May is National Celiac Disease Awareness Month

In June of 2004, the National Institutes of Health’s Consensus Panel on Celiac Disease concluded that there was a significant need to increase awareness and educate health professionals and the general public about celiac disease. Now — in 2010, nearly six years after the NIH’s June 2004 recommendation — leading groups, including the Celiac Disease Foundation, along with concerned citizens, are still lobbying Congress for the month of May to be officially designated “Celiac Disease Awareness Month.”

Despite that fact that Congress hasn’t taken any action yet on a bill that would officially designate May as Celiac Disease Awareness Month (resulting in, among other things, increased funding for celiac disease research), PureFit is pleased to be participating in efforts that increase the public’s knowledge’s about the disease.

Recently, we donated more than 700 of our wheat- and gluten-free nutrition bars to the Celiac Disease Foundation’s 20th Annual Education Conference and Food Faire (Saturday, May 15, in Los Angeles, Calif.). If you’re in the LA area and have an active interest in issues associated with celiac disease, the CDF’s Education Conference and Food Faire is a must-attend event. If you’re unable to make it to LA, no worries – unofficially, National Celiac Disease Awareness Month runs through May 31, and a simple Google News search for “Celiac Disease” shows you just how much is going on!

As you may already know, celiac disease goes undiagnosed in 98 percent of people who have it. If you or someone you know experience health-related problems which you think might be related to celiac disease, visit the National Foundation of Celiac Awareness website, where you can learn about celiac disease symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, related diseases, facts and figures, and more. And of course, visit your doctor right away if you’re experiencing anything unusual or out of the ordinary.

Here at PureFit, we’ll be marking Celiac Disease Awareness Month all throughout the month of May. In addition to supporting celiac disease-related groups like the Celiac Disease Foundation, we’ll also be posting celiac disease-related news and information here on our blog.