Gluten intolerance or celiac disease can feel like it's ripping your digestive system to shreds or like it's causing no symptoms at all. Scientists aren't yet sure why people with the same level of gluten intolerance can have such varied responses to ingesting the protein, but one thing is clear: Whether you notice digestive symptoms or not, consuming gluten can cause serious, long-term intestinal damage. If left untreated, gluten intolerance can even be fatal.
Stomach Upset
Celiac disease causes digestive upset in some people -- especially children. Eating gluten can cause gas, bloating, nausea and abdominal pain. Some individuals experience diarrhea while others experience constipation. The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse points out that those with difficulty digesting gluten might have greasy and abnormally foul-smelling feces. All of the uncomfortable symptoms brought on by ingesting gluten can be severe or mild. They may happen regularly or only occasionally. Each person's body reacts differently to gluten.
Villi Damage
What makes gluten intolerance so deadly is the havoc it wreaks on your small intestine, which has a thin, hairlike coating of cells called villi. It's the villi's job to absorb nutrients from the things you eat and move them into your bloodstream. If you have a gluten intolerance, your digestive system attacks gluten and in the process, attacks and destroys your villi. Without healthy, properly functioning villi, your body doesn't absorb nutrients. The resultant malnutrition brings forth a whole host of problems, ranging from depression to osteoporosis.
Cancer
In extreme cases, long-term consumption of gluten in a gluten-sensitive individual increases risk of cancer. The most common form of cancer celiac patients are diagnosed with is intestinal lymphoma, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, but you're also at an increased risk of other cancers of the digestive system if you continue to eat gluten. You may also experience disorders, cancers or malfunctions in organs related to but not specifically a part of the digestive system, such as in your pancreas, kidneys and liver.
Healing Your Digestive System
While there's no cure for gluten intolerance or celiac disease, you can eliminate all of your symptoms and repair the damage to your intestines by religiously following a strict, permanent gluten-free lifestyle. The uncomfortable digestive and bowel symptoms you had will likely clear up within a few days. The intestinal damage to your villi will take anywhere from three months to a few years, depending on its severity, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. You must never eat gluten again in order to remain healthy and prevent damage to your digestive system.
