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 so they can begin to live 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.
I am also co-author of the book Cereal Killers, and founder and publisher of Journal of Gluten Sensitivity.
The following was taken from THE SPRUE-NIK PRESS, September 1995. The University of Maryland School of Medicine sponsored a conference on July 14-15, 1995 entitled Celiac Disease: The Dark Side of the Gastrointestinal Planet, by Salvatore Auricchio, MD, summarized by Jim Lyles. Dr. Auricchio is Professor and Chairman of Pediatrics at the University Frederico II in Naples, Italy.
celiac disease manifests itself in the small intestine. A distinct pattern of abnormalities has been observed [comments in braces have been added by Jim Lyles]:
- Villous atrophy [partial or complete flattening of the finger-like projections in the small intestine]
- Hyperplasia of the crypts of Lieberkuhn [the crypts under the villi become highly elongated when compared with normal crypts]
- Increased plasma cell and lymphocyte infiltration of the lamina propria [more lymphocytes under the epithelial or outer layer of the villi. Lymphocytes are the cells that fight off viruses, etc.]
- Increased intraepithelial lymphocytes [more lymphocytes within the epithelial cells. The epithelial cells form the outer layer of the intestine and allow nutrients to pass through from the intestine into the bloodstream]
- Abnormalities in the epithelial cells which become flattened, cuboidal, and pseudo- stratified [layered].