Celiac disease, otherwise known as gluten intolerance, is a lifelong genetic and digestive disorder. People with celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten. Gluten, when ingested, causes damage to the small intestine. Damaged intestine cannot properly absorb nutrients necessary to living a healthy life and most often leads to malnutrition.
Genetic Disease:
· an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes
· also be caused by environmental factors - celiac disease is often triggered by surgery such as appendectomy, pregnancy and childbirth, viral infections, stress
· runs in families
Digestive Disease:
· an illness that affects the gastrointestinal tract which includes esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, colon and rectum
Other Names for Celiac Disease:
· celiac sprue
· gluten-sensitive enteropathy
· nontropical sprue
