Celiac Disease from Bread.

Gluten-free cookies are now flying off supermarket shelves. Why? For children with celiac disease, gluten - the protein in wheat is the culprit. Although the condition was once considered rare in this country, improved diagnostic tests have shown that it actually affects about one in 130 people - including toddlers. In fact, experts say that for every child with celiac disease, there are seven more who have the disease but don't know it. That's why, Alessio Fasano, M.D., medical director of the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research says, "It's important fro children to be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, doctors and parents often overlooked celiac disease because they don't realize how common it is and the symptoms are easily mistaken for other problems. In some cases, children don't have any signs at all until the disease has progressed and cause damage to the joints or organs such as the pancreas or liver.

"Parent sometimes use the words allergy or intolerance to help other people understand celiac disease, but it's actually an autoimmune disease and not allergy," says Nanci Pittman, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City.

Studies revealed that a child with celiac disease may stop growing, because malnourished, and develop a variety of serious consequences such as anemia, chronic diarrhea and osteoporosis.