Whole Health Naturopathic Medical Center: Gluten

Does it seem like everyone is talking about going gluten-free? Have you been wondering what this means, and if you should also avoid gluten?

Gluten is a cohesive protein found in wheat. Gluten is actually comprised of two sets of proteins, gliadins and glutenins. When digested, gluten breaks down to smaller units called peptides which can damage the intestines of people who have celiac disease.

Celiac disease is also called gluten enteropathy, or celiac sprue. People with this condition have a genetic inability to digest gluten. In this population, ingesting gluten leads to destruction of the villi in the small intestine, which then contributes to malabsorption. In other words, the small intestine is damaged in such a way that nutrients from food are not properly absorbed. This leads to a number of complications: malnutrition, anemia, weight loss, infertility, constipation or diarrhea, gas, fatty stools, and many other symptoms. The symptoms of celiac disease vary widely and no two patients seem to present the same way.

To diagnose celiac disease, doctors rely on the following: biopsy of the small intestine, blood tests looking for antibodies, and removal of gluten leading to reduction of symptoms.

Untreated celiac disease can lead to doubled mortality rates! People with untreated celiac disease can permanently damage their small intestines and they have an increased risk of developing cancer of the small intestine. Luckily, this can be prevented by maintaining a strict gluten-free diet.

Eating gluten-free takes some getting used to and involves investigation and experimentation on the part of the patient. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, and perhaps oats. There are other grains to watch out for as well: spelt, kamut, triticale, bulgur wheat, durum, and semolina. People with celiac disease can usually eat rice, corn, quinoa, millet, amaranth, and soy and other legumes, as long as they do not also have a separate sensitivity to these foods.

Gluten sensitivity is a separate condition from celiac disease. With gluten sensitivity, the patient is merely sensitive, or mildly allergic, to gluten. This produces symptoms, but there is no pathological damage to the villi of the small intestine like that seen with celiac disease. Gluten sensitivity is diagnosed in one of two ways: removing gluten from the diet leading to a reduction of symptoms and blood tests looking for food allergies.

If you are wondering if you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, please contact your naturopathic doctor to help explore the cause of your symptoms.

List of Gluten-free cookbooks found here:
Celiac.com

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

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