Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/127015
COLON (LARGE INTESTINE): REABSORBING & ELIMINATION WHAT IS CELIAC DISEASE? Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. When people with celiac eat foods or use products containing gluten (a protein in wheat) their immune system responds by destroying the villi, and the person becomes malnourished. Celiac disease is genetic and the genes can be expressed or become active for the first time – after surgery, pregnancy, viral infection or severe emotional stress. The length of time a child was breast fed, the age a person started eating gluten-containing foods, the amount of gluten one eats, plays a role in when and how celiac appears. To diagnose celiac disease doctors will test blood for high levels of certain antibodies. Before being tested, one should continue to eat a diet that included foods with gluten, such as breads and pastas. If a person stops eating gluten-containing foods before being tested, the results may be negative even if the disease is present. The only treatment for celiac is a gluten-free diet. For most people, following this diet will stop symptoms, heal existing intestinal damage and prevent further damage. Improvement begins within days of starting the diet. The small intestine usually heals in 3 to 6 months in children, but it may take longer in adults. A healed intestine means a person now has villi that can absorb nutrients from food into the bloodstream. To stay well, people with celiac disease must avoid gluten for the rest of their lives. Page 18 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com Having travelled the length of the small intestine, the chyme arrives at the iliocecal valve, at the beginning of the large intestine (colon) in the lower right hand side of the abdomen. As the chyme enters the colon, it passes the appendix, a blind sac about the size of your little finger. The chyme travels up the ascending colon, across the transverse colon and down the descending colon at the back side of the body above the rectum. During the chyme's passage, the colon withdraws water from it leaving semisolid waste. The strong muscles of the rectum and anal canal hold back this waste until it is time to defecate.