The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports as many as 3 million Americans have celiac disease, an autoimmune condition that damages the small intestinal lining in response to eating gluten. (gluten.lovetoknow.com)
It has long been understood that H. pylori bacteria are the major cause of peptic ulcers (painful sores in the stomach and small intestinal lining), and it is beginning to be suspected that they are involved in GERD. (mindbodygreen.com)
The condition is autoimmune in nature, which means gluten doesn't cause the damage directly; instead, your immune system's reaction to the gluten protein spurs your white blood cells to mistakenly attack your small intestinal lining. (verywellhealth.com)