Celiac disease causes problems in your intestines when you eat gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. If you have celiac disease, gluten damages your intestines and keeps your body from absorbing many of the nutrients from the food you eat. This includes vitamins, calcium, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and other important nutrients.

Celiac disease runs in families. If one person in your family has celiac disease, about one out of 10 other members of your family is likely to have it. Many times, irritable bowel syndrome is mistaken for celiac disease; some studies estimate this happens in up to 25% of cases. Precipitators of celiac disease include stress, a physical injury, an infection, childbirth, or surgery. Celiac disease can cause different problems at different times in life:

Infants with celiac disease may have stomach pain and diarrhea. They may have failure to thrive.

Young children may have stomach pain and nausea and may not eat as much as usual. They may not have enough iron in the blood, and they might get mouth sores or a skin rash.

Children may be irritable or clingy. They might not want to do things they would usually enjoy.

In later stages of the disease, children may become malnourished.

Teenagers may hit puberty late and be short. Celiac disease might cause some hair loss.

Adults with celiac disease might have a general feeling of poor health. They might be tired, irritable, or depressed, even if they have few intestinal problems.

People with celiac disease can have multiple symptoms, but just because a person may have symptoms doesn't necessarily mean they have the disease.

One serious illness that often occurs as a result of celiac disease is osteoporosis, which happens when calcium is lost from the bones; as well, about one in 20 adults with celiac disease has anemia. Lactose intolerance (trouble digesting dairy foods) also is common in patients of all ages with celiac disease; it usually disappears when they follow a gluten-free diet.

Celiac disease can be controlled by not eating any gluten. This is much easier said than done, though, because a lot of foods, and even medications, contain gluten. By following the right diet, however, you can fix the damage caused by celiac disease, but if you cheat on your diet, the damage will return, even if you don't feel sick right away.

To find out whether you have celiac disease, you'll need to see your doctor for a blood test. This test must be done before you begin a gluten-free diet. Your doctor may also do a stool test and perhaps even a biopsy of the intestine. The best confirmation of celiac disease, though, is if your symptoms go away when you follow a gluten-free diet.