What is (are) Celiac Disease ?
Celiac disease is an immune disorder in which people cannot tolerate gluten because it damages the inner lining of their small intestine and prevents it from absorbing nutrients. The small intestine is the tubeshaped organ between the stomach and large intestine. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley and occasionally in some products such as vitamin and nutrient supplements, lip balms, and certain medications.
                
The immune system is the body's natural defense system and normally protects the body from infection. However, when a person has celiac disease, gluten causes the immune system to react in a way that can cause intestinal inflammationirritation or swellingand long-lasting damage.
                
When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villithe tiny, fingerlike projections on the inner lining of the small intestine. Villi normally absorb nutrients from food and pass the nutrients through the walls of the small intestine and into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, people can become malnourished, no matter how much food they eat.