What is Celiac Disease?
What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac Disease(CD) is a auto-immune disease, that primarily affects the small intestine. That means when a individual with Celiac Disease consumes anything with gluten, the immune system attacks the body. The most damaging part gluten does to the body, is in the small intestine. The intestines have villi(little hairs) that coat the intestines to help absorb nutrients into the body. Nutrients from the food are absorbed into the bloodstream from these villi protrusions.
When a individual that has CD consumes gluten, the villi gets worn down. In some cases so much so, that the villi barely exist. Causing the individual to be malnourished, because the body isn’t absorbing nutrients. If CD goes untreated some conditions can occur further in life such as, osteoporosis, other auto-immune disorders, and even some types of cancer. The longer the individual goes without being diagnosed, the worst the damage can be done to the body. So staying on a 100% gluten-free diet is essential for individuals with Celiac Disease.
Synonyms: Coeliac Disease, Celiac Sprue, Non-tropical Sprue, and Gluten Enteropathy