Grain is healthy and belongs to a balanced diet – but wheat, barley & Co. are not beneficial to every human being. On the contrary: Some people already have enough bite to eat, and the stomach hurts. They suffer from food intolerance. (Read here: How to change your diet). Gluten: When the body rebels The pain is triggered by the gluten, including gluten, which is mainly produced in cereals, from which bread and pasta are made. For example in wheat, rye, barley or spelled. But also baby food, ready meals, fruit yoghurts, chocolate, sausage or pizza can contain gluten – because the proteins are also used as flavors or stabilizers and are often only noted as an E-number on the package. Celiac Disease: When the stomach rebels Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which the so-called villi are damaged in the intestine. They no longer fulfill their function of further reducing nutrients and injecting nutrients into the bloodstream. The damage to the small intestine comes about because gluten activates various immune cells with appropriate predisposition. These then attack healthy intestinal tissue, as if they had to destroy infectious agents. As a result, the mucosal folds ignite and are repelled after six hours – before they have reached the actual size. The inside of the intestine gradually becomes flatter; Nutrients such as carbohydrates, vitamins or minerals can no longer be adequately absorbed. The result: In the long run, the body is under-supplied. Celiac disease: an old disease Celiac disease is a very old disease. First reports were already in the second century; the Dutchman Vincent Ketelear called it 1669 for the first time as "Sprouw" (Dutch: Mundaphten). From this developed the term "Sprue", as the adult's celiac disease used to be called. Today, gluten intolerance is one of the most common non-infectious intestinal diseases and can manifest itself in the first few months of life. Often, the symptoms also occur only in adulthood, estimates in this country are 80,000 adults affected – women about twice as often as men. The symptoms of celiac disease 90 percent of patients have diarrhea, 88 percent weight loss, but also suffer from flatulence, depression, nausea, joint pain or constipation. Then many atypical symptoms such as iron deficiency, frequent aphthous ulcers or hyperthyroidism may indicate celiac disease. Due to the atypical symptoms, it often happens that the right diagnosis takes years. Gluten-free for life Celiac disease is genetically determined and occurs frequently in families: children of those affected have an almost 15-fold risk. With familial disposition, it is recommended to have the blood tested for antibodies. Because possibly the celiac disease is already in the first phase, although the symptoms are not yet apparent. If the disease remains undetected, severe deficiency symptoms can result. In addition, the risk of developing colon cancer increases. Although there are already a lot of therapeutic approaches, celiac disease is not curable so far. The treatment of choice is still a gluten-free diet. Fortunately, if the disease is detected early enough, the mucous membrane will regenerate largely or even completely, and the symptoms will disappear completely.