Sunday, August 17, 2008

Long Term Food Storage - Wheat and Your Health - Celiac Disease

Many people who have long term food storage supplies have wheat as one of their staple items. It is important to remember that wheat (or products made with wheat) contains a protein compound called gluten. Gluten can cause extremely serious health problems for some people who suffer from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder also known as gluten intolerance.


People who eat or consume wheat, barley, oats or rye or other products made with these ingredients may be at risk from a genetic disorder called celiac disease. Celiac disease (or gluten intolerance) is an autoimmune disease brought about by consuming wheat, barley,oats and rye and any types of products containing these as part of their ingredients. People with this disease who eat breads, pastas, cereals or other types of food that contains the protein compound known as gluten could be creating a serious risk to their health.

Certain types of stress or stressful situations may also trigger gluten intolerance in people who did not formerly have a problem.

People consuming wheat, barley,oats and rye products that have this disorder can cause serious damage to their small intestines. This damage will prevent the proper absorption of necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Numerous other symptoms can also occur as a result. These include diarrhea, constipation, and gas which can lead to improper nourishment and the creation of numerous other health problems. There is no cure for this condition but it can be treated with a gluten-free diet.

This can be extremely difficult to accomplish since gluten is found in a wide variety of soups, hard candies, lunch meats, soy sauce and a variety of other food items. Fortunately, people with this disease can eat certain other grain products such as rice or corn.

More definitive information can be found here:

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/

More information is available here:

http://www.celiac.org/

Download PDF Quick Start Diet Guide here

Hope this information will be of value.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

3 comments:

Marie said...

This is great information--I knew about it with wheat, but didn't know it could develop with barley, oats, or rye, so that's something to look out for. Thanks for the links!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recipe for preventing dehydration! Perfect for first aid kit!

riverwalker said...

To: marie

One of the things I didn't realize was that a high stress level could trigger a gluten intolerance reaction - the last thing you would need in a crisis. Plus I love oatmeal for breakfast. Glad you found this of help.

RW

To: anonymous # 1

You're welcome! Sometimes being able to make a replacement for a useful item that may not be readily available can really come in handy.

RW

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