{"id":5143,"date":"2019-06-24T17:26:09","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T17:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/acchumanbio\/chapter\/17-1-case-study-food-processing-3\/"},"modified":"2023-11-30T23:10:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T23:10:30","slug":"17-1-case-study-food-processing-3","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/acchumanbio\/chapter\/17-1-case-study-food-processing-3\/","title":{"raw":"15.1\u00a0Case Study: Food Processing","rendered":"15.1\u00a0Case Study: Food Processing"},"content":{"raw":" \r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4539\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"400\"]\"15.1.1 Figure 15.1.1 Bread \u2014 Are you a glutton for gluten?<\/em>[\/caption]\r\n

Case Study: Please Don\u2019t Pass the Bread<\/h1>\r\n<\/div>\r\nAngela and Saloni are college students who met in physics class. They decide to study together for their upcoming midterm, but first, they want to grab some lunch. Angela says there is a particular restaurant she would like to go to, because they are able to accommodate her dietary restrictions. Saloni agrees and they head to the restaurant.\r\n\r\nAt lunch, Saloni asks Angela what is special about her diet. Angela tells her that she can\u2019t eat [pb_glossary id=\"4541\"]gluten[\/pb_glossary]. Saloni says, \u201cMy cousin did that for a while because she heard that gluten is bad for you. But it was too hard for her to not eat bread and pasta, so she gave it up.\u201d Angela tells Saloni that avoiding gluten isn\u2019t optional for her \u2014 she has [pb_glossary id=\"4542\"]celiac disease[\/pb_glossary]. Eating even very small amounts of gluten could damage her [pb_glossary id=\"5969\"]digestive system[\/pb_glossary].\u00a0 It can be difficult for people living with celiac disease to find foods when eating out.\r\n\r\nYou have probably heard of gluten, but what is it, and why is it harmful to people with celiac disease? Gluten is a protein present in wheat and some other grains (such as barley, rye, and oats), so it is commonly found in foods like bread, pasta, baked goods, and many packaged foods, like the ones pictured in Figure 15.1.2.\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"618\"]\r\n\r\nFigure 15.1.2 Gluten is a protein present in foods like bread, pasta, and baked goods.<\/em>\r\n\r\nFor people with celiac disease, eating gluten causes an autoimmune reaction that results in damage to the small, finger-like [pb_glossary id=\"4543\"]villi[\/pb_glossary] lining the small intestine, causing them to become inflamed and flattened (see Figure 15.1.3). This damage interferes with the digestive process, which can result in a wide variety of symptoms including diarrhea, anemia, skin rash, bone pain, depression, and anxiety, among others. The degree of damage to the villi can vary from mild to severe, with more severe damage generally resulting in more significant symptoms and complications. Celiac disease can have serious long-term consequences, such as osteoporosis, problems in the nervous and reproductive systems, and the development of certain types of cancers.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_4544\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1024\"]\"15.1.2\" Figure 15.1.3 How celiac disease can affect the villi of the small intestine. Here, the villi on the right represent the expected structure of healthy villi. The villi on the bottom right are celiac-affected villi; inflammation has caused them to deform, reducing their ability to function efficiently, if at all.<\/em>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWhy does\u00a0celiac disease cause so many different types of symptoms and have such significant negative health consequences? As you read this chapter and learn about how the digestive system works, you will see just how important the villi of the small intestine are to the body as a whole. At the end of the chapter, you will learn more about celiac disease, why it can be so serious, and whether it is worth avoiding gluten for people who do not have a diagnosed medical issue with it.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n

Chapter Overview: Digestive System<\/span><\/h1>\r\n<\/header>\r\n
\r\n\r\nIn this chapter, you will learn about the digestive system, which processes food so that our bodies can obtain nutrients. Specifically, you will learn about:\r\n