There are people who are allergic to wheat, and there people who are allergic to gluten, know the symptoms of gluten intolerance today. Gluten is not a protein, it is a protein composite. Gluten is found in grains like barley, rye, Khorasan wheat, and spelt. Gluten has this capacity to hold its flour products and give them chewy texture.

 

Gluten intolerance is divided into three categories; Coeliac disease, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, and a wheat allergy. The coeliac disease occurs when the proteins in the gluten are taken by the immune system as a foreign substance and therefore releases antibodies to fight it off, in time the antibodies will wear down to tiny hair-like structures. These hair-like structures are responsible for grabbing and absorbing nutrients from each food that passes through the intestine, as the disease makes its move, the hair-like structure called villi won’t be able to process the nutrients and this can eventually lead to serious health problems. The non-coeliac gluten sensitivity is to be compared to the coeliac disease, but this cannot be diagnosed even in the blood test. Wheat allergy is far from gluten intolerance, and people commonly call this as gluten allergy. Wheat allergy is more like a histamine response to wheat product.

 

How to Know if You Have Gluten Intolerance

You should first consult your doctor; the only way to be sure is to conduct blood tests to detect gluten antibodies. Your doctor might also test for deficiencies in minerals like vitamin B-12 and D, magnesium, calcium and iron. Look gastrointestinal problems, if you feel a sudden discomfort after eating foods with wheat, barley or rye like diarrhoea, abdominal pain, stomach ache or bloating. This might be an indicator that you are gluten intolerant. Check your stool, if it is normal like with the brownish colour, instead is greyish. In determining if you are gluten intolerant you will also feel that you are having loose stools and constipation. Examine your overall health, if you are suddenly experiencing health problems like fatigue, muscle weakness, and symptoms like unexplained weight loss / gain, or sudden loss of appetite or extreme hunger. Stop eating foods with gluten content for at least one month, then examine how your body reacts to it.

 

Symptoms of Gluten Intolerance

Gluten intolerance has far more fatal symptoms than of wheat allergy. These are some of the symptoms of gluten intolerance:

• Abdominal Distension

• Abdominal Cramps

• Constipation/ Diarrhoea

• Anaemia

• Arthritis

• Attention Deficit Disorder

• Autism

• Bloating

• Bone Density loss

• Rumbling Stomach

• Failure to Thrive

• Anxiety, Irritability, Depression

• Skin Rash

• Diabetes

• Fatigue

• Flatulence

• Greyish stools

• Infertility

• Nausea

• Mouth sores

• Osteoporosis

• Teeth and Gum problems

• Vomiting

• Unexplained weight loss.

 

Gluten Intolerance also affects the health of the skin. Here are some of the skin conditions caused by gluten intolerance:

• Eczema – This is characterized by red, itchy and flaking skin. This is a very common skin condition in the world of allergy.

• Acne – For some individuals, gluten intolerance manifests through the appearance of acne. It will help to stop eating gluten-containing to have a smooth and healthy skin.

• Vitiligo – This is a condition which appears as lack of pigmentation on some parts of the skin.

• Lupus – This is another autoimmune skin condition in gluten intolerance. The main symptoms include red skin rashes on the face or other parts of the body.

• Hives – This is characterized by red welts on the skin, another common manifestation of celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

 

People with a history, no matter how slight is, of gluten intolerance are at risk of developing this type of allergy. Also people of European descent have a higher chance of acquiring gluten intolerance. Also those people with autoimmune disorders like Lupus, Diabetes, and Rheumatoid arthritis. Having gluten intolerance might also come as an effect of trauma, injury, pregnancy and surgery.

 

Gluten intolerance has four categories:

- Latent – This poses no symptoms, no damage in the intestinal track, and can’t be diagnosed until it is fully developed into gluten intolerance.

- Silent – This has no external symptoms but does internal damage. This can be seen through tests.

- Refractory – This rare form does not improve after months of eliminating gluten from the diet. Corticosteroids can help in treating this.

- Collagenous – This is another rare form of gluten intolerance like the refractory, results in the accumulation of scar tissue in the intestinal lining, this can be very fatal.

 

Treatment

There is no treatment for gluten intolerance. The risk for allergic reaction can just be reduced when you avoid foods containing gluten and total gluten-free diet shall spare you from any symptoms.

 

There is a lot of food that one should avoid if he has gluten intolerance. All types of wheat are off limits. You should also be aware about some of the everyday foods that have gluten content like, food additives, beer, gin, whiskey, breads, cereals, communion wafers, crackers, pasta, cookies, cakes and pies, gravy and sauces, salad dressing, yogurt drinks, frozen yogurt, canned soups, processed cheese, candy, and curry powder, among other things. You should also be careful in taking vitamins, medications, or herbal supplements that use gluten as a binding agent. It is true that prevention is indeed better than cure, so take note of these foods that you must avoid.

 

On a lighter note, you must also take note of these foods that you can take to start your gluten-free diet. Food like amaranth, buckwheat, cornmeal, millet, rice, quinoa, soy, rice flour, soy flour and potato flours are okay, together with bread and cereals made exclusively form rice, potato, soy, arrowroot, tapioca, flax, and hominy.

 

It is of great importance that you notice the symptoms of gluten intolerance as early as the first contact you have with food rich in gluten. This type of allergy has the most recognizable symptoms; it also has some of the most fatal symptoms. Gluten intolerance is divided into three types and four categories. To know what type of gluten intolerance you have, visit your doctor and ask about foods that contain gluten and take the time to ask for a gluten-free diet meal plan. This condition offers some cure in certain areas of the allergy.