By Abby Drake
Staff Writer

Varsity Cheerleader Courtney Warren is like any other high school girl except for the fact that she cannot eat wheat products of any kind. During her sophomore year Warren was diagnosed with celiac disease.

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that interferes with the absobbortion of nutrients. Individuals with the disease cannot tolerate gluten, a key substance in wheat, barley and rye, and once eaten their immune system reacts in a way that shuts down villi and then no nutrients is absorbed.

Celiac disease is genetic and runs in families. People can be born with it or it can be triggered from traumatic or stressful experience such as: surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, or emotional stress.

The symptoms of the disease are abdominal bloating, stunted growth, weight loss, and stomach pains. Not all cases are symptomatic and so many individuals will go through their lives without ever knowing they had the disease.

If a person who has celiac disease consumes gluten on a constant basis, it can lead to liver failure or intestinal cancer later in life.

The only way to treat the disease is to follow a gluten free diet. By doing this people with the intolerance to gluten are able to stay healthy and live longer.