Is gluten a miscast villain in the diet world? Perhaps. A new study raises the question about gluten sensitivity symptoms and challenges the usefulness of following a gluten free diet plan for most people who have not been carefully and properly diagnosed with celiac disease.
Despite what you might see on the labels of all manner of foods in the grocery store, or hear from enthusiastic celebrity spokespeople, gluten free is not the right choice for everyone. An estimate has from 5% - 6% of us, some 18 million Americans, having some level of sensitivity to gluten.
Let's start with the basics; gluten is a protein that's a natural part of wheat, rye as well as barley, which are used to make beer, bread, pasta and lots of processed foods.
For roughly 1% of us eating glutens brings on a condition known as celiac disease that damages the wall of the small intestine so that the body is unable to absorb food nutrients. The disease is properly diagnosed by tests on blood and bowel, but there is no widely accepted test to diagnose gluten sensitivity.
Symptoms linked to gluten sensitivity symptoms include some of the same ones attributed to celiac disease - diarrhea, cramping of the abdomen, bloating, headache, fatigue and possibly ADHD. But until there's a test that identifies gluten sensitivity, diagnosing this condition will remain a challenge.
In a recent essay researchers who specialize in celiac disease, discussed what we know about gluten sensitivity and delivered common sense recommendations about the much hyped gluten free eating. They suggest that the discomforts that accompany eating foods with gluten happen because these foods are believed to cause a problem. This is known to science as the nocebo effect, if you presume the worst health wise, that's just what you'll get.
Many symptoms thought to related to gluten might really be sensitivity to other parts of wheat flour or another ingredient in foods made from wheat. And then, a gluten free diet is not bad for you, and will help even if you have other wheat allergies. That's what food makers are counting on, and why you see so much gluten bashing on labels.
Of course gluten free diets (and products) aren't going anywhere. The truth is, there are are large number of people who are suffering with terribly troubling symptoms that do improve when they follow this eating plan.
The danger of misdiagnosing gluten sensitivity symptoms is that going gluten-free when you don't need to deprives your body of fiber and gives it too much fat. Close monitoring of what you eat is important, as we know that for those who live with properly diagnosed celiac disease eating gluten-free eases the discomfort of symptoms and restores the digestive system to health.
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