With a growing awareness of celiac disease, we are now beginning to understand the broad spectrum of effects related to this troubling autoimmune disease. Among those effects may be depression.
Celiac disease is basically gluten intolerance. While it appears to be possible for someone to be gluten intolerant without testing positive for celiac disease, in most cases if you are gluten intolerant you probably have celiac disease. To put it simply, when you suffer from celiac disease, your body has antibodies that over-react to digesting gluten. These antibodies attack the walls of your intestine, slowly killing the villi along its lining and greatly reducing your ability to absorb nutrients from all your food (not just gluten-containing food).
It is quite possible that this slow and severe reduction in your ability to obtain nutrition from your food can lead to some kind of chemical or hormonal imbalance, resulting in an emotional disorder. But even if there isn’t a physical explanation for depression or anxiety, the lifestyle change can lead to a kind of anxiety or depression. The phenomenon is sometimes referred to as celiac depression.
The ramification of having to remove gluten is life changing. You must completely eliminate gluten from your life, not just your diet. This is not just a simple matter of avoiding bread and other foods which obviously contain gluten. You no longer can eat barley, rye, wheat or spelt derived foods.
Additionally, over time we have come to rely on gluten as a filler and binder even for products you would not typically expect, such as supplements and medications. So you will spend a good amount of time educating yourself on gluten’s favorite hiding spots and then carefully reading the labels on everything you buy. Some people feel a sense of loss from all the mainstream foods and products they must exclude from their lives.
Thankfully, this has become a little easier in recent years with both manufacturers and grocery chains increasing their explicit labeling of foods which are gluten-free.
But the overwhelming nature of this life change can still trigger a depressive state in many. So if you or someone you know must undergo this life change, I encourage you to seek support and be patient. Be positive. A full, satisfying life is still possible with the increased products and awareness for gluten intolerance.