It is believed that villi regrows from 6 to 12 months. Do we know how fast it's being destroyed though? I guess it depends on a few factors, but do we have any idea?

[heyitsme]

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[Scott Adams]

Both regrowth of villi, and destruction of villi happen at different rates in different people. This depends on many things, like age, dietary compliance, different immune systems, etc.

This study indicates that a majority of celiacs don't recover until 5 years after diagnosis and starting a gluten-free diet:

• Mucosal recovery and mortality in adults with celiac disease after treatment with a gluten-free diet

However, it's also possible that what the study really shows is the difficulty in maintaining a 100% gluten-free diet. I suspect that if you looked closely at the diets of those who did not recover within 2 years might be that their diets were not 100% gluten-free. Perhaps they ate out more often, or didn't understand all of the hidden ingredients where gluten can hide. Either way, it shows how difficult recovery from celiac disease can be for most people.

According to this study:

Quote

After an average of 11 months on a gluten-free diet, 81% of patients with celiac disease and positive tissue transglutaminase IgA (tTG-IgA) at baseline will revert to negative tTG-IgA (SOR: C, disease-oriented evidence from retrospective cohort study). The intestinal mucosa of adult patients with celiac disease will return to normal after following a gluten-free diet for 16 to 24 months in only 8% to 18%. However, in children after 2 years, 74% will have a return to normal mucosa (SOR: C, diseaseoriented evidence from longitudinal studies).

This article explores other causes of flattened villi: