I would like to create awareness about a condition called celiac disease. In 2007 I was diagnosed with a disorder that was making my life miserable. Not only was I malnourished, I was dealing with a list of uncomfortable ailments from gas and abdominal pain to fatigue, muscle cramps, and mood swings; I had been dealing with this for almost 2 years. I made many trips to the doctor and had blood taken, then a small bowel biopsy. And finally, the results showed I had a problem.

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small intestine. The tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine are damaged or destroyed. Called villi, they normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, regardless of the quantity of food eaten.

Recognizing celiac disease can be difficult because some of its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases. In fact, sometimes celiac disease is confused with irritable bowel syndrome, iron-deficiency anemia caused by menstrual blood loss, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, intestinal infections, and chronic fatigue syndrome. As a result, celiac disease is commonly underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

Celiac disease is a genetic disease, meaning it runs in families. In the US, about 1 in 133 people have it, and among people who have parents, siblings, or children of people who have been diagnosed with celiac disease, as many as 1 in 22 people may have the disease.

In order to stay well, people with celiac disease must avoid gluten for the rest of their lives and take nutritional supplements via bloodstream, or the buccal mucosa. Some people with celiac disease, including myself, show no improvement on the gluten-free diet. I was advised to visit a doctor monthly for nutritional shots to avoid malnutrition because I was not absorbing nutrients no matter how much I ate. The shots became a hassling expense and I was unable to pay for them after I got laid off 6 months ago. I was without proper supplementation for what seems like an eternity until I was at a sports bar one night and happened to be educated on the VitaMist product by a customer who actually sells them here where I live. I have been taking the Core Four for about 3 months now and feel as good, if not better, than when I was getting the expensive injections.

It really is amazing that vitamins play such an important roll in life. Before I was diagnosed, I was so drained of energy and just miserable, I would have never thought that taking vitamins would improve the symptoms I was having. Although there is no cure for what I have, I am able to maintain a healthy, active life with the help of your products.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) conducts and supports research on celiac disease. As of yet, there is no cure, however, they are engineering enzymes designed to battle this digestive disease.