Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Disease: What's the Difference?
All forms of gluten intolerance trigger a set of symptoms, which most commonly include gastrointestinal upset.
Celiac disease has most recently been described as an autoimmune response occurring in genetically predisposed individuals and producing long-term damage to the small intestines. On the other hand, non-celiac gluten sensitivity is not an autoimmune response; therefore, the small intestine is free of any long-term damage. In both of these disorders, the exclusion of gluten-containing grains from the diet remains the only available treatment. In all forms of gluten intolerance, eating gluten triggers a varying set of physiological symptoms.
Know the Symptoms of Gluten Intolerance
Some symptoms aren't as easily linked to gluten-intolerance.
Even consuming a very small amount of gluten can make someone who should be following a gluten-free diet very sick. Unlike an anaphylactic response to an allergenic food, a reaction to gluten may not occur right away and can vary based on the individual’s age, gender and the duration and extent of the disease. Diarrhea, constipation, flatus, abdominal pain and vomiting are common reactions someone with gluten intolerance may develop when they eat gluten. Weakness, weight loss, fatigue, headache, joint pain, “foggy brain” and numbness are also common, but less identifiable, symptoms. Certain conditions such as infertility, irritable bowel disease, pubertal delay, and folate, zinc and iron-deficiencies due to atypical forms of gluten intolerance could also develop.Long-term Effects
- Gluten-related disorders can also result in various long-term effects, for instance, an increased risk for other autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, psoriasis, and cardiomyopathy. Untreated celiac disease has also been linked to an increased incidence of small bowel malignancies, adenocarcinoma, and enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma. Therefore, a gluten-free diet is an instrumental part of reducing, if not eliminating, the occurrence of symptoms related to gluten-intolerance and their long-term effects.
What is a Gluten-Free Diet?
Brown rice, quinoa, and millet are several examples of gluten-free whole grains.
A gluten-free diet is free of all gluten-containing grains -- wheat, rye and barley -- and it remains the gold standard for treatment of gluten-intolerance. Oats, although naturally free of gluten, should also be eliminated in a gluten-free diet unless products are signified as “certified gluten-free.” This is because they have a high risk of gluten contamination during processing. Despite the positive effects of a gluten-free diet on the health of those with gluten-intolerance and other purported health benefits for gluten-free eating, there is no published evidence to support its positive effects on the general population. Therefore, a gluten-free diet should only be followed when medically necessary.
