Celiac continues to affect thousands of Canadians

Well, May is Celiac Awareness Month, a disease that affects hundreds of thousands of Canadians. Nicole Byram is a registered dietitian and joins us now with more. Thank you so much for being here, Nicole. Thanks for having me. So let’s just let people know what is celiac disease. I think it’s one of those that you you hear it and you’re like, what is that? And it can be very confusing. It can. So first of all, happy Celiac Awareness month. May you Celiac Awareness Month. So celiac disease is a genetically predisposed autoimmune disease where the protein gluten, which is found in barley, rye, regular oats and wheat, damages the small intestinal lining of the gut. And this in turn causes both short and long term complications. Wow. Yeah. So it’s it’s an autoimmune, like you said, people say, well it’s an allergy. It’s very common myth, very common myth. Yeah. I think for restaurants it makes it easier for you to understand the language that everybody understands. Yeah, OK. But yeah, it’s more than that. So what are some of the signs and symptoms in case people are wondering? I think a lot of people don’t even want to recognize necessarily the signs and symptoms because they don’t want to give up the gluten. I know it’s hard. It’s hard. There’s a grieving process in that for sure. So there are 260 symptoms of celiac disease none of which are unique to celiac disease which is one of the reasons why this disease is so under diagnosed. The the symptoms come in three categories. We’ve our classic symptoms, our non classic symptoms and our neurological symptoms. The classic symptoms are things like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, Constipation, pain, bloating, gas. These are the more gastrointestinal symptoms that tend to be caught earlier and people with these symptoms are diagnosed sooner. Then we have our non classic symptoms, anaemia. Anaemia is one of the number one non classic symptoms, increased liver enzymes, infertility, osteoporosis and osteopenia. We have kids coming in with broken bones, and they’re wondering why. And then we have our neurological complications, which are gaining a lot more awareness now. And these are things like brain fog, ataxia, neurological complications, like numbness in your fingers and that kind of stuff. So yeah, like dizziness. Yeah, that whole thing. And like you said, the fatigue that some people. Yeah, fatigue’s a big one. So I guess where’s the problem? Here are people, Is it the doctors or the people who’s not necessarily giving the right information or asking the right questions? Yeah. So diagnosis is a is a big issue. And celiac count is actually trying to drive diagnosis here. We put out a state of celiac survey and trying to really increase the awareness and the education on when to diagnose. So diagnosis takes about 10 years here in Canada, which is too long, 10 years of suffering. And so we really want to increase the awareness of when to diagnose. And what we’re trying to do is put out some new clinical guidelines to really guide people on when to diagnose. Yeah. And the diagnosis doesn’t have to be super complicated. It can be as simple as a blood draw that already comes on the requisition form. It’s not a special ask. It is a special ask. It is. So that’s something else we’re advocating for. Thank you for bringing that up. Currently, it is an actual, an additional write on on the requisition form. So we want it to be a tick box. And so that’s one of the things that Celiac Canada is also advocating for, But it is just a simple blood draw. So if you if you have one of these signs or symptoms and you’re wondering about it, go to your doctor and ask for a blood test. It’s a TTGIGA blood test. It stands for tissue transglutaminase. But in order for the test to be accurate, you do need to have gluten in your system. And not just for 24 or 48 hours beforehand, but for six to six to 12 weeks beforehand. Because in order for the test to be accurate, we really want this read to be accurate. And then once you get that positive TG test, you then can go on to get an intestinal biopsy, which is the gold standard for diagnosis here. Now, if you’re a child, then you might be able to do a non biopsy approach. So talk to your physician or your gastroenterologist about that as an option for your child. Yeah. And for kids, particularly concerning ’cause, it can also stunt their growth, other kinds of issues, short stature, dental anomaly defects. Those are two of the biggest things for children. OK. So, yeah, Mommy, my tummy hurts. Yeah, maybe get that checked out. Definitely. More than just you ache too much. Yeah. No. Yeah. There’s a fundraising campaign at celiac.ca as well right now, if you would like to check that out. And because any funds I’m sure are appreciated. Yes, always. It’s a charity, so we always appreciate any donations. OK. Well, thank you so much for coming up. Call Virum, registered dietitian and also with Celiac Canada. Yes. And if anybody wants to speak to me individually, fresh start, nutrition.ca. OK, Sounds great. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.