Celiac Disease

1. Celiac Disease causes inflammation in the small intestine due to an auto-immune response in which the immune system is triggered by "wheat gluten," an environmental factor that gets mistaken as a Pathogen. Rye and Barley antigens can also cause this immune response. As a result, this disrupts the digestion process and causes symptoms such as gas and diarrhea. About 40% of the heritable risk can be attributed to the HLA Class II genes, but the other non-HLA genes have yet to be identified.

23andme tested the TT genotype and found that people who have this genotype are 1 to 1.49 times more likely to inherit Celiac disease.

2. One good reason for genetic testing is that it can reveal potential diseases/conditions that we may be prone to developing. Perhaps the best medicine is preventative medicine, so knowing what may lie ahead, can give us an advantage in that we can possibly avoid, prevent or mitigate the onset of any disease/condition that we may be susceptible to. One concern is that once you have a genetic reading, which may reveal some potential for a life threatening disease, and if it does, that can cause even more unnecessary stress (cortisol production). We may not be able to control what conditions await us int he future, so why worry about it now.

3. I would not do the free genetic test because if I find out that I will develop some life altering disease, I would most likely become depressed and I don't have any desire to live my life that way.