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Testing for celiac disease/gluten sensitivity to be held Friday morning at special pricing Recently I spoke to the Kettle Creek Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) in Washington about gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. I have been actively involved in researching these conditions for the past two years in my officein Conyers. When I reviewed the literature on celiac disease two years ago, I realized that we, as a medical community, had been under-diagnosing it by large numbers of patients. Most practicing physicians trained more than fiveyears ago were taught that celiac disease was rare and that the patients who had it were malnourished, had chronic diarrhea and belly pain, and were emaciated. We now know, thanks to current research, that it is much more common than we once thought and often the patients have few or no symptoms. Celiac (from Greek meaning abdomen) disease is a lifelong, genetic, auto-immune disease which damages the small bowel. The bowel damage occurs from the immune system attack in response to the presence of gluten in the diet. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, and the American diet is extremely rich in gluten. For people who have inherited the celiac disease gene, gluten is toxic. In this country, celiac disease is estimated to occur in one percent of the population. Gluten sensitivity affects perhaps as many as four to seven percent of Americans. Most of these do not develop celiac disease, but can develop many other associated diseases including neurological/psychiatric diseases, connective tissue (autoimmune) diseases, infertility, and even some cancers. Anemia and osteoporosis often occur in these patients, as well. Because as many as 90 percent of celiac disease/gluten sensitive people have yet to be diagnosed, it is my recommendation that everyone be tested. Following the DAR presentation, requests were made for me to facilitate testing for these diseases. Often these tests are not covered by insurance and can cost several hundred dollars, but because of our research, we enjoy special pricing for the blood tests. Accordingly, the blood testing is available this Friday, February 29, between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon at Petal Pushers Christmas at 20 E. Robert Toombs Avenue in Downtown Washington.
No fasting is necessary. A medical history will be taken and complete confidentiality will be maintained. Results of the tests will be made available for those participating to share with their physicians. Cost for the tests will be $148.00, and the tests are for diagnostic purposes only.
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