Celiac disease is a hereditary condition that affects your body's ability to tolerate gluten. When you consume gluten, you have an autoimmune response in the small intestine, causing numerous gastrointestinal symptoms. The autoimmune response causes damage to the villi in your small intestine. The length of time it takes for damage to occur to your villi varies depending on the severity of your reaction to gluten and your autoimmune response.
Gluten Intolerance
Celiac disease is a hereditary illness that affects one in every 133 people in the U.S. This condition involves sensitivity to the gluten protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. When you consume gluten, your body experiences an autoimmune response, damaging the villi in your small intestine, prompting bloating, gas, diarrhea and constipation. Over time this illness might lead to malnutrition, causing various nutrient deficiencies.
Villi
Villi are small, hair-like projections in your small intestine, shaped like tiny tongues. Their function is to increase the surface area of the small intestine, aiding in your intestine's ability to absorb nutrients. The total surface of your small intestine is the equivalent of approximately 547 to 656 yards. Each villus contains blood vessels and a lymph vessel, a vascular cell that carries lymph to your blood stream. When villi damage occurs, you are less able to absorb nutrients.
Effect of Gluten
Gluten causes an autoimmune reaction if you have celiac disease. This autoimmune reaction causes damaging to your villi, flattening them so they lose their finger-like appearance. The length of time that gluten damages villi in varies, as symptoms and autoimmune responses vary. However, in an animal study published in the February 1998 edition of the "Pediatric Allergy and Immunology" journal showed, damage to villi might begin as early as three hours after exposure to a food allergen, with atrophy occurring in as few as 24 hours.
Treatment
The only treatment for celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, is a gluten-free diet for life. Your intestinal villi start to regenerate themselves every three days, so this damage is short-lived once gluten is removed from your diet. In fact, some require as little as six months to fully heal. The length of time that it takes for you to recover fully depends on the presence of other conditions, the severity of your reaction to gluten and successful removal of all sources of gluten.
References
- “Pediatric Allergy and Immunology”; Time Course of Changes in the Intestinal Permeability...; Yasutoshi Sakamoto, et al.; February 2008
- University of Marlyand Center for Celiac Research: Frequently Asked Questions
- MedlinePlus: Celiac Disease
- Colorado State University; Villi, Crypts and the Life Cycle of Small Intestinal Enterocytes; R. Bowen
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse: Celiac Disease
- Science and Technology Digital Image Galleries: Small Intestine Villi
