Do you experience digestive problems after eating foods that contain gluten? If so, chances are that you are gluten intolerant. Gluten intolerance may be caused by celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or a wheat allergy. Many people are affected by gluten intolerance but are unaware or just don’t know how to handle it.
You are likely to experience severe gluten intolerance if you are suffering from celiac disease. Mild forms of this intolerance are associated with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. These two forms of gluten intolerance have similar symptoms that are not associated with the digestion process.
Just like many other people, you may have many questions about this sensitivity. The discussion below will answer some of your questions. It will also provide you with more information about gluten sensitivity. You will also be informed on how to tackle the gluten sensitivity problem by using the appropriate means.
Read on to learn more about gluten sensitivity, including genetic factors, symptoms, and your options for testing and treatment.
Does Gluten Sensitivity Run in Families?
There is no published data that supports that non-celiac gluten sensitivity runs in families since there is no genetic link to this condition. However, people who deal with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease patients have noted many gluten sensitivity cases in the same families. Therefore, you are likely to have non-celiac gluten sensitivity if one of your family members has gluten sensitivity.
Celiac gluten sensitivity, on the other hand, does run in families. People related to celiac disease patients have a 4-15% chance of developing this disease. Therefore, if you have celiac gluten sensitivity, your children can inherit it from you.
Can You Become Gluten Intolerant Later in Life?
You have probably heard people say that they did not have the signs of gluten intolerance until they were older. Like many others, you may not have believed this. However, some people indeed develop this condition later in life. Others develop it earlier in life, depending on their genetics. Therefore, you can become gluten intolerant later in life.
Can Probiotics Help With Gluten Sensitivity?
You may have heard of people who take high doses of probiotics because they are gluten intolerant. Research has not yet proved that people can use probiotic supplements to treat gluten sensitivity. However, researchers are doing more studies to learn more about the human biome nature. They are also trying to determine the bacteria strains that can digest gluten.
The results that the researchers have found so far are promising. For instance, they have found bacteria that can inhibit the toxic effects that some people experience after consuming wheat products. These bacteria break the proteins that are associated with gluten sensitivity results. According to these results, it is clear that probiotics can help people who are gluten intolerant. Some gluten-intolerant people also claim that after taking probiotics regularly, their gluten sensitivity symptoms get reduced.
How Can You Tell the Difference Between Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Disease?
You are probably one of the people who wonder if celiac ailment and gluten sensitivity are different. Although these two conditions have similar symptoms, they are different. Celiac disease is an immune response disease that can make you respond negatively to gluten. When suffering from this disease, your body will trigger an immune response when you eat foods containing gluten. Over time, these responses are likely to damage your small intestine's lining, causing it to not absorb nutrients from food. As a result, you will suffer from fatigue, diarrhea, and weight loss. A physician can confirm the existence of this disease through upper endoscopy or a blood test.
On the flip side, gluten sensitivity is a negative reaction to foods that contain gluten. Although this reaction causes similar symptoms to celiac disease symptoms, it does not cause an immune response. Therefore, if you are gluten intolerant, this reaction will not damage your small intestines. The exact cause of gluten sensitivity is not known.
What Are the Signs of Gluten Sensitivity?
Gluten sensitivity can cause several symptoms. A great percentage of these symptoms are not related to digestion. One of these symptoms is bloating. According to research, about 87% of gluten intolerant people experience bloating. Therefore, if you feel bloated after eating foods that contain gluten, you are likely to be gluten intolerant. Diarrhea and constipation are other signs of gluten sensitivity.
Another common sign of gluten intolerance is abdominal pain. Although this kind of pain can be associated with many things, it is a sign of this intolerance if you experience the pain after eating gluten. According to research, about 83% of gluten intolerant people experience this symptom. Other signs of gluten sensitivity include depression, fatigue, skin problems, and anxiety.
How Do You Test for Gluten Intolerance in Your DNA?
According to research, there are two genes in humans that are associated with gluten intolerance. Thirty percent to 40% of Americans carry these genes. Only 3% of these gene carriers are gluten intolerant. Interestingly, you can be a carrier of these genes and not experience gluten intolerance until these genes are triggered. The trigger can be menopause, a disease such as influenza, or antibiotics. Environmental factors can also be triggers.
Having this information in mind, researchers came up with several genetic tests that you can use to test for gluten intolerance. The tests are performed to determine the presence of one or both of the genes associated with gluten intolerance. If you have both or one of these genes, you might be gluten intolerant or just a carrier of the genes.
To further determine if you are gluten intolerant, you need to carry out a biopsy test to check for the presence of inflammatory markers. The presence of these inflammatory markers characterizes gluten intolerance. Staying away from foods that contain gluten will help get accurate results.
What Genes Are Involved in Gluten Sensitivity?
The genes that are involved in gluten sensitivity include HLA DQ8 or HLA DQ2 genes. Particular doctors believe that HLA DQ3 and HLA DQ1 are also involved in gluten sensitivity. People get two copies of HLA DQ genes from their parents. Depending on the copies that you get from your parents, you may be gluten intolerant or insensitive to gluten.
Gluten intolerance is quite common in many people. You may have this intolerance if you are allergic to wheat or if you are suffering from celiac disease. Gluten intolerance is also common in people who have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Doctors have observed this sensitivity affects people from the same family.
As a way to reduce its symptoms, you can take probiotics. However, before taking these medications, you need to determine the dissimilarities in non-celiac gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. These two conditions have similar symptoms, but only celiac disease damages the small intestine, making it unable to absorb nutrients. DNA tests can determine whether you are gluten intolerant due to celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
You can conduct at-home tests with our Nutrition DNA Testing Kit, which can help determine whether or not you’re predisposed to gluten sensitivity, as well as a wide range of other nutritional needs and eating behaviors. Order your kit online, or give us a call at 417.319.1047 for more information.