Photo Credit: minoandriani / iStockPhoto.com
A Look at Celiac and Wheat Allergies
Gluten-free diets have become popular in current times but is there any benefit if you don’t have celiac disease or
Photo Credit: minoandriani / iStockPhoto.com
A Look at Celiac and Wheat Allergies
Gluten-free diets have become popular in current times but is there any benefit if you don’t have celiac disease or wheat allergy?
It is estimated that one to two percent of the population has celiac disease, an autoimmune disease. In celiac disease, gluten (a protein present in wheat, rye, oats and barley) triggers the immune system to start attacking the small intestine. If left undiagnosed, the disease can cause significant damage to the intestines.
This damage can impair digestion of foods and absorption of nutrients, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies, and can cause osteoporosis, infertility and depression, among others. Constant inflammation of the intestines also increases the risk of certain bowel cancers.
For people with celiac disease, damage to the intestines can happen even when only a small amount of gluten is present in the diet. Symptoms may include bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, weight loss, weakness, fatigue and anemia.
However, damage can occur without obvious symptoms.
Management requires correct diagnosis and then completely avoiding gluten in the diet. Unfortunately, celiac disease can be hard to diagnose and it is estimated that up to 80 percent of celiac cases remain undiagnosed.
The symptoms mimic many other conditions. Blood tests may suggest the disease but are not always accurate and can give falsely negative results. The disease can only be confirmed by laboratory analysis of biopsies taken from the small intestine under sedation.
However, these results are only valid if the patient has been eating a high gluten diet prior to testing.
Similarly, a small percentage of people have an allergy to wheat. In these people the body’s immune system overreacts to gluten or non-gluten proteins in wheat, invoking an allergic response.
Eating wheat products can cause intestinal symptoms, like cramps, bloating and diarrhea. Breathing in wheat pollen can lead to asthma, skin contact can cause a skin rash, and some people may even experience a serious anaphylactic reaction. An allergic reaction will typically occur within hours of contact with wheat.
So, it is important that people with celiac disease and wheat allergy avoid gluten. But what about the rest o