What is Celiac Disease, or Sprue?
Celiac Disease, also known as Sprue, Non-Tropical Sprue, Celiac Sprue, Coeliac, Coeliac Sprue, Gluten Intolerance and Gluten Enteropathy, is a hereditary, autoimmune disorder in which damage to the small intestine takes place when someone who is predisposed to it, consumes too much “gluten” over a period of time! Gluten is an elastic, rubbery protein, found in wheat, rye, barley and oat grains. The small intestine, where the problem is found, is made up of (1) the duodenum, which receives pancreatic enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver and contains tiny, fingerlike protrusions called villi and even smaller ones called microvilli, which allow for greater absorption of nutrients and (2) the jejunum and the ileum, which are largely responsible for the absorption of fats and other nutrients. When the villi and the microvilli become damaged by the constant ingestion of “gluten,” or more specifically the protein’s core, “gliadin,” people who are predisposed to Celiac become maln
