In its July publication of the journal "Gastroenterology," the Mayo Clinic released a study that concluded people are four times more likely to have celiac than they were 50 years ago, a new rate of 1 in 100. The study also found that those who did not know they had the disease also were nearly four times more likely than celiac-free subjects to have died during the 45 years of follow-up.

The reason? Dr. Joseph Murray, the gastroenterologist who led the study, says "we don't know why" and later suggests it may be something in our environment.

I've gotta say, this study sounds pretty familiar. More people diagnosed? We don't know why? Something in the environment? I could have replaced "celiac" with "autism" throughout most of the study.

Often, when I tell people my son has autism, they want to know what I think caused it. That's a dangerous topic to delve into. But celiac? At a more increasing rate, according to this study, one wonders if the same question will be on everyone's mind about the autoimmune disease. The difference is that subjects were tested 50 years ago, the results were recorded and the subjects were followed up on throughout their lives. Later, the same age group of people from the same region were tested and a much higher prevalence of celiac was found. So, it would be hard dispute that the reason for the increase is due to "more testing."

With autism, we all know there are many theories to why it is more prevalent. The one thing that everyone seems to agree on is that there is some sort of genetic link and many suggest that an environmental trigger may be the culprit. The authors of the celiac study are repeating that philosophy.

The other celiac-autism link is definately the conclusion that more doctors and patients have to be aware of celiac. When my son was diagnosed with autism, there were no checklists at the pediatrician's office or routine early screening in place. That has changed (at least at our pediatrician's office.) Anyway, the point is, if celiac is more prevalent, we need to be more vigilant. Just like with autism.

Dr. Murray even suggests: "We may need to consider looking for celiac disease in the general population, more like we do in testing for cholesterol or blood pressure."

Can you imagine all the otherwise undiagnosed cases can be determined if doctors take this on? With the finding that celiac is four and a half times more deadly in undiagnosed cases, a lot of lives can be saved.

With both autism and celiac, the more people that are diagnosed, the more society can accommodate those that are affected. More food, more convenience, more awareness and more care. That sounds like a coup on both fronts.

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Here is a simple recipe my good friend served at a recent birthday party. It takes advantage of all the varieties of tomatoes popping off the vine:





Heirloom Tomato Salad
6 cups of a variety of heirloom tomatoes, various sizes and colors, cut into wedges or whole small
2 cucumbers peeled and cut into wedges
1 bundle or about 1/2 cup basil, washed and ripped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Toss and enjoy.