Welcome

Celiac Disease, or gluten intolerance, is a genetic autoimmune disease that is estimated to affect 1 of every 133 people in the U.S. Research indicates there are approximately 2.5 million people with celiac disease in the U.S., though only approximately 80,000 of those have been diagnosed.

Celiac Disease causes damage to the small intestine and malnourishment when people eat foods with gluten, found in wheat, rye, barley, malt, and possibly oats.

There are numerous celiac support groups across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and the U.S. National Institue of Health recently launched a Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign. The Internet has numerous support organizations and a lot of in-depth information about the disease.

It's a life-changing diagnosis made much easier with help from others going through the same experience, thus the creation of our group in Knoxville.

Celi-Act is sponsored by Children's Pediatric Gastroenterology, PC, located at East Tennessee Children's Hospital, but is open to anyone with celiac disease or their family members. We are ETN Celiac Support Chapter #120 of the national support group, Celiac Sprue Association.

Our group meets every other month, but the best way to communicate with the group is through the email list. We're a pretty informal bunch so feel free to join in and introduce yourself, ask questions, make suggestions. The link on the left will take you to the page you need to subscribe, unsubscribe, change your mail settings, or read past e-mails. Welcome!