Do you know what villus or villi are? Or for that matter, where they live and why are they important? To begin with, villus is the singular hair-like (also described as finger-like) projection. When there is more than one it is called villi and you want your small intestine to be covered with plenty of villi! Your intestine should be like a shag carpet of villi.

Your Small Intestine

Your small intestine is somewhere around 20-23 feet in length. The entire small intestinal tube is covered in villi. (pronounced: veal-I, that last I is a capital I that says it’s name.) Think 1970’s and wall to wall shag carpeting. Since your small intestine is a tube, it is a hairy tube of villi, a little more than just wall to wall. (Sorry if that image caused a shiver to run up and down your spine.)

The small intestine breaks down food by its motion of pushing it through the tube. There are muscles which help to move the food along. The official term for your food at this point is “chyme”. The contractions of these muscles roll, chop, mix and move the chyme back and forth. With each contraction, it breaks the chyme into smaller, absorbable pieces.

Villi At Work

The villi’s job is to help your already broken down food (aka bolus) absorb into your blood stream; to provide you with energy and the vitamins and nutrients your body needs to properly operate and stay healthy. The movement of the intestines turns the bolus into chyme and then the villi really get to work!

Each projectile is covered in a brush border, here there are enzymes that continue to break the food down, to be absorbed.  “The cells of the villi and another part of the small intestine, known as the crypts, transport food from the digestive tract into the bloodstream, where they can be used by the body. The villi aid in absorption by increasing the surface area of the intestine and contain specialized cells which transport different types of nutrients into the blood.” The Importance of Villi and the Small Intestine to the Digestion of Nutrients

Villi and Enzymes

The main job of your villi, is to produce enzymes that make your food absorbable and guide it to your blood stream where it can really do your body good! These enzymes primarily break down proteins and carbohydrates.

I loved the way it was described at a conference I attended, but I haven’t been able to find a source that explains it the same way. So, this is my understanding from what I heard at the conference.

*I am not a doctor. Always do your own research and consult with a trained medical professional!

The top part of the villi has the enzyme that breaks down lactose. This is the first part of the villi to become damaged with celiac disease or other conditions that can damage celiac. It also explains why so many have lactose intolerance with celiac disease. The next section of the villi has the enzyme that breaks down sugar.  Finally, the last section of the villi, closest to the intestinal lining, has the enzyme that breaks down fats.

The more damage you have the less you can absorb.

Damage happens in patches which is why it is important for doctors to take many biopsies when testing. Damage is also microscopic, unless it is severe. It isn’t enough to “look”, biopsies need to be done for accurate testing. A biopsy can tell your doctor (and you) how severe the damage is.

Some people feel great, shortly after going gluten free. For others, it can take as long as 5 years! If you have been living with malabsorption for a long time, it’s going to take a while to get feeling better and catch up on lost nutrients.

You can see why so many conditions and problems happen because of the villi damage. Your body becomes unbalanced with the lack of nutrients that are able to make their way to where your body needs them. Opening up the risk for more problems due to lack of proper nutrition. This is why celiac disease is a multi-system disease and so many other conditions tend to go with it. (Diabetes and Celiac Disease, Associated Autoimmune Diseases)

 

Damaged Villi and The Troubles They Cause

You would think that there would be enough of these guys to handle absorption properly when some are damaged, but that isn’t the case. Damaged villi results in poor absorption, not being able to properly break down chyme to usable vitamins and nutrients, inflammation, and malnutrition. Besides all of this, you are more likely to have a wide range of symptoms as well as a host of other health issues caused by malnutrition. (Could Gluten Be Causing Your Health Problems?)

About symptoms

Only about 10% of those with celiac disease have the “typical symptoms”. Children are more likely to have “typical symptoms”: diarrhea, constipation, combination of the two, gut pain, etc. Most people have symptoms that are not necessarily related to the GI tract. I fully believe the reason there are soooo many symptoms for this disease (about 200) is because how your body reacts, depends on the damage to the villi, where in the intestines the damage is happening, and how much.

We may be family, but we are not the same

Don’t expect to see the same symptoms in families. My cousin had chronic issues with diarrhea, constipation and DH (dermatitis herpetiformis) Whereas my biggest symptom was chronic hives! All but one of my daughters had slow growth. (Which I also had as a small child, as well as, stunted growth.) Another one of my daughters has a lot of enamel defects in her teeth.

*I am not a doctor. Always do your own research and consult with a trained medical professional!

Villi isn’t short for villain

Villi is a victim to the reaction some people have to gluten. Gluten, in case you didn’t already know, is the protein found in wheat, rye, barley and some oats (through cross-contamination). (There are a few other grains in this gluten group and you can find a full list at the link above. Or check out this post on gluten free grains.)

Of course, gluten is only a villain if your body can’t handle it. So, with that in mind, I say:

Save your villi, go gluten free!

The good news is that villi can grow back when on the gluten free diet. However, DO NOT go gluten free before all testing is done! The villi can heal quickly making it difficult to diagnosis once a person goes gluten free. Also, there need to be several biopsies since the damage happens in patches.

“The amount of time it takes the villi to heal themselves is highly variable. It can take from 1-2 weeks or several years for most. Unfortunately, complete healing never occurs for some.” — University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center 

(If you have celiac it is necessary to be gluten free. There are other medical conditions that respond well to the gluten free diet and therefore, also need to be gluten free. If you are healthy without going gluten free, DO NOT go gluten free. A gluten free diet offers few benefits for those who do NOT need to be gluten free. Your villi will not suffer, unless you have celiac disease. Your gut will be gloriously healthy if you don’t have a medical condition that necessitates the removal of gluten.)