Maybe I’m just gluten intolerant?
If only it were so simple… let’s have a quick look at what the deal is with gluten.
Let’s start with the basics: what is gluten? It’s a mixture of proteins found in wheat, and other grains like barley and rye. Wheat is a grain often found in breads, pastas, and cereal; barley can be found in beer and in foods containing malt; and rye is most commonly found in rye bread, rye beer, and some cereals.
Now to the clincher: what’s all the fuss about? Well, there are actually a variety of ways gluten can make you feel unwell:
- Coeliac Disease – an autoimmune disorder in which your immune system responds abnormally to gluten (Eating gluten will cause the cells lining the intestine to become damaged and inflamed)
- Wheat Allergy – an immune response to any of the proteins present in wheat, including but not limited to gluten (Someone who is allergic to wheat may or may not be allergic to other grains such as barley or rye)
- Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity – a gluten-related condition that causes symptoms in people who don’t have coeliac disease and aren’t allergic to wheat (Coeliac disease and wheat allergy need to be ruled out in order to diagnose non-coeliac gluten sensitivity)
All of the above can cause similar symptoms, and gluten in the diet is often blamed for abdominal pain, bloating, loose stools, lethargy, behavioural changes, headaches, general muscle, joint aches, and a host of other symptoms. However, all three have different implications for your health, and coeliac disease and wheat allergy can have some symptoms that are life-threatening, or lead to serious health problems.
Understanding which condition you may have is important so that you can follow appropriate treatment recommendations. Coeliac disease, for example, is treated by a life-long gluten free diet. Improvement in symptoms by trialling a gluten free diet may not be due to the gluten, which is when other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), wheat intolerance, and malabsorption of fermentable sugars (FODMAPs) need to be considered.
The takeaway message is: talk to your doctor before diagnosing yourself or beginning any treatment on your own if you think you might suffer from a gluten- or wheat-related condition, especially in order to rule out coeliac disease. Then you can start using dietary controls to improve your health, and get yourself into a happy place!
For more information, here are some links we found:
http://www.coeliac.org.nz/coeliac-disease/what-is-coeliac-disease
http://www.healthline.com/health/allergies/gluten-allergy-symptoms#Overview1
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-27418/is-gluten-intolerance-real-a-functional-medicine-expert-explains.html