September 25, 2025 • 10 mins
When most people think of celiac disease, they picture stomach pain, bloating, or running to the bathroom. But what if I told you that you could have celiac — and serious intestinal damage — without any stomach symptoms at all?
It’s called Silent Celiac, and it’s far more common than you might think. Today, I’ll walk you through what Silent Celiac is, how it shows up in the body, and why it’s so important not to overlook.
And stick around to the end, because I’ll share the surprising way Silent Celiac showed up in my own journey.
Come join us in our free Facebook Community, The Gluten Free Engineer.
It’s a space where you can connect with others living gluten-free, ask questions, swap tips and recipes, and get support from people who truly get it. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or a seasoned gluten-free pro, you’ll feel right at home.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carrie Saunders (00:00):
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode this podcast is based onmy personal experiences and
isn't medical advice.
When most people think ofceliac disease, they picture
stomach pain, bloating orrunning to the bathroom.
But what if I told you that youcould have celiac and serious
intestinal damage without anystomach symptoms at all?
(00:21):
It's called silent celiac andit's far more common than you
might think, and a lot of peoplehave never heard of it before.
Today, I'll walk you throughwhat silent celiac is, how it
shows up in the body and whyit's so important not to
overlook.
And stick around to the end,because I'll share the
surprising way silent celiacshowed up in my own gluten-free
journey.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer podcast.
(00:43):
I'm your host, Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between, to
rebuild a life I love.
(01:04):
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
(01:25):
Today we're talking about silentceliac, what it is and how to
look for it.
So silent celiac is havingintestinal damage but no obvious
digestive symptoms.
So it's basically what itsounds like you have celiac, but
you don't know you have it.
It's really hard to detect.
Many people don't get diagnosedwith this because they don't
fit the general picture of whatceliac symptoms usually are,
(01:47):
which include digestive issues.
So those people that haveceliac and don't know it might
fall into this category.
It's pretty typical for them tofall in this category and we'll
talk about why here in a moment.
But first let's talk about whatdoes silent celiac look like?
This can look like symptomssuch as fatigue, brain fog,
(02:07):
anemia or osteoporosis or bonedensity issues, skin rashes such
as dermatitis herpetiformisthat's a really hard word to
pronounce for me.
It could be mood disorders likeanxiety, depression, anger
issues just really kind of notfeeling like yourself inside
(02:28):
Could also be fertility issues,miscarriages or other
female-related issues down there.
For kids, it can be delayedgrowth or delayed puberty.
It also can be very underweight.
For children, it can beconstipation for children
instead of diarrhea as a typicalsign for celiac disease in kids
(02:49):
.
So why is silent celiacdangerous?
I mean, you may have guessed italready, because it still
causes damages to your smallintestine and your villi and you
don't even know that you'rehaving it.
You don't know that you haveceliac because it's basically
being silent and having thenon-typical symptoms or the
(03:10):
non-classic symptoms in it andthis damage is going to cause
poor nutrition absorption andlong-term complications.
It also can increase the riskof autoimmune diseases and
certain cancers if untreated.
So let's go back to somemalnutrition issues that we're
talking about here.
(03:30):
There is somebody that we knewin our family who was diagnosed
with anemia and was so anemicthat she would many times just
faint and pass out from heranemia Over time.
One of my children was seeingthese clues as well as some
other clues, and he told her hewas like I think you might
(03:53):
actually have a celiac andtalked to her about it and
talked about the silent type ofceliac symptoms and what that
means.
And she actually went to herparents and then they decided to
get her tested for celiacdisease.
Turned out she actually hadceliac disease.
So I want to encourage you thatif you have some of these
silent celiac symptoms, it maybe worth just double checking,
(04:18):
just in case.
Of course it can be somethingelse.
That's the problem with celiacdisease it's so easy to
misdiagnosis something elsebecause the symptoms from celiac
cross over with many otherailments.
But it's definitely worth acheck and it's many times not
the first thing that a doctorwill think of checking,
especially when you're nothaving digestive issues at the
(04:39):
same time.
And that leads us into why itgets missed.
Doctors typically look forclassic stomach symptoms.
They don't realize that theseother symptoms could be a sign
of celiac.
They may not be checking yourvitamin levels to see if you're
deficient in it, which is also agreat sign for celiac disease.
And many patients will dismissthe fatigue or anemia as
(05:02):
unrelated.
This person, for example, thatI gave my story just completely
dismissed.
It just thought that was just.
Her body didn't process ironand it wasn't getting you know
the iron nutrients it needed.
It had no idea it was celiacthat was causing the nutrition
deficiencies that were causingthe anemia.
Also, you might get negativetests if gluten-free before you
(05:27):
get the test for celiac.
So note that in episode 36, Italk even more about why you
might get a negative test forceliac, but you might still have
it.
So make sure you listen to thatepisode if you haven't already.
It talks about the differentblood tests, what they mean and
who they're most applicable for.
(05:47):
Obviously, we want to bechecking with our doctor with
all of this.
I cannot give medical advice.
I can just give experientialknowledge to our listeners.
So make sure you're talking toyour doctor and making sure
you've got the right blood test.
If you still suspect celiacdisease but you've got a
negative one, there's alsobiopsies.
You can get confirmation mostof the time via biopsy.
(06:10):
And then if you have a familyhistory, if you have a direct
relative that has celiac, you'regoing to have a higher risk of
actually having it yourself,because it is a genetic disorder
.
It is something passed downgeneration to generation.
So it's a great idea to screeneveryone that is directly
(06:30):
related to somebody that hasceliac, even without symptoms,
because, as you can see bylistening to this episode, you
can have celiac without havingthat typical digestive issues
with it.
And then I want to encourageyou if you found this episode
helpful and eye-opening, youmight want to subscribe to our
newsletter.
We send that out about everyother week right now.
(06:51):
I share gluten-free tips, safeproduct finds and personal
stories to help you navigateyour gluten-free life with more
confidence.
You can sign up for that attheglutenfreeengineercom, Find
our recipes there as well as anyof our other resources to make
your life easier for gluten-free.
And then I want to talk aboutmy bonus tip before we
(07:13):
completely wrap up.
Today, silent Celiac actuallyshowed up also in my own history
.
I did not have at first veryconsistent digestive issues
until I went off gluten and thenit was very obvious every time
I ate gluten that was causingdigestive distress.
And why I didn't is because Iwas continually eating it.
I was eating it all the time.
So you know, sometimes I wouldswing one way to the other as
(07:37):
far as digestive issues, and itwas never really correlated with
a direct meal.
It's kind of hard to correlatea direct meal with digestive
issues unless you've completelyeliminated that food and then
add it back in like weeks later.
So some of the things I had is Ihad brain fog, I had fatigue, I
had nutrition deficienciesnutrient deficiencies.
(07:57):
I have low bone density.
I got diagnosed at age 37 withosteopenia, so basically the
disease is before osteoporosis.
So now I have to really takecare of my bone health, to make
sure and to minimize my risk offracture and getting
osteoporosis.
And it wasn't until I learnedthat these can be signs of
(08:19):
celiac that I did.
I put the pieces of the puzzletogether.
So, even though I, you know,didn't always have major gut
issues, I had no idea I hadceliac, but these other signs
and symptoms were there.
I had major mood issues insideof me and I had to really
control that and try not to letthese anger issues come out of
(08:42):
me, because that's not who I was, but it was who I was becoming
internally after years and yearsand years of being undiagnosed
with celiac.
So sometimes these things aregradual.
Sometimes they'll come upon yougradually.
So don't feel like.
Well, I didn't react stronglywhen I was a kid, so why am I
reacting strongly now?
Well, that's probably becauseyour body's been damaged over a
(09:02):
long period of time and now it'sstarting to wreak havoc on your
body and your whole, all ofyour other systems.
So just because your stomachisn't hurting, it doesn't mean
that you don't have celiac oryou could have a silent celiac.
Obviously there are otherthings that could be going on
too.
So we always want to bechecking with our doctor, but I
like to let people know aboutsilent celiac because a lot of
(09:24):
people don't realize it, and mygoal is to help people who do
actually have celiac getdiagnosed earlier, sooner, so
that they can feel so muchbetter and have a much more
fulfilling life.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
(09:46):
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode.
And we will see you next week.
(10:07):
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode this podcast is based onmy personal experiences and
isn't medical advice.
When most people think ofceliac disease, they picture
stomach pain, bloating orrunning to the bathroom.
But what if I told you that youcould have celiac and serious
intestinal damage without anystomach symptoms at all?
(00:21):
It's called silent celiac andit's far more common than you
might think, and a lot of peoplehave never heard of it before.
Today, I'll walk you throughwhat silent celiac is, how it
shows up in the body and whyit's so important not to
overlook.
And stick around to the end,because I'll share the
surprising way silent celiacshowed up in my own gluten-free
journey.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer podcast.
(00:43):
I'm your host, Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between, to
rebuild a life I love.
(01:04):
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
(01:25):
Today we're talking about silentceliac, what it is and how to
look for it.
So silent celiac is havingintestinal damage but no obvious
digestive symptoms.
So it's basically what itsounds like you have celiac, but
you don't know you have it.
It's really hard to detect.
Many people don't get diagnosedwith this because they don't
fit the general picture of whatceliac symptoms usually are,
(01:47):
which include digestive issues.
So those people that haveceliac and don't know it might
fall into this category.
It's pretty typical for them tofall in this category and we'll
talk about why here in a moment.
But first let's talk about whatdoes silent celiac look like?
This can look like symptomssuch as fatigue, brain fog,
(02:07):
anemia or osteoporosis or bonedensity issues, skin rashes such
as dermatitis herpetiformisthat's a really hard word to
pronounce for me.
It could be mood disorders likeanxiety, depression, anger
issues just really kind of notfeeling like yourself inside
(02:28):
Could also be fertility issues,miscarriages or other
female-related issues down there.
For kids, it can be delayedgrowth or delayed puberty.
It also can be very underweight.
For children, it can beconstipation for children
instead of diarrhea as a typicalsign for celiac disease in kids
(02:49):
.
So why is silent celiacdangerous?
I mean, you may have guessed italready, because it still
causes damages to your smallintestine and your villi and you
don't even know that you'rehaving it.
You don't know that you haveceliac because it's basically
being silent and having thenon-typical symptoms or the
(03:10):
non-classic symptoms in it andthis damage is going to cause
poor nutrition absorption andlong-term complications.
It also can increase the riskof autoimmune diseases and
certain cancers if untreated.
So let's go back to somemalnutrition issues that we're
talking about here.
(03:30):
There is somebody that we knewin our family who was diagnosed
with anemia and was so anemicthat she would many times just
faint and pass out from heranemia Over time.
One of my children was seeingthese clues as well as some
other clues, and he told her hewas like I think you might
(03:53):
actually have a celiac andtalked to her about it and
talked about the silent type ofceliac symptoms and what that
means.
And she actually went to herparents and then they decided to
get her tested for celiacdisease.
Turned out she actually hadceliac disease.
So I want to encourage you thatif you have some of these
silent celiac symptoms, it maybe worth just double checking,
(04:18):
just in case.
Of course it can be somethingelse.
That's the problem with celiacdisease it's so easy to
misdiagnosis something elsebecause the symptoms from celiac
cross over with many otherailments.
But it's definitely worth acheck and it's many times not
the first thing that a doctorwill think of checking,
especially when you're nothaving digestive issues at the
(04:39):
same time.
And that leads us into why itgets missed.
Doctors typically look forclassic stomach symptoms.
They don't realize that theseother symptoms could be a sign
of celiac.
They may not be checking yourvitamin levels to see if you're
deficient in it, which is also agreat sign for celiac disease.
And many patients will dismissthe fatigue or anemia as
(05:02):
unrelated.
This person, for example, thatI gave my story just completely
dismissed.
It just thought that was just.
Her body didn't process ironand it wasn't getting you know
the iron nutrients it needed.
It had no idea it was celiacthat was causing the nutrition
deficiencies that were causingthe anemia.
Also, you might get negativetests if gluten-free before you
(05:27):
get the test for celiac.
So note that in episode 36, Italk even more about why you
might get a negative test forceliac, but you might still have
it.
So make sure you listen to thatepisode if you haven't already.
It talks about the differentblood tests, what they mean and
who they're most applicable for.
(05:47):
Obviously, we want to bechecking with our doctor with
all of this.
I cannot give medical advice.
I can just give experientialknowledge to our listeners.
So make sure you're talking toyour doctor and making sure
you've got the right blood test.
If you still suspect celiacdisease but you've got a
negative one, there's alsobiopsies.
You can get confirmation mostof the time via biopsy.
(06:10):
And then if you have a familyhistory, if you have a direct
relative that has celiac, you'regoing to have a higher risk of
actually having it yourself,because it is a genetic disorder
.
It is something passed downgeneration to generation.
So it's a great idea to screeneveryone that is directly
(06:30):
related to somebody that hasceliac, even without symptoms,
because, as you can see bylistening to this episode, you
can have celiac without havingthat typical digestive issues
with it.
And then I want to encourageyou if you found this episode
helpful and eye-opening, youmight want to subscribe to our
newsletter.
We send that out about everyother week right now.
(06:51):
I share gluten-free tips, safeproduct finds and personal
stories to help you navigateyour gluten-free life with more
confidence.
You can sign up for that attheglutenfreeengineercom, Find
our recipes there as well as anyof our other resources to make
your life easier for gluten-free.
And then I want to talk aboutmy bonus tip before we
(07:13):
completely wrap up.
Today, silent Celiac actuallyshowed up also in my own history
.
I did not have at first veryconsistent digestive issues
until I went off gluten and thenit was very obvious every time
I ate gluten that was causingdigestive distress.
And why I didn't is because Iwas continually eating it.
I was eating it all the time.
So you know, sometimes I wouldswing one way to the other as
(07:37):
far as digestive issues, and itwas never really correlated with
a direct meal.
It's kind of hard to correlatea direct meal with digestive
issues unless you've completelyeliminated that food and then
add it back in like weeks later.
So some of the things I had is Ihad brain fog, I had fatigue, I
had nutrition deficienciesnutrient deficiencies.
(07:57):
I have low bone density.
I got diagnosed at age 37 withosteopenia, so basically the
disease is before osteoporosis.
So now I have to really takecare of my bone health, to make
sure and to minimize my risk offracture and getting
osteoporosis.
And it wasn't until I learnedthat these can be signs of
(08:19):
celiac that I did.
I put the pieces of the puzzletogether.
So, even though I, you know,didn't always have major gut
issues, I had no idea I hadceliac, but these other signs
and symptoms were there.
I had major mood issues insideof me and I had to really
control that and try not to letthese anger issues come out of
(08:42):
me, because that's not who I was, but it was who I was becoming
internally after years and yearsand years of being undiagnosed
with celiac.
So sometimes these things aregradual.
Sometimes they'll come upon yougradually.
So don't feel like.
Well, I didn't react stronglywhen I was a kid, so why am I
reacting strongly now?
Well, that's probably becauseyour body's been damaged over a
(09:02):
long period of time and now it'sstarting to wreak havoc on your
body and your whole, all ofyour other systems.
So just because your stomachisn't hurting, it doesn't mean
that you don't have celiac oryou could have a silent celiac.
Obviously there are otherthings that could be going on
too.
So we always want to bechecking with our doctor, but I
like to let people know aboutsilent celiac because a lot of
(09:24):
people don't realize it, and mygoal is to help people who do
actually have celiac getdiagnosed earlier, sooner, so
that they can feel so muchbetter and have a much more
fulfilling life.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
(09:46):
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode.
And we will see you next week.
(10:07):
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.