What should celiacs give up and what is good for them?

Unfortunately, celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, incurable in the sense that there is no effective treatment to eliminate it. It is, in fact, a chronic inflammation of the small intestine, triggered by gluten, in genetically predisposed individuals. The only useful and applicable therapy is a gluten-free diet, which involves the elimination of certain foods, and a more frequent use of certain foods than usual.

Celiac disease is caused by a genetic predisposition, combined with the intake of glutenIn particular, the immune system genes that cause celiac disease are HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 (about 95 percent of celiacs have the first, while the remaining 5 percent have the second). But what triggers celiac disease, once the genetic predisposition has been ascertained, is gluten, a complex of proteins Present in various cereals. In addition to genetics, celiac disease can be promoted by:

Prohibited foods

Once the diagnosis has been made, the following steps are taken: the only The only treatment currently available is a lifelong gluten-free diet. The following are strictly prohibited:

• desserts
• pasta
• bread and its derivatives with cereals and flour based on farro, wheat, oats, barley, grain, kamut and malt
• sauces
• sausages
• candies where gluten is used as a thickener
• yeast and seitan
• milk and cereal- and malt-based yogurt
• beer

Among the foods permitted and recommended for celiacs are, first of all, gluten-free cereals:

• rice
• closest
• buckwheat
• amaranth
• sorghum and teff grains
• manioca
• mile and Quinoa in seeds.

Furthermore:

• carne
• fish
• eggs
• ham
• milk
• cheese
• natural or creamy white yogurt without added flavorings or other substances

Celiacs can eat everything fruit and all vegetables, legumes and mushrooms, the honey, sugar, fructose. And they can drink coffee and tea. A complete list of prohibited, permitted and risky foods can be found on the website ofItalian Celiac Association.

The risks for celiacs who consume gluten are difficult to pinpoint and can vary from person to person. The only certainty is that gluten ingestion maintains, if not aggravates, a local inflammatory process: hence the difficulty in digesting well, headaches and various problems related to poor intestinal function. But also risks of osteopenia and osteoporosis, infertility, and developing certain tumors such as intestinal lymphoma.

How many celiacs are there in Italy?

According to the latest census of the Istituto Superiore della Sanità, which dates back to 2023, in Italy there are 265.102 people with celiac disease were diagnosed, equal to approximately the 0,45% of the national population. However, the estimated prevalence of celiac disease in the population could amount to approximately 600.000 and this means that approximately 400.000 people (or almost 60%) do not know they have celiac disease.  Women are more affected (70 percent of cases involve females) and the regions with the highest number of cases are, in order, Lombardy, Lazio and Campania.

How much is the gluten-free market worth?

The market gluten-free products In Italy, it is worth around 400 million euros a year and is expected to triple by 2030. Aside from the demand for these products out of necessity, there is also a lot of speculation, fueled by the usual "health" trend and aggressive marketing campaigns by companies that produce gluten-free foods. And the clear proof of this is food waste lies in the fact that the prices of gluten-free products can be up to 70-80 percent higher than those of traditional products. 

Read also:

• How to go on vacation with celiac disease
• Gluten-free foods, a dangerous and pointless diet. They're only for celiacs. In Italy, there are fewer than 200, but there's a rush to go gluten-free.
• Apps that help celiacs