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Essay on Celiac Disease

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Nature of the disease Celiac disease is a fairly common disease but is not very well known. Celiac disease, or celiac sprue, is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten (Hill, Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of celiac disease in children, 2011). Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. 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 (Hill, Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of celiac disease in children, 2011). The small intestine is responsible for absorbing food and nutrients. Thus, damage to the lining of …show more content…

The symptoms adults experience are much the same as the children experience without the stunning of growth and affect on puberty. Some adults having a mild form of the disease exhibit almost no symptoms. Others may experience a loss or gain in appetite, abdominal pain, bloating, gas or indigestion. In addition, other people have bothersome symptoms including diarrhea, weight loss, abdominal discomfort, and excessive gas caused by vitamin and nutrient deficiencies (The Mayo Clinic staff, 2011). If a person is not absorbing nutrients adequately, a blood test will detect this lack of nutrient absorption resulting in the decreased of iron absorption. Also, this inability to absorb certain nutrients may cause vitamin deficiencies. These deficiencies deprive the brain, peripheral nervous system, bones, liver and other organs of vital nourishment (Dugdale III, Longstreth, & Zieve, 2010). Causes The exact cause of celiac disease is not known, but scientists have found that it is genetic, meaning that if someone in your family has celiac then you have a high percent chance of having it too (The Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). Even though there is no known cause of this disease, scientists do know that in a person without celiac the

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