Dr. John Douillard is regarded as a leader in the natural health field, writing recently that wheat has been branded the enemy of good health in the anti-gluten craze of the last 10 years.
However, Dr. Douillard acknowledges avoiding gluten is the right move for certain people.
One of those is Georgia Rawlings of Logan, who suffers from celiac disease.
“There is a genetic pre-disposition to this disease,” said Rawlings. “There are two genes currently identified that pre-dispose people to celiacs disease.”
That puts foods like white and wheat bread, pasta, donuts and pizza crust off limits to her, plus all other foods with even a small amount of wheat flour.
Georgia Rawlings and her friend Annette Bryner once organized a support group for celiac sufferers in Cache Valley and it was a time when they became fast learners about their gluten intolerance.
That’s when she learned that about 80 percent of the 3 million celiac sufferers in the US continue to go undiagnosed.
“From the time sufferers experience intestinal discomfort or any of hundreds of other symptoms, they consult a doctor and it can take from two to 10 years to be diagnosed correctly because doctors don’t recognize it.”
May is Celiac Awareness Month and information is available at <a href=”http://www.beyondceliac.org” target=”_blank”>beyondceliac.org</a>.