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Until a few years ago, gluten was excluded from the diet only by people suffering from celiac disease. Today, the fashionable gluten-free diet is taking women’s guides and store shelves by storm. Is it really worth giving it up? Recent research shows that switching to a gluten-free diet may not only be pointless, but also harmful.
What is gluten?
Many people switching to a gluten-free diet should start by answering the basic question – what is behind this infamous name. It is a mixture of two vegetable proteins: gluteniny i gliadyny. It can be found in most cereals – including wheat. For this reason, people who really need to avoid this substance go on a restrictive diet. It is worth mentioning that gluten is responsible for giving the dough a sticky texture and creating air bubbles as it rises.
Gluten allergy
People with celiac disease cannot eat gluten. Their body reacts by producing an immune response to this group of proteins. Simply put – they are allergic to it. In extreme cases, the disease causes intestinal villi atrophy, which prevents the absorption of nutrients from food. Therefore, people suffering from this ailment must go on a restrictive diet.
Celiac disease can vary in severity. In some people, it does not show up in an acute form until some point in life. Therefore, if you suspect that you may be suffering from this disease, a simple laboratory test is all you need to do. If it shows an increased amount of specific antibodies, your doctor will recommend confirming the diagnosis based on a genetic test.
To check that you are not allergic to gluten, but also that you have other food intolerances, do a genetic test for food intolerance to gluten, lactose and fructose. You can buy the survey on Medonet Market. Or, you can do a genetic test for food intolerance to gluten, caffeine and alcohol.
Gluten – allergy symptoms
In people who have consumed gluten, the symptoms may become apparent immediately, but in some cases after several hours. Therefore, we are talking about the reaction:
immediate – occur within minutes to an hour after eating foods that contain gluten. The reaction depends on gluten-specific IgE antibodies – it may cause one or more of the following symptoms:
- anaphylactic shock,
- vomiting,
- diarrhea,
- bronchospasm
- runny nose,
- hives
- other skin lesions similar to atopic dermatitis;
late – the reaction appears several hours or even 1-2 days after consuming food. This reaction is not dependent on IgE antibodies.
It manifests itself most often:
- exacerbation of AD,
- diarrhea.
How a gluten allergy works also depends on age:
- children: gluten allergies often develop after consuming even small amounts of gluten. It manifests itself as atopic dermatitis, sometimes with respiratory and digestive system ailments. Unlike celiac disease, many children outgrow this allergy.
- adults: gluten allergy is manifested by urticaria, angioedema, anaphylactic shock or diarrhea. In adults, the allergy lasts for years, and symptoms only become active after consuming larger amounts of gluten. In adults, a specific form of gluten allergy is also seen, which only occurs after concurrent exercise.
Gastrointestinal symptoms can be caused by various intolerances. Opt for diagnostics by purchasing a mail-order test for celiac disease or a mail-order test for milk and gluten intolerance. In case you suspect that you suffer from a greater number of food allergies, choose 10 allergen mailing tests.
Fashion for a gluten-free diet
Many people are allergic to peanuts, but even so, a peanut-free diet has never been fashionable. What made gluten censored?
All thanks to the Australian scientist Peter Gibson, who in 2011 announced the results of his research, which showed that even in people who do not suffer from celiac disease, gluten causes fatigue, headaches, indigestion and stomach pain. Suddenly, everything became clear – it is not stress, unhealthy lifestyle and years of neglect that are responsible for our malaise – gluten is to blame. Gluten-free products began to appear on store shelves like mushrooms – from bread to pates. Virtually any normal product can contain traces of gluten, so producers of this new type of food were only limited by their imaginations. It should be added that gluten-free products are usually several times more expensive than analogous foods containing wheat proteins.
Gluten repentance
The same scientist who unleashed the gluten madness decided to repeat his experiment two years later. Something was bothering him, so this time the research was carried out extremely strictly. They were attended, among others, by people who were not suffering from celiac disease, but claimed that they felt much better when they did not eat gluten. These people were fed ordinary food, claiming to be devoid of vegetable proteins. Interestingly, no deterioration in well-being was observed in them. On the contrary, as long as the members of the experiment were convinced they were not eating gluten, they were fine.
Peter Gibson’s repeated research results show that gluten consumption does not have any significant effect on the health of people who do not have celiac disease. In an interview with TVN24, Dr. Anna Malinowska from the Faculty of Food Sciences and Nutrition at the University of Life Sciences in Poznań even said that eliminating gluten from the diet without consulting a doctor may lead to serious disorders in the body. The doctor mentioned, among other things, numerous deficiencies of compounds important for the functioning of our body: folic acid, B vitamins, zinc, selenium, calcium and magnesium.
Gluten allergy – diagnosis
If you suspect you are allergic to gluten, be sure to consult a doctor who will conduct a diagnosis. Skin biochemical tests are used for diagnosis, but their reliability is quite limited because: a positive skin test can also be obtained in people who are not allergic to gluten. In addition, a positive skin test does not necessarily appear in all allergic patients, despite advanced symptoms.
A negative skin test almost 100% excludes gluten allergy, but to be absolutely sure, the doctor recommends testing for antibodies that are typical for celiac disease and that are not present with gluten. In the diagnosis of gluten allergy, the most reliable method is to eliminate gluten from the diet and reintroduce it to see how the body is behaving in both cases. Another way to diagnose gluten allergy is to perform a mail-order food intolerance test, which you can buy at Medonet Market. Currently, you can perform the test at home using the Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Disease Test – Home Cassette Test. The results can be read after just 15 minutes.
Treatment of gluten allergies
The key to treating gluten allergy is to exclude it from your diet altogether. Gluten allergy does not require you to eliminate gluten from your diet ONCE FOREVER. The doctor will decide how long we should not consume gluten. If you feel unwell after eating grain products, be sure to consult your doctor for celiac disease testing. It is quick and easy. However, you should not go gluten-free on your own, especially if you have never noticed symptoms of celiac disease. This may not only have no effect on your body, it may even harm you.
At Medonet Market you will find Pro Natura products that can be eaten on a gluten-free diet, e.g. natural brown rice, roasted buckwheat flakes or rice flakes.
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