Gluten intolerance is a condition that arises once you’ve consumed gluten, a protein present in grains like wheat. Gluten intolerance can affect any person, despite their age. Gluten intolerance is also commonly known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
Gluten protein can be found in wheat, barley, and rye. Many foods and drinks use gluten as an ingredient. It’s also common to find gluten in products like skincare, medications, and vitamins.
Gluten sensitivity or intolerance is a condition where the body can’t tolerate gluten or is unable to break it down. Even though gluten sensitivity causes symptoms, they aren’t life-threatening but cause discomfort.
If you suffer from symptoms every time you consume gluten, it could be due to gluten sensitivity or celiac disease. Celiac disease is quite different from gluten intolerance since celiac disease is an immune response to gluten. It can be pretty severe, unlike gluten sensitivity.
Common gluten intolerance symptoms
There are many symptoms associated with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. These symptoms vary in severity. The more gluten you consume, the more severe your symptoms can be.
However, some people can consume little gluten and have no symptoms. Common symptoms include:
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Joint pain
- Bloating
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Headache
- Brain fog
- Neuropathy
- Depression
- Anxiety
The main difference between gluten intolerance and celiac disease
Even though both conditions are triggered by gluten, they aren’t similar. Celiac is an autoimmune condition. When people with celiac disease ingest foods with gluten, they suffer from intestinal symptoms. People with gluten intolerance suffer symptoms identical to those with celiac disease. Fortunately, they don’t get intestinal damage.
When one suffers from celiac disease, the body fights off gluten like an intruder, the same way it fights off viruses and bacteria. Such an intense reaction in the body often causes inflammation and digestive tract damage.
Celiac disease often results from an abnormal gene. However, gluten intolerance results from sensitivity to gluten or the body’s inability to break it down. People with celiac disease have high levels of specific antibodies in their blood to fight off gluten.
So, even though you’ll experience similar symptoms in both illnesses, celiac disease can cause you more long-term harm than gluten intolerance. To know which one is ailing you, you’ll need to take an Allergy and Intolerance Test that will test for both IgG4 antibodies and IgE antibodies.
It’s important to note that celiac disease is uncommon, only affecting around 1% of adults or less, and it affects more females than men. Many people also go undiagnosed when suffering from celiac disease, making it hard to manage the disease.
Causes of gluten intolerance
Gluten intolerance still needs to be better understood, especially when it comes to the causes. However, certain factors can increase the risks of gluten intolerance. These include:
- Overall diet and nutrient density
- Genetic factors
- Damage to the gut
- Hormonal imbalance
- Body’s immunity
Gluten is an antinutrient. Antrinutreint is a substance found in plant foods like legumes, seeds, nuts, and grains. Antinutrients are a built-in defence mechanism in plants that’s imperative to survival and reproduction. Since plants can’t run away from predators, they evolved to produce antinutrients, toxins that help fight off toxins and pathogens.
When consumed by humans, gluten can cause digestive symptoms like diarrhea, gas, and bloating since it affects the gut bacteria. It can also bind to some types of amino acids, essential vitamins, and nutrients, making them unabsorbable.
Sometimes gluten intolerance is tied to illnesses like leaky gut syndrome. This condition causes openings in the gut lining, resulting in large proteins and gut microbes leaking across the gut barrier. When this happens, molecules that are supposed to stay in the gut enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. This can result in a chronic low-grade inflammatory response.
How to test for gluten intolerance
The best treatment for gluten intolerance is following a gluten-free diet. If you suffer from symptoms every time you consume gluten, you can get an Allergy and Intolerance Test. Since many conditions can be a result of gluten, it’s essential to check for both allergies and intolerances pertaining to gluten.
When you know you have gluten intolerance; you can avoid gluten-containing foods and products. If you have celiac disease, avoiding gluten at all costs is necessary. If you have gluten intolerance, however, you can consult your doctor on the way forward depending on your tolerance level to gluten.
It is, however, better to follow a gluten-free diet even when you’re intolerant to avoid other major issues like gut irritation and digestive symptoms due to food intolerance. A gluten-free diet will offer relief to gluten intolerance symptoms.
Foods alternatives for gluten intolerance
When you have gluten intolerance, you must avoid all grains containing gluten, including wheat, barley, and rye. You’ll also need to carefully check ingredient lists of processed foods, as most foods and drinks contain gluten in one form or the other.
When you eliminate gluten from your diet, you need to replace it with anti-inflammatory foods to repair the digestive tract and fix nutrient deficiencies you may have experienced. This means adding more nuts, vegetables, fruits, seeds, and probiotics.
When you need to bake, you can use gluten-free flour like:
- Sweet potato
- Brown rice
- Coconut flour
- Almond flour
- Quinoa
- Chickpea flour
Final thoughts
Gluten intolerance affects many people worldwide. If you get symptoms every time you consume foods with gluten, you need to get an Intolerance Test to help you know whether you have gluten intolerance. If you have gluten intolerance, you need to follow a gluten-free diet if you want to feel relief from your symptoms.
