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Copied from a web site so don't get too impressed. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/ Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in products we use every day, such as stamp and envelope adhesive, medicines, and vitamins. When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small intestine. The tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine are damaged or destroyed. Called villi, they normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, regardless of the quantity of food eaten. Because the body’s own immune system causes the damage, celiac disease is considered an autoimmune disorder. However, it is also classified as a disease of malabsorption because nutrients are not absorbed. Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease is a genetic disease, meaning it runs in families. Sometimes the disease is triggered—or becomes active for the first time—after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress. Symptoms of celiac disease may include one or more of the following: gas recurring abdominal bloating and pain chronic diarrhea constipation pale, foul-smelling, or fatty stool weight loss/weight gain fatigue unexplained anemia (a low count of red blood cells causing fatigue) bone or joint pain osteoporosis, osteopenia behavioral changes tingling numbness in the legs (from nerve damage) muscle cramps seizures missed menstrual periods (often because of excessive weight loss) infertility, recurrent miscarriage delayed growth failure to thrive in infants pale sores inside the mouth, called aphthous ulcers tooth discoloration or loss of enamel itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis A person with celiac disease may have no symptoms. People without symptoms are still at risk for the complications of celiac disease, including malnutrition. The longer a person goes undiagnosed and untreated, the greater the chance of developing malnutrition and other complications. Anemia, delayed growth, and weight loss are signs of malnutrition: The body is just not getting enough nutrients. Malnutrition is a serious problem for children because they need adequate nutrition to develop properly.
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