolerant, if not celiac.

Another important contributing factor to celiac disease is stress. Both physiological and psychological trauma or severe stress can trigger the onset of celiac disease in children or adults. Infections, surgery, prolonged illness or severe emotional stress overtax the immune system. A stressed immune system can overreact to the gluten in the lining of the small intestine, resulting in celiac disease.



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Categories: allergies