Living gluten-free.(celiac disease treatment with gluten free diet)(Editorial)

They say bread is the staff of life, but for a growing number of people, breads and other foods that contain gluten are anything but life-giving. This is something dietitian Cynthia Kupper knows all too well. For two years, Kupper suffered with a variety of health complaints, including unexplained weight loss and chronic diarrhea. She became a regular at her doctor's office, visiting two to three times per month. "My health had been declining to the point where I was very malnourished and thought I was dying," says Kupper, author of this month's feature "Gluten-Free Grains of Goodness," p. 50.

A ballooning intestine eventually landed Kupper in the hospital, where she was finally diagnosed with celiac disease, an intolerance to gluten that typically manifests in the small intestine, but can affect multiple organs.

Unfortunately, Kupper's story is not atypical. According to the Gluten Intolerance Group (gluten.net), of which Kupper is now the executive director, celiac disease is often misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease. ...