take the necessary steps to take charge of their health.
If untreated, Celiac disease can lead to malnutrition, lactose intolerance, loss of calcium and bone density, infertility and miscarriage, cancer, and neurological problems. Children with the disease may face delayed puberty, weight loss, anemia, arthritis, epilepsy, irritability, and failure to thrive.
It’s important to consult your doctor if diarrhea or digestive discomfort for more than two weeks of if your child is pale, irritable, has a swollen belly and foul-smelling bulky stools. It’s also not a bad idea to ask about testing for the disease if someone in your family is known to have the disease.
Once diagnosed with Celiac, the only treatment is adhering to a strict gluten-free diet. Sticking to this diet will allow the small intestine to heal and any other symptoms to clear up while helping to prevent future complications.
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Not only do black communities face the risk of being misdiagnosed for this disease, but often face a lack of access to the right foods. With many gluten-free products being either expensive or unavailable.
The good news is that there are people out there, like Gluten Free RN, who are willing to do the work to raise awareness, not only on the disease itself but the neglected populations that the disease can affect.
Jasmine Danielle is a Los Angeles based dancer and fitness trainer. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has studied with FiTour, the National Federation of Personal Trainers, and the Equinox Group Fitness Training Institute.
Jasmine is currently a Group Fitness Instructor for Equinox, Everybody Los Angeles, and Sandbox Fitness. Her fitness modalities include, ballet, dance cardio, barre fitness, TRX, treadmill interval training, cardio kickboxing, jump rope, indoor cycling, and metabolic conditioning.
