Problems Associated with Celiac Disease and Lactose Intolerance

Celiac disease is a fairly common disease but is not very well known. Celiac disease, or celiac sprue, is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten (Hill, Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of celiac disease in children, 2011). Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. People with celiac disease who eat foods containing gluten experience an immune reaction in their small intestines, causing damage to the inner surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients (Hill, Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of celiac disease in children, 2011).

Lactose Intolerance Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest significant amounts of lactose, the predominant sugar of milk. This inability results from a shortage of the enzyme lactase, which is normally produced by the cells that line the small intestine. Lactase breaks down milk sugar into simpler forms that can then be absorbed into the bloodstream. When there is not enough lactase to digest the amount of lactose consumed, the results, although not usually dangerous, may be very distressing. While not all persons deficient in lactase have symptoms, those who do are considered to be lactose intolerant.

Secondary to the discussion post assignment for this week, I learned about lactose intolerance. When an individual drinks milk, an enzyme lactase, breaks down the lactose in the milk into two monosaccharides glucose and galactose which the individual then uses as energy for the body (Open Learning Initiative, 2015, pg.93). However, numerous individuals lack the necessary lactase needed to properly break down the lactose in their small intestine, resulting in bacteria in the colon breaking

Celiac disease seems to be on an up rise today. You now walk into grocery stores and restaurants and see gluten-free food everywhere. Thankfully, for the celiac disease community, life has become a little easier with these accommodations. When most people hear celiac disease many just think gluten-free diets, but they do not realize that celiac disease can affect all parts of the body and mind, or that the disease has a higher prevalence in women. It is a new lifestyle that many have to take on. In the next few pages, I will discuss the affects that this disease has on the body systems, the lifestyle changes many make when diagnosed with celiac disease, and the importance of educating those who are dealing with the disease on a day to day basis. I also will discuss information from two articles which focus in on the direct affects that the disease takes on women living with it, and the lifestyle changes that are necessary to manage the symptoms.

Enzymes are a very important to the biological process. Enzymes help break down food and are essential in helping convert that food to energy. Enzymes have a single function, which makes them unique and need specific conditions in order for the reaction to occur. Every function in an organism has its own unique enzyme (What are enzymes?). One important thing to know about enzymes is that they are proteins. According to rsc.org enzymes are efficient catalysts for biochemical reactions and they, “speed up reactions by providing an alternative reaction pathway of lower activation energy” (Enzymes).

Enzymes are an organic substance that are made up of polymers of amino acids that help the digestive system and metabolic processes in living organisms (Funk and Wagnalls, 2016). Enzymes are able

-Lactase deficiency is a deficiency in the enzyme that breaks down lactose. The causes of lactase deficiency include congenital defects, secondary lactase deficiency, and primary (acquired).

• Enzymes are involved in processes such as the breakdown of carbohydrates and converts them into energy for the body to use.

Malnutrition. Untreated celiac disease can lead to malabsorption, which in turn can lead to malnutrition. This occurs in spite of what appears to be an adequate diet. Because vital nutrients are lost in

Enzymes are biological catalysts, which accelerate the speed of chemical reactions in the body without being used up or changed in the process. Animals and plants contain enzymes which help break down fats, carbohydrates and proteins into smaller molecules the cells can use to get energy and carry out the processes that allow the plant or animal to survive. Without enzymes, most physiological processes would not take place. Hundreds of different types of enzymes are present in plant and animal cells and each is very specific in its function.

They need to be broken down into simple sugars (monosaccharides) then digested/absorbed. In order to do this, the small intestine produces an enzyme called lactase. What lactase does is attaches itself to the lactose molecule and breaks it down into glucose and galactose. These molecules aren’t as big or complicated so they’re easily absorbed by the small intestine and into the bloodstream. Lactose Intolerance is when the body doesn’t actually produce the lactase enzyme, so the lactose can’t be broken down and absorbed. People with Lactose intolerance usually opt to take lactaid pills. The way these lactaid pills work is they contain the enzyme lactase that is responsible for the breakdown of lactose. You take these pills with the lactase in them and then now since your body now has the enzyme in needs to break down and absorb the lactose proceeds to do so. What people have recently found was that the pills don’t actually work due to the acidity levels in the stomach. So when you take the lactaid pills, they don’t make a difference because your stomach acids destroy the pills before they can take affect. What my results in Table 1 found that this was actually correct because, when the acid was introduced into this experiment it in essence rendered the pills completely useless. In Table 2 we found that, this issue was in fact due to the acidity because when you remove the acid, each test we did came back positive. Meaning that lactose was successfully metabolized/broken down into glucose. If we try and take account the sources of error that may have occurred during this lab, we have to take into account that these pills are recommended to be taken with food. So that while the pill is put into your system the stomach acids don’t destroy it because there is food in your system that it is already focused on. So maybe if we had mimicked the

“Lactase is an enzyme that breaks down lactose, the sugar in milk. It is produced by the cells lining of the small intestine. Most people are born producing it, but often make less of it as they age, which causes lactose intolerance the symptoms for this include nausea, bloating, and diarrhea to name a few. This enzyme is produced

The best example of this problem is lactose intolerance - inability to digest lactose (milk sugar) which can cause bloating, pain and diarrhea. Often a temporary lactose intolerance arises following gastroenteritis.

When one with celiac disease ingests gluten, one’s body creates an automatic response that attacks the small intestine. Those attacks lead to destruction of the villi. Villi are fingerlike projections that help the body absorb nutrients and are line the small intestine. When the villi are destroyed, nutrients cannot be absorbed properly, which can lead to nutrient depletion in the body. Celiac disease mainly affects genetically predisposed people, meaning the disease is hereditary. (What is Celiac Disease, 1) “People with a first-degree relative with celiac disease (parent, child, sibling) have a 1 in 10 risk of developing celiac disease” (What is Celiac Disease, 1). Studies have shown that the disease affects only 1% of the United States population, and 97% of those who have it are undiagnosed (Bryan, 11). Those who are undiagnosed also have a greater risk of developing another autoimmune disorder (What is Celiac Disease,

Due to the fact that the side effects of celiac disease are very similar to that of many other diseases, Celiac disease is misdiagnosed very commonly for other diseases such as Chrone’s disease, diverticulitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc (Zuckerbrot). According to the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center, “At least 3 million people in our country are living with celiac disease-97% of them are undiagnosed” (Celiac Disease Facts and