In 1994 I was diagnosed with celiac disease, which led me to create Celiac.com in 1995. I created this site for a single purpose: To help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed and living happy, healthy gluten-free lives. Celiac.com was the first site on the Internet dedicated solely to celiac disease, and since then it has become an invaluable resource to people worldwide who seek information about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. In 1998 I created The Gluten-Free Mall, Your Special Diet Superstore! which was also another Internet first—it was the first gluten-free food site to offer a shopping cart-style interface, and the ability for people to order gluten-free products manufactured by many different companies at a single Web site.
Celiac.com 02/08/2007 - While celiac disease can affect anyone, it is more rare in Africans and Asians, and occurs most frequently in whites of Northern European ancestry, and in people with autoimmune disorders, such as:
- Autoimmune thyroid disease
- Lupus erythematosus
- Microscopic colitis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Type 1 diabetes
Also, celiac disease and the tendency to get celiac disease runs in families. If one member of a family has celiac disease, the odds are that about one in ten of their first-degree relatives will also have it. People may harbor this tendency for years or even decades without showing signs or getting sick. Then, some kind of severe stress, like childbirth, infection, physical injury, or surgery can "activate" celiac disease.
While the precise mechanism of this activation, and of the intestinal damage is unclear, removal of gluten from the diet usually brings about quick relief of symptoms and promotes intestinal healing in most patients.