Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy:
The Scientific Term for Gluten Sensitivity

Gluten-sensitive enteropathy is the term used by medical experts and scientists to describe what is more commonly known as gluten sensitivity. But only when the sensitivity is in the intestines: it doesn’t include a gluten allergy, as “enteropathy” refers to the intestines.

The condition can range from mild inflammation of the cells of the intestinal wall to an extreme, potentially fatal condition known as Celiac Disease. The only treatment at present is a diet of gluten free foods.

I’ve also heard the term gluten-sensitive enteropathy used

as a synonym for Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease is spelled Coeliac Disease outside North America, and is also known as celiac sprue, non-tropical sprue, or just plain sprue. It’s an autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakes the body’s own cells for an invader and attacks them when gluten is present.

It results in damage to the walls of the intestine, which prevents absorption of nutrients and is the cause of symptoms that vary from person to person.

Read more about Celiac Disease here.