4 Types Of Reaction To Gluten And What Causes Them
Gluten sensitivity is increasing and more and more people are suppressing it, but there are several reasons why adopting a gluten-free diet can be the right thing to do. better for your health.
Gluten, the protein from wheat and other cereals that gives consistency to doughs, is everywhere and its consumption not only has serious consequences for people with celiac disease but can also affect many other people who, without being celiac, have developed some sensitivity to this protein to a greater or lesser degree.
This involvement is apparently due to the fact that some substances such as gliadins (gluten proteins), short-chain carbohydrates, and amylase and trypsin inhibitors cause an alteration of the lining of the small intestine that hinders the absorption of some foods.
In any case, the rapid increase in people affected by this syndrome seems to be linked to the increase in the consumption of foods with gluten : not only of the cereals themselves, but also of the large number of processed products that incorporate it as such or as an additive .
This omnipresence of gluten is something that we must take into account if we want to reduce its consumption or eliminate it from our diet.
Reasons to eliminate gluten from the diet
There are different classifications according to the body’s reaction to gluten:
1. Celiac disease
It is intolerance to gluten protein, a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by a lesion of the mucosa of the small intestine that prevents the proper absorption of nutrients.
The symptoms are diarrhea, malnutrition, abdominal bloating, nausea and vomiting … In case of celiac disease the person is imperative to completely abandon gluten and avoid the slightest contamination.
2. Sensitivity to gluten
It is also known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), which could affect 10% of the population.
The symptoms are very similar to those produced by intolerance, although extradigestive manifestations predominate , such as behavioral disturbances, bone and joint pain, cramps, numbness of the limbs, weight loss or chronic fatigue.
3. Allergy to gluten
It is produced by an immediate hypersensitivity immune response. It affects a very low percentage of the population and the symptoms are of different severity: abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, asthma, cough, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, urticaria, edema or inflammation, dermatitis …
4. Other health problems
They are what we might call “volunteers” or people who voluntarily reject gluten.
This group includes those people who, without the need for a diagnosis, banish wheat and its derivatives because they follow a therapeutic diet that excludes it, such as ketogenic, anticandida, anticancer or the diet for Crohn’s disease, or simply because they decide follow a “gluten free” lifestyle.
