What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac disease (CD) is a hereditary, chronic, autoimmune disorder in which the body's response to certain toxic grain proteins (gluten) causes damage to the lining of the small intestine, interfering with proper food absorption. The toxic proteins are called "gluten". What does this mean? Essentially the body is attacking itself everytime a person with celiac consumes gluten. Do I have celiac disease?
Celiac disease is triggered by consumption of the protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. Note about oats When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the fingerlike villi of the small intestine. When the villi become damaged, the body is unable to absorb nutrients into the bloodstream, which can lead to malnourishment and other complications.
Left untreated, people with celiac disease can develop further complications such as other autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, anemia, infertilty and lymphoma. Celiac disease is also a genetic disease, meaning it runs in families. Family members should consider being screened for CD.
Developing celiac disease requires three things: a genetic predisposition, ingestion of gluten, and a trigger to start the abnormal immune system response. Some examples of "triggers" include puberty, menopause, surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infections and stress.
For more information about celiac disease, download a PDF brochure from the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.
