Malnutrition and Gluten

In order to understand the damage that Gluten can do to your body you need to learn a little about the intestine. Your intestine is lined with hair like structures that are known as villi. The villi protrude from lining of the small intestine so that their total surface area is increased. This maximises the amount of nutrients that they are able to absorb. When you have gluten intolerant the body treats gluten as a toxin. In the process of trying to rid itself of this toxin it damages the villi essentially flattening them out. These flattened villi are not able to fully absorb nutrients as a result. Nutrients such as vitamins and minerals are vital for your health and the correct functioning of your body.

The good thing is that this damage need not be permanent. If you remove gluten from your diet then your villi will grow back and you will be able to absorb these vitamins and minerals again