When you think about gluten-free diets, the first thing that comes to mind is probably celiac disease. While this autoimmune disorder is the most common reason for following a gluten-free diet, there are actually a variety of reasons why someone might choose to go gluten-free. In fact, some people don’t even have a medical reason for avoiding gluten – they just find that they feel better when they don’t eat it. If you’re thinking about trying out a gluten-free diet, here is some information on who might benefit from it.

What is gluten?

First, let’s look at what is gluten. Gluten is a protein. It is found in many grains like wheat, barley and rye. While it does not provide any essential nutrients to our body, they do provide structure and texture to the foods we eat. For some people, however, ingesting gluten can cause a whole host of issues.

Gluten is a protein that is found in many grains, including wheat, barley and rye. It can be found in foods like bread, pasta, pizza and cereal. Gluten provides no essential nutrients. People with celiac disease have an immune reaction to gluten. They develop inflammation and damage in their intestinal tracts or other parts of the body when they eat food containing gluten. Right now about 1% of the population has celiac disease (this number may go up) . A gluten-free diet can help stop inflammation as well as symptoms like stomach pain or bloating

Who should adopt a gluten-free diet?

For some, gluten can be harmful, for example, those who suffer from celiac disease. A gluten-free diet would help them avoid unnecessary pain and illness while also ensuring they get the nutrition they need. In short, a gluten-free diet is vital for their life.

For others, while they may not have celiac disease, may report feelings of discomfort and feeling better when they actively avoid gluten. These people may have a gluten intolerance or even a wheat allergy. So, what’s the difference?

Celiac disease

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that affects about 1 in 133 people in the US. Your small intestine is affected and its digestive process is affected. When gluten enters your small intestine, an immune response occurs and your body attacks the healthy cells in the small intestine.

If left unchecked, your small intestine’s ability to absorb nutrients becomes impaired, leading to some symptoms such as chronic fatigue, brain fog, bone or joint pain, tingling in the extremities or even anxiety and depression. The only know effective treatment is adopting a gluten-free diet.

Gluten intolerance

Gluten intolerance and gluten sensitivity are often used interchangeably. However, many do consider gluten sensitivity to be a ‘milder’ form of gluten intolerance. For example, someone who has symptoms that resolve quickly may be diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, while someone whose symptoms are more severe and last for a significantly longer time may be diagnosed as gluten intolerant. Both conditions, however, are still not well defined within the medical community.

Compared to celiac disease, gluten intolerance and gluten sensitivity do not cause damage to the intestinal tract. The body does still however have an immune response. Part of this response is inflammation that can contribute to other symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. Other symptoms that may result from constant consumption of gluten may be headaches, lethargy, hyperactivity, muscle weakness, and joint pain.

Gluten sensitivity

Gluten sensitivity, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity is currently not well defined within the medical community as it is neither an autoimmune reaction nor an allergic reaction. Therefore, diagnosis of gluten sensitivity is made by ruling out other conditions – there being no test or biomarker available to identify this condition. A gluten-free may be suggested and if symptoms reduce, a diagnosis can often be made. Like celiac disease, a gluten-free disease is the only known treatment.

Wheat allergy

Like many other allergies, a wheat allergy is when the body has an immune response to wheat when it enters your body. The white blood cells – B-cells – product immunoglobulin E or IgE antibodies that then attack the wheat molecules as if it were a foreign body. At the same time, other tissues in your body release chemical messengers that inform the rest of your body about the threat. Symptoms may occur within seconds or a few hours after you eat wheat or wheat-product. Symptoms include nausea, itching, abdominal pain, swollen lips or tongue, difficulty breathing and anaphylaxis – the narrowing of your windpipe.

If you have a wheat allergy, you must avoid wheat and all wheat-products as, depending on the severity, can be life-threatening. However, you may be able to still consume gluten from other non-wheat sources such as barley and rye. However, some may even have a combination of celiac disease, wheat allergy and/or gluten sensitivity. So the only way to know is to get additional testing from your doctor.

If you’ve never tried a gluten-free diet, it may be worth considering. Our bodies are all different and while some people do well with this type of lifestyle change, others find their health declines when they switch to gluten free. This is why we recommend speaking to your doctor before embarking on any new dietary changes like going gluten-free or eliminating other foods from your diet. You should also speak to an allergist if you believe you have celiac disease because the only way for these individuals to live symptom free is through following a strict gluten-free diet. What has been your experience? Have you ever tried a gluten-free diet? Comment below!