What is celiac disease?

Celiac disease is a disorder that causes problems in your intestines when you eat gluten, which is in wheat, rye, barley and oats. Gluten is poison to people with celiac disease.

Celiac disease runs in the family. You inherited the tendency to get this disease from your parents. If 1 member of your family has celiac disease, about 1 out of 10 other members of your family is likely to have it. You may have this tendency for a while without getting sick. Then something like severe stress, physical injury, infection, childbirth or surgery can "turn on" your celiac disease.