What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is primarily found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. People with celiac disease who eat foods containing gluten experience an immune reaction in their small intestines, causing damage to the inner surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients.
When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi—the tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine. Villi normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats
Who it Affects?
- Celiac Disease is one of the most widespread genetic disorders in the world — and yet the vast majority of people with celiac disease don't even know they have it.
- Celiac disease is a genetic disorder that is common in people of European descent. It is less common in Asians and Africans.
- In the United States, more than two million people have celiac disease
- 1 out of 100 Americans has celiac disease.