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HOUGHTON -- It's an American pastime, picking up pizza after work to take home and enjoy.  But what if you couldn't eat wheat, or more specifically, gluten, the protein found in wheat, barley and rye?

That's the case for three million Americans, like Jodi Lehman Chassell, who we met at Studio Pizza for lunch.

Lehman was diagnosed five years ago with Celiac disease, an auto-immune deficiency that prevents her body from absorbing gluten.

"In the beginning, I used a lot of tortilla chips," said Lehman.  "I used apple slices in place of crackers to eat cheese, and I used lettuce for wraps instead of bread."

Still , she can meet her friends that also have an intolerance to gluten, for lunch at the Houghton restaurant.   The pizza crust is made using corn flour.

A few other restaurants have also started to offer gluten-free options, like the Conglomerate Café in Calumet, which has five sweets and two gluten-free breads.

Betsy Ely-Brown wonders if Celiac disease is what made her sick last winter.  The hereditary condition runs in her family.  She's been getting tips, recipes and grocery lists from Lehman and other gluten-free friends.  Ely-Brown says while most gluten-free food tastes great, some doesn't.

"I licked the batter and it was terrible because it was grainy," said Ely-Brown.  "It wasn't fluffy and soft like cookie batter is."

But eliminating gluten is the only treatment for the disease, according to Melanie Tiura, a registered dietician at Portage Health, who says it reduces the body's ability to absorb nutrients.

"In the country of Finland, their statistics are about one in every 100 persons have this intolerance," said Tiura.  "Our culture, being so closely linked with the Finnish genes, we see it here probably at higher rates than you may see in other areas."

Tiura says many people with Celiac disease don't know it because the symptoms are similar to other things.  They include weight loss, diarrhea, gastro-intestinal discomfort, iron deficiency, depression, constipation, anemia, difficulty concentrating and irritability.

She says a blood test can determine if antibodies are present, followed by an intestinal biopsy.

"It does make the diagnosis difficult," Tiura said.  "In which case a lot of people think, maybe I should just go on a gluten-free diet and see what happens.  But the down side of that is that you truly don't know if that's the issue, because you can't test anymore."

Both Tiura and Lehman said it's one of the easiest diseases to combat because people can alter their diet to get their bodies back on track.

"It changed how I felt completely," Lehman said.  "I used to be tired and had achy joints.  I have my energy back.  I have my life back."