What is celiac disease?

Celiac disease (CD), also known as gluten-sensitive enteropathy, is an inflammatory autoimmune disease in which eating gluten, a component of certain grains – (wheat, rye, and barley) – results in the destruction of the small intestine's villi, small fingerlike structures which are responsible for absorbing nutrients. When villi cannot absorb nutrients from food, malnutrition results, which can affect many of the body's organs and tissues, including the skin, bones, and teeth, the nervous system, and reproductive organs.

About 3 million Americans have problems digesting gluten, a disorder called celiac disease. Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains. Celiac disease causes poor digestion and absorption, resulting in diarrhea and unintentional weight loss. Some people think of celiac disease as an allergy to gluten; when these people eat gluten, an immune response occurs that prevents their digestive system from properly absorbing nutrients. Celiac disease runs in families, and women are more likely to be affected.

Individuals with celiac disease can’t tolerate specific proteins, collectively called “gluten” that are found in the grains, wheat, barley, and rye. When these individuals consume gluten, it triggers an inflammatory response in their bodies that damages the lining of the small intestine and interferes with the digestion and absorption of the nutrients in food.

This leads to numerous vitamin, minerals, and other nutrient deficiencies, as well as their corresponding short-term health problems, such as depression, anemia, abdominal pain, irritability, nausea, weight loss, diarrhea, and fatigue – to name a few. Over the long-term, complications such as osteoporosis, infertility, liver diseases, and intestinal cancers can occur. 

Celiac disease is a disease that causes an autoimmune reaction when people who have it eat gluten, the wheat protein. This reaction damages the small intestine, causing poor absorption of food and nutrients.

Celiac disease is an allergy to gluten, a substance found in wheat, rye, barley and sometimes oats that affects millions of Americans. Exposure to gluten in genetically susceptible individuals results in flattening of the villi in the small intestine, the fingerlike projections responsible for absorbing nutrients.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder where a person cannot digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Normally, the small intestine absorbs nutrients from food using wavy protrusions called villi, which transfer them to the bloodstream. With celiac disease, gluten damages the lining of the small intestine so that the villi lie flat, if they exist at all. Nutrients aren't able to be transferred to the rest of the body and instead leave the body through the stool. That puts the sufferer at risk for malnutrition, anemia, infertility, osteoporosis and cancer. Infants with celiac disease might demonstrate failure to thrive, but the disease often is misdiagnosed in adults. A study from 2009 says that celiac disease is roughly 4.5 times more common now than 50 years ago. Doctors use a blood test for certain antibodies to diagnose the disease. They also might do a biopsy to check for intestinal damage.

Celiac disease is a digestive disorder. When people with celiac disease eat food containing gluten, their bodies react by damaging the small intestine. Uncomfortable symptoms such as abdominal pain often occur. The damage to the small intestine also interferes with the body's ability to make use of the nutrients in food.

About 1% of the total population has celiac disease. It is more common in people with type 1 diabetes. An estimated 10% of people with type 1 also have celiac.

The only way to manage celiac disease is to completely avoid all foods that have gluten. Following a gluten-free diet will prevent permanent damage to your body and will help you feel better.

The most serious form of allergy to gluten, celiac disease, affects one in 100 people, or three million Americans, most of whom don’t know they have it. But milder forms of gluten sensitivity are even more common and may affect up to one-third of the American population.

The most significant health problem associated with gluten consumption is, technically, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, long known as celiac disease, celiac sprue, or non-tropical sprue. In this condition, the immune system mounts a response to gluten as if it were a dangerous invader, such as a germ. The resulting inflammation damages the intestinal lining, leading to malabsorption of diverse nutrients, including both vitamins and minerals. Adverse effects can be severe, ranging from abdominal discomfort, to the manifestations of nutrient deficiencies, to an itchy rash, and over time, increased risk of intestinal cancer. Unaddressed, the condition can be lethal.

Celiac disease is an intolerance to gluten, which is a protein found in foods that contain wheat, rye and barley. Your immune system begins to react to gluten as it would an infection, which causes damage to your intestines, leading to diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss. Once you are diagnosed with celiac disease and remove all gluten-containing foods from your diet, these symptoms almost always resolve completely.

Celiac disease, also known as celiac sprue or gluten intolerance, results from intolerance to a protein (gluten) present in wheat, barley and rye. Gluten in any amount is toxic to someone with celiac disease, and should never be deliberately consumed by sufferers.

Celiac disease, also called celiac sprue, is a digestive disorder that occurs when an individual's immune system overreacts to the protein gluten, or other proteins within gluten such as gliadin, found in grains including wheat, rye, barley, and to some degree, oats. When a patient with the disease eats food that contains gluten, the immune system's response damages the intestinal lining. This causes symptoms of abdominal pain and bloating after consuming gluten.

Additionally, complications, including poor absorption, may occur if the patient continues to eat gluten-containing foods. When the intestinal lining is damaged, patients have difficulty absorbing nutrients.

It has not been determined what triggers this reaction in celiac patients. However, celiac disease is associated with autoimmune disorders, such as lupus. Autoimmune disorders occur when the patient's immune system mistakenly identifies body cells as harmful invaders, such as bacteria. As a result, the immune cells in celiac patients attack the patient's intestinal cells.

Researchers at the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) estimate that one out of 133 people in the United States have the disease. Prevalence is even higher, one out of 22 people, among patients who have immediate family members (parent or sibling) who have the disease. This suggests that the disease may be inherited (passed down through families) in some cases.

Although there is currently no cure for celiac disease, the condition can be managed with a gluten-free diet. In general, patients who strictly follow a gluten-free diet can expect to live normal, healthy lives. Symptoms will subside in several weeks and patients will be able to absorb food normally once they avoid eating gluten. A dietician or certified nutritionist may help a patient with celiac disease develop a healthy diet. Patients with celiac disease may also find gluten-free cookbooks to be a helpful resource. Many products, including rice flour and potato flour, can be used as substitutes for gluten.

You should read product labels, and discuss all therapies with a qualified healthcare provider. Natural Standard information does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder, and its symptoms are triggered by dietary gluten. Gluten is a protein that is found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye, and oats, so most breads, cakes, cookies, crackers, and cereals contain gluten. But gluten can also be found in other foods, such as some broths, imitation bacon and seafood, processed meats, marinades, pasta, thickeners, and self-basting poultry.

In people with celiac disease, gluten damages the intestinal villi that line the upper part of the small intestine. The villi may be blunted or completely flattened when exposed to dietary gluten, interfering with their ability to absorb the nutrients the body needs.

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In celiac disease, the gluten in wheat and several other grains triggers an immune response that attacks the villi that carpet the inside of the small intestine. The classic symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea. Anemia, osteoporosis, and other conditions may occur because nutrients aren't absorbed properly if the villi are damaged.

Currently, the only way to treat celiac disease is to eliminate gluten from the diet. The villi do recover, but once celiac disease develops, the sensitivity to gluten is there for life. Even after a long hiatus, eating gluten again will trigger an immune response that can reinjure the villi.

Celiac symptoms don't always reflect intestinal inflammation. People with mild symptoms may have severely damaged villi. Continuing to eat gluten can lead to serious vitamin deficiencies, osteoporosis, refractory celiac disease (celiac disease when the intestine doesn't heal even if you avoid gluten), and even a higher risk for some cancers. For this reason, we recommend all patients with celiac disease, regardless of symptoms, keep to a strict gluten-free diet.

There are many more gluten-free foods available now than ever before. If you're bored with your diet, getting advice from a nutritionist with expertise in celiac disease and gluten-free eating might be helpful. There are dozens of Web sites devoted to celiac disease.

Also known as celiac sprue, celiac disease is a genetically based disorder that damages the small intestine and may result in debilitating symptoms. As many as one million Americans may have the disease, which clusters in families, primarily occurring in whites of European ancestry. It often goes undiagnosed.

When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten -- a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley -- their immune systems attack and destroy the tiny finger-like projections lining the small intestine. A simple blood test for higher-than-normal levels of specific antibodies is the first step in diagnosing the disease. If the test is positive, a biopsy of the small intestine, performed through a standard endoscope, can confirm the diagnosis. Treatment is straightforward: a gluten-free diet. Symptoms often improve within days, and the small intestine gradually returns to normal function.

Celiac disease is a lifelong (chronic) condition in which foods that contain gluten—proteins found in some grains (notably wheat, barley, rye, and triticale)—trigger an immune system response that is not normal and that damages the small intestine. The small intestine then does not absorb nutrients properly.

Celiac disease is treated by adopting a strict gluten-free diet.

Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, or nontropical sprue.

Symptoms of celiac disease, when they occur, include lack of energy, weight loss or failure to grow, abdominal bloating or cramps, diarrhea, and constipation. Children may vomit and be irritable much of the time. Adults may also have fertility problems or depression but are more likely than children to have mild or no symptoms.

When people with celiac disease choose to eat gluten, they trigger an abnormal immune system response even when they do not notice any symptoms. The immune system response damages the small intestine. If people with celiac disease continue to eat foods with gluten, it may lead to complications, such as osteoporosis, lymphoma, anemia, or intestinal cancer.