Question

Celiac disease is a disorder triggered in susceptible individuals by exposure to gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten is also often added to food products to improve their texture. This use of gluten in unexpected places makes it hard to avoid. When someone with celiac disease ingests gluten, they may experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, or other acute gastrointestinal symptoms. Over time, they may show weight loss, fatigue, or mood changes. There are a variety of symptoms associated with celiac disease and the abnormal response to gluten is thought to contribute to many seemingly unrelated medical issues in celiac patients, including arthritis and infertility.

Although celiac disease is a very real disorder, the “gluten-free diet” has become something of a health fad. As you learn more about good nutrition, it’s important to keep in mind that just because something is bad for a particular segment of the population, it doesn’t mean it’s bad for everyone.  

For your assignment, submit a Word or PDF document that answers the following questions:

1. Explain the role of both digestion and absorption in acquiring nutrients from the food you eat.

2. From your study above, you know that celiac disease damages the villi of the small intestine. Use your explanation in question 1 and the information in the above references to explain why patients with undiagnosed celiac disease may develop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia (from lack of iron) or osteoporosis (from lack of calcium).

3. Would the deficiencies in question 2 be considered primary or secondary nutrient deficiencies? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

No 1. Both digestion and absorption are necessary for acquiring nutrients from food.

Digestion

It is a process by which food is broken down into smaller parts which help in traveling and absorption of the food particles. In the human body, there are two types of digestion occur.

A. Mechanical digestion

B. Chemical digestion

Our muscles help in mechanical digestion. When we eat food, we chewed it to make it smaller for easy swallowing then in stomach the three-layer of muscle helps in breaking down of food into very smaller particles.

Our body secrets digestive enzymes whic also helps in the breakdown of food into smaller particles, it is called chemical digestion.

Absorption

Digestion breaks foods into very smaller particles which is very necessary for absorption. Tinny hair-like structures in the small intestine called villi and microvilli increase surface area and help in absorption through active transport or diffusion.

Blood capillaries and lymph vessels are present in villi which helps to transport absorbed nutrients into every cell.

No 2.

Celiac disease damages the villi of the small intestine which affects absorption because of 95% of nutrients absorbed in the small intestine. Due to damage to villi, there is also reduced the surface area of the small intestine which increases the waste of nutrients.

These patients may develop anemia and osteoporosis due to decreased absorption of iron and calcium.

No 3.

The deficiency of iron and calcium stated in question number 2 is due to Celiac disease. It is called secondary nutrient deficiencies because there may be sufficient intake but due to the destruction of villi, the absorption is decreased.