Category: Diets

Do you have symptoms of gas, bloating and GI discomfort, and suspect that you are reacting to gluten products? Classic symptoms of gluten intolerance include abdominal distention, pain, chronic diarrhea, irritability, weight loss, muscle wasting, low iron, folate, anemia, dental enamel defects, vomiting, abnormal liver enzymes, arthritis, osteoporosis, osteopenia, delayed puberty, and infertility.

Additional symptoms include neurological complications…unexplained ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, epilepsy, depression, anxiety, fatigue, brain fog, headaches, migraines and dizziness.

Never make the assumption that you have a gluten intolerance or sensitivity without being screened with the IgA Tissue Transglutamininase (tTG) antibody test, and IgA , these are free screening blood test, before you start eliminating gluten products, because avoiding gluten for 4-8 weeks may invalidate the test, first ask your physician to screen you with the tTG test.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, linked to genetics, is non-discriminating with genders, ages, global, if undetected, can damage intestinal villi and reduce nutrient absorption resulting in bone loss, iron and folate deficiency, arthritis, etc. .

Presently the only known treatment for celiac is following a gluten free diet with strict adherence which means you avoid wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten contamination of oats is tested two ways- a purity and optically free test, if the product is verified on the product label as gluten free, it’s safe to eat. The gluten free diet for celiac disease is rigorous, avoiding all microforms of gluten and cross-contamination.

If you have gluten sensitivity, not an intolerance, wheat, barley and rye are avoided, with sour dough breads often being tolerated in small quantities.

Celiac Canada is encouraging that we make no assumptions about intolerance to gluten, testing of IGA and tTG are free of charge, if diagnosed with celiac disease, its encouraged that you test annually with the tTG test and all first degree relatives should be tested, and maybe retested every 2-3 years with a tTG antibody test. As well, there is genetic testing (23 & me) identifies if you carry the gene (DQ2 or DQ8 risk version of the HLA gene).

As we know, a healthy gut important to avoid inflammation which can be a root cause of many chronic diseases. For many of my clients, we suspect gastrointestinal dysbiosis, which is often related to unhealthy microbiome or SIBO, symptoms include bloating, gas, cramps and gastrointestinal pain. Perhaps we should be more vigilant in our screening for celiac disease and test the tTG, before we trial a low fodmap diet which can be helpful to identify food sensitivities.