CRYSTAL LAKE – Kim Kirchhoff is in severe pain soon after eating a food that contains gluten.

If the common protein is present in Kirchhoff’s lunch, for example, her immune system has an intense reaction and begins to attack the tissue in her small intestine.

Today, the 30-year-old Crystal Lake resident understands what is happening to her. She knows that she is among the 1-in-133 people worldwide who suffer from celiac disease – a digestive
disorder that damages the small intestine and interferes with the way the body absorbs nutrients from food.