National Celiac Disease Awareness Day Date in the current year: September 13, 2024

Gluten is a type of protein naturally found in wheat and some other grains such as rye and barley. It is gluten that gives elasticity to dough, helping it rise and keep its shape. About 10% of people are gluten intolerant. Most of them suffer from non-celiac gluten insensitivity, but about 1 in 135 people suffer from celiac disease that is a more serious disorder.

Celiac disease, also spelled coeliac disease, occurs in people who are genetically predisposed. When they consume gluten, it affects the small intestine mucosa and disrupts the digestive process. Typical symptoms of the disease include chronic diarrhea, abdominal distention, loss of appetite, malabsorption (abnormality in absorption of food nutrients), and insufficient weight gain among children. There is no cure for celiac disease, the only way to get rid of the symptoms is a lifelong gluten-free diet.

The English physician Samuel Gee was the first to publish a complete modern-day description of celiac disease and to state that the only treatment is diet. National Celiac Disease Awareness Day in the United States is celebrated on Gee’s birthday, September 13. Its main goal is to spread information about celiac disease and to raise public awareness of the importance of a gluten-free diet for people with gluten sensitivity.