TOPIC GUIDES > Coeliac disease
Coeliac disease is a digestive disease that damages
the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from
food. People who have coeliac disease cannot tolerate a protein called
gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley.
When people with coeliac disease eat foods
containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small
intestine. Villi, which form the lining for the small intestine are
lost, and as nutrients from food are absorbed into the bloodstream
through these villi, a person can become malnourished, regardless of the
quantity of food eaten.
Coeliac disease is a genetic disease, meaning
that 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.
Coeliac disease explained
Diagnosis and symptoms
Treatment of coeliac disease
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