According to the National Institutes of Health, more than two million people in the United States, or about 1 in 133 people, have a gluten intolerance or sensitivity, including celiac disease. If you're one of them, you'll need to strictly follow a gluten-free diet for the rest of your life in order to maintain proper gastrointestinal function and overall health.
Identification
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye that causes inflammation and intestinal damage in people with a genetic inability to tolerate the protein. A gluten-free diet can help you control your symptoms and prevent additional complications. Such a diet is also prescribed for other disease such as dermatitis herpetiformis. It's usually diagnosed via a blood test or intestinal biopsy.
Effects
If you have a gluten intolerance or celiac disease and consume foods containing gluten, you may not experience any symptoms at all, even though the gluten is causing hidden damage to your small intestine. People who do have symptoms generally suffer from abdominal pain, diarrhea, gas, bloating and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. When you totally eliminate gluten from your diet, the lining of your intestine can begin to heal, the Mayo Clinic says.
Expert Insight
Gluten in your diet can lead to more than just gastrointestinal discomfort. A 2010 study by S. Blazina et al at the University Children's Hospital in Ljubljana, Slovenia, found a link between low bone mineral density and gluten in children afflicted with celiac disease. Gluten-sensitive patients also often experience GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. Research in the June 2010 issue of "Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology" by F. Nachman et al reported that rapid improvement was found in such patients after only three months of a gluten-free diet. Gluten-free diets have also been found to help with autism and dental disease, as reported in the July 2010 "Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology Nutrition" and the Italian journal "Recent Medical Progress" in April of 2010.
What to Avoid
To follow a gluten-free diet, the Mayo Clinic recommends avoiding food and drinks containing barley, bulgur, durum, farina, kamut, matzo, rye, semolina, spelt, triticale and wheat. Some processed foods also contain hidden gluten, so avoid any such product unless it's labeled "gluten-free." Examples of these include beers, candies, gravies, imitation meat or seafood, soups, food additives such as malt flavoring or modified food starch and vitamins that use gluten as a binding agent. Oats don't naturally contain gluten, but they're often contaminated with wheat or other gluten grains, so look for products that are specifically labeled gluten-free.
Allowed Foods
Any food that is labeled gluten-free is acceptable on the diet. Grains and starches that are usually uncontaminated include amaranth, arrowroot, buckwheat, corn, cornmeal, grits, polenta, corn tortillas, quinoa, rice, tapioca and flours made form rice, soy, corn, potato or beans. All meats, seafood, fruits and vegetables that are in their raw or natural state will be gluten-free. Many health food and mainstream grocery stores now carry a variety of gluten-free products including bread and pasta.
Warning
As you follow a gluten-free diet, you may be consuming lower levels of certain vitamins and nutrients, such as iron, calcium, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate and fiber. Also, in a traditional North American diet, wheat and wheat products provide over 80 percent of the prebiotics, or necessary plant fibers your intestinal tract needs. In order to replenish intestinal prebiotics, the Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology practice in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, recommends you make sure to add foods to your diet such as chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks and asparagus.
