Are you aware of celiac disease? Silly question, I know. But, of course, some people aren’t. Just yesterday, I “came out” as gluten-free to the high school student I’ve been tutoring since last fall, and she asked, “What’s gluten?”
High school students aren’t the only ones unaware of celiac disease—there are doctors who might have the same question, even if they’re less willing to ask it. For this reason, we have Celiac Awareness Month, beginning tomorrow.
Just to be contrary, though, I’m working on raising awareness of something else: gluten-related disorders. At Columbia’s symposium on Development of Therapies for Celiac Disease, “celiac disease” took pride of place in the conference’s name, even though many presentations focused instead on gluten sensitivity, gluten ataxia, and the possible involvement of gluten in some cases of schizophrenia, autism, and other neurological conditions. Quite a spectrum.
Why wasn’t the conference named “Development of Therapies for Gluten-Related Disorders”? There could be several reasons: 1) It was being put on by Columbia’s Celiac Disease Center, which also hasn’t made the leap to putting GRD in the title; 2) “Celiac disease” still has more cachet as a “real disease” with some doctors and researchers; and 3) The term “gluten-related disorders” is still too new for people to have heard it.
“New” is a relative term. Scientists have been recommending this umbrella term since 2012, yet many still haven’t caught on. As a gluten nerd, I receive Google Alerts on “celiac disease” and “gluten sensitivity.” Nearly every day, some newspaper, magazine, or website comes out with an article that uses outdated terms.
I’m a fan of “gluten-related disorders.” To learn why, check out my latest post on My Life with Food Allergies.
And if you think the world needs awareness of all gluten-related disorders, please share.
Based on a Sprue Story 