There is a disease out there called celiac disease. It affects lots of teens your age, and means that your body cannot handle gluten. Gluten is a protein found in grains. You don't realize that glutens are in so many foods that you eat every day, including breads, bagels, certain desserts and cereal. Celiac disease is a serious condition because it means that if you eat glutens, your body experiences an immune system breakdown and problems with digestive absorption. And that means you are in danger of getting very sick since your immune system helps you fight off all types of sicknesses and diseases. Plus, without “digestive absorption,” you can't get your essential vitamins.

The good news is that there are lots of ways to avoid glutens in your diet. Once you are diagnosed with celiac disease, your doctor will help you to find all of the alternatives. Most grocery stores have entire sections of gluten-free grain products including breads, waffles, cereals, corn and potato chips, rice, tortillas, and gluten-free cookies and cakes. You can also go out and buy gluten-free flour and bake whatever you want with it. There are lots of great recipes that enable you to easily substitute regular flour with gluten-free flour and get just as delicious results.

Click below to read about related topics.

Introduction
Diabetic
Lactose Intolerance
Gluten-Free
Allergies