Group items tagged

important part of the digestive system is the small intestine, which is lined with villi (say: vil-eye).

celiac (say: see-lee-ak)

someone with celiac disease, the body starts damaging and destroying the villi. Without villi, the body can't absorb vitamins

and nutrients from food.

Gluten

Many kids are diagnosed with it when they're between 6 months and 2 years old. It makes sense because, at this time kids are getting their first taste of gluten in foods. For some people, the problems occur gradually and the symptoms may be terrible one week and not as bad the next. Because of this, some people aren't diagnosed with celiac disease until they're older. The problem is chronic, which means that although symptoms may come and go, people who have celiac disease will always have it. Someone with celiac disease may feel tired and could be irritable. Some also have skin rashes and mouth sores. The problem is sometimes mistaken for other digestive problems called inflammatory bowel disease or lactose intolerance. And in some cases, a kid won't have any symptoms and then will all of a sudden start having problems during a time of stress, such as after an injury.