-Dr.Dianne McCallister, Chief Medical Officer at Porter Adventist Hospital

Celiac disease is more common than previously thought, affecting 2 million people in the United States.

Gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley.

This protein is most likely to be found in foods such as breads and cereals, but it is also present in some medication, vitamins and even lip balms, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse

People who have Celiac disease have an immune reaction to gluten. Their bodies react to the gluten by destroying the villi in the small intestine.

Villi are tiny microscopic fingers that line the intestine and are critical to absorbing our food from the intestine into our blood streams.

So, people with Celiac disease cannot properly absorb their food, and the nutrients they need. Therefore, they have problems associated with malabsorption of food and with nutrition.

The symptoms of the disease depend on the length of time one has had the condition, but the symptoms are somewhat different in children than adults

Children exhibit digestive symptoms:

Abdominal pain and bloating
Foul smelling stool
Constipation or diarrhea
Weight loss

Adults may have those symptoms, but are more likely to exhibit:

Fatigue
Bone or joint pain
Arthritis
Tingling in the hands or feet
Depression or anxiety
Menstrual disorders or miscarriages
A rash on the knees,elbows and buttocks
Seizures

Some people do not have symptoms.

Untreated, over time, people can develop cancers of the intestines, liver problems and malnutrition

It is important to go and get evaluated prior to starting on the gluten-free diet.

The ways to diagnose this problem are 1) taking a small sample of the intestine to look for the damage to the villi or 2) blood tests for the auto - antibodies.

Since many of the symptoms are non-specific, meaning the same symptoms can be caused by many other problems, seeing your physician and getting the proper work-up is essential.

A gluten-free diet is the only treatment for Celiac disease.

Because the diagnosis requires a life long avoidance of gluten, it makes it more important to get the diagnosis.

Even a small amount of gluten can damage the intestines in this disease.

Currently, it is not the standard to test everyone for this problem.

However, if you have a parent, brother or sister, or child with this problem, it is a good idea to get tested because the chances that you have the disease are increased.

Dr. McCallister is on 7NEWS at 11 a.m. every Wednesday. If you have a topic or question you would like her to discuss, email 11am@thedenverchannel.com.