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Here is an email I have been sending to celiac organizations and web  
sites when they refer to the gluten-free diet as the "only treatment"  
for the disease. Improvements welcome. --Vicki

> Thank you for the work you do for celiacs. I hope to contribute to  
> the effort to have this serious disease taken seriously with the  
> following request.

> Please don't continue to say that the "only treatment" for the  
> disease is the gluten-free diet. This leads people -- and some of  
> their doctors, especially those who are not routinely engaged in the  
> care of celiacs -- to believe that the only action they need to take  
> is to give up gluten.
> Celiacs also have to get tested for anemia, ferritin, B12, Niacin,  
> Folate, Magnesium, Vitamin D and other things, because they may need  
> to be treated with supplements during the recovery period and  
> possibly after.
> They probably need to eat more protein than is usually recommended  
> during recovery. And they have to create new habits of eating that  
> incorporate all other essential nutrients and necessary food groups  
> while yet avoiding gluten, ingesting large amounts of protein and  
> attending to any and all dietary restrictions related to other  
> health concerns (heart condition, no grapefruit because of  
> medications taken, diabetes, food allergies, etc.).
> They need to avoid creating new health problems when radically  
> changing their diet -- constipation, dehydration and high-fat eating  
> are all potential hazards.
> They need to be aware of the possibility of developing or  
> discovering lactose intolerance during recovery.
> They may need to get treatment for osteoporosis or osteopenia, and  
> at a minimum, they need to get a bone scan.
> They need to create a new eating and exercise plan that is not only  
> gluten-free, but protects them against the weight gain that  
> sometimes happen when they start absorbing nutrients again (If I  
> could lose 1 pound for every M.D. who told me, "You'll lose weight  
> on the gluten-free diet..."!). Doctors and other health professional  
> experienced with celiac would likely tell you more, but these are  
> just a few of the tasks that have occupied my time in the first  
> three months of my diagnosis.
> There's more to celiac than giving up bread.
> Sincerely, Victoria Zunitch

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