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I have been reading the differences between "wheat Allergies" and "wheat & gluten intolerance." I understand the differences, but as I was reading a big question came to me. We are told that doctors consider Celiac disease a rare disease, when in fact 3 million Americans have it and most do not know it. I consider that appalling, but am now wondering if Celiac could be more rare than we think! 

People with wheat/gluten intolerances suffer the same symptoms as Celiacs, and damage occurs in the small intestine. As far as I know, the only difference is that they do not carry the gene. They get it in some other way. I've known many people who have tested for Celiac, been told it's negative, and continue eating wheat. Some of those may have other intolerances, but I suspect many have wheat & gluten intolerances--I read 75% of the population. 

My question is, are we missing a huge segment of the population, who does not know that Celiacs and non-Celiacs can both be wheat & gluten intolerant? These non-Celiac people should not assume they are out of the woods just because they do not get a positive result from Celiac testing.

No wonder so many people don't know wheat/gluten is their problem. It seems like most of America could feel better in as little as 2 weeks.

Any thoughts about this? Am I off base? Many of you are way more knowledgable than I am about the science of Celiac. I'd love to hear from you. 

I will summarize...

Barbara in AL




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