Here are some of the most staggering facts about Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance. Each statement highlights the need for education and awareness among the Medical and Culinary Communities as well as the General Public.
An estimated 3 million Americans across all races, ages and genders suffer from Celiac.
You don’t need to have Celiac Disease to be affected by it. There are many different Diseases that can co-exist with (or because of) Celiac Disease. Autism - Infertility – Migraine - Thyroid Disease – Depression - Intestinal Cancer - Osteoporosis/Osteopenia - Turner Syndrome - Dermatitis Herpetiformis - Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis - Peripheral Neuropathy - Type 1 Diabetes - Down Syndrome - Liver Disease -Sjogren's Disease - Williams Syndrom
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune digestive Disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. Because of this constant malnutrition many areas of the body can be affected making Celiac Disease one of the hardest Diseases to diagnose. 1 in 133 Americans have Celiac Disease, as many as 95% of Celiacs are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with any number of other conditions. Celiac Disease can lead to any number of other disorders including infertility, reduced bone density, neurological disorders, some cancers, and other autoimmune Diseases.
6-10 years is the average time a person waits to be correctly diagnosed. Once a person is diagnosed 5-22% of Celiac patients have an immediate family member (1st degree relative) who also has Celiac.
$5,000-$12,000 is the average cost of misdiagnosis per person/per year of Celiac, not including lost work time.
There are NO pharmaceutical cures for Celiac Disease. A 100% gluten-free diet is the only existing treatment for Celiac today.
The Celiac Disease diagnosis rate may reach 50-60% by 2019, thanks to efforts to raise public awareness of Celiac Disease.
Gluten-free sales reached more than $2.6 billion by the end of 2010 and are now expected to exceed more than $5 billion by 2015.
It’s all in the numbers…
The number of people with Celiac Disease in the U.S. would fill 4,400 Boeing 747 airplanes. It would take 936 cruise ships to hold every American with Celiac Disease. The number of people with Celiac Disease in the U.S. is roughly equal to the number of people living in the state of Nevada. Alaska, Delaware, Washington DC, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont all have populations that are less than 2,200,000 - the number of people living with Celiac Disease in the United States.
Carolanne Le Blanc
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Meeting: 4th Saturday of every month except December
Imperial Palms, East Clubhouse, 101 Imperial Palm Drive, Largo, Florida 33771
Meeting: 4th Saturday of every month except December
Imperial Palms, East Clubhouse, 101 Imperial Palm Drive, Largo, Florida 33771
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