Celiac Treatment the Functional Medicine Way
Take a moment to imagine a table stuffed with plates of bread, biscuits, cookies, pizza, donuts, and pasta. The mere thought may leave your mouth watering… or possibly put you into a food coma.
For people with Celiac disease, a piece of bread is equated with bloating, gas, and a nasty stomach ache. These people may not get a processed carb overload, but what they have to deal with is a whole lot worse.
What is Celiac Disease?
A person that suffers from celiac disease is unable to process gluten, a protein found in grains like wheat, barley, and rye. Instead of breaking down gluten normally, celiac causes the body to attack its own small intestine.
Most people with celiac disease experience a digestive reaction when they consume gluten. Common symptoms include bloating, diarrhea, gas, and nausea. However, there are other, more long-term effects of celiac disease that may surprise you.
Surprising Symptoms of Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is more than a digestive issue. One of the most alarming complications of celiac disease is nutrient deficiency. When the body attacks and weakens the small intestine, the organ isn’t able to properly absorb nutrients from the food you eat. Without these nutrients, the entire body is unable to get the nourishment it needs to fight off other illnesses and heal itself.
While an upset tummy is awful to deal with in the moment, it’s not the only symptom of celiac disease. This disorder has other symptoms and lasting effects that often go unnoticed.
Other symptoms of celiac disease include:
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Headaches
- Iron deficiency (anemia)
- Blistered, itchy skin
- Joint pain
- Missing menstrual cycle (amenorrhea)
- Osteoporosis
- Impaired function of the spleen
- Nerve pain
- Weight loss
- Canker sores
- Brain fog
- Infertility
- Autoimmune disease
If left unchecked, celiac disease puts people at higher risk of developing fatal conditions, such as coronary artery disease and small bowel cancer.
This overwhelming list of symptoms and complications makes it even more important to address celiac disease and properly treat it in the body. Thankfully, a functional medicine doctor can help with that.
How to Manage Celiac Disease
A gluten free diet is the most common treatment for celiac disease. This involves cutting out foods that include traces of gluten. Wheat, barley, and rye are the most common flours that contain gluten, but there’s a whole feast of foods that contain gluten:
- Wheat
- Barley
- Bulgur
- Rye
- Durum
- Farina
- Graham flour
- Spelt
- Malt
- Triticale
Most people with celiac disease also must be mindful of cross-contamination of foods. This makes dining out a challenge, though plenty of restaurants have procedures such as changing gloves and utensils or cooking in a separate kitchen.
Other obscure items sometimes contain gluten, such as prescription medications, supplements, toothpaste, play dough, glue, and even lipstick.
A person trying to adopt a gluten free lifestyle may feel way in over their head. Most doctors prescribe a gluten free diet with medication to alleviate inflammation and leave treatment at that.
Celiac Treatment with Functional Medicine
There’s a better way of doing celiac treatment. A functional medicine doctor is able to take the time to get to know each person’s unique situation and come up with a treatment plan. Instead of handing you our advice and sending you along your way, we partner with you and help you integrate health changes—such as a gluten free diet—into your lifestyle.
You can expect a functional medicine doctor to be your personal assistant, coach, cheerleader, and encourager along your path to true, vibrant living.
Working with a Functional Medicine Doctor
At True Life Medicine, we have a professional process for getting connected with our clients and helping them see success when it comes to celiac treatment.
The first step in celiac treatment with True Life Medicine is for a potential patient to schedule a discovery call. This is 100% free of charge and allows us to get to know your basic health situation and needs. With the information we learn from you during this call, we’ll determine which of our treatment approaches works for you.
Next, you’ll have a deep-dive consultation with Dr. Randolph James. He’ll get to know your situation more, come up with health goals, and determine health “markers” that indicate your progress.
After this appointment, True Life Medicine will craft a treatment plan that’s 100% unique to your health situation. We want to address the root cause of celiac disease and help you find a sustainable way of treating your symptoms while still being able to live life to the full.
Think of True Life Medicine not as a doctor but as a partner in your path to better health.
Celiac Treatment in Colorado Springs
True Life Medicine provides celiac treatment in Colorado Springs. Don’t let celiac disease change the course of your lifestyle and your health. Get connected by booking a free discovery call today.
