Gluten's Dark Secret

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Gluten has become a hot topic in the health world. Raising awareness of the health problems that gluten can cause is very important because there are many people with autoimmune disorders or other diagnosed health problems that can benefit from eliminating gluten from their diet. Even with all the progress and publicity that gluten has gotten in the recent years, there still seems to be quite a bit of confusion, and the biggest area of confusion appears to be the difference between Celiac Disease versus having a gluten sensitivity or a gluten intolerance.

I often talk with people who are struggling with some type of autoimmune disorder and one of the first questions I always ask is, "Do you eat gluten?" Nine times out of ten the person replies with something like "Well yes, but I already got tested for Celiac Disease and it came back negative so my doctor told me I didn't have to avoid gluten". This is where the confusion seems to be. In reality, there are three basic types of gluten related problems people can suffer from and all three can lead to very similar health problems. Celiac Disease, the most famous of the three, is an inherited autoimmune disease; it is actually the only autoimmune disease that has a known trigger, and most people are aware of its related problems. 

Gluten sensitivity is more like an allergic reaction. In this case, the person suffering has what is known as "leaky gut", which is when your intestinal lining has broken down and allows for passage of larger particles than it normally would. In the case of gluten sensitivity, too much gluten passes through and leads to histamine release by the immune cells causing an allergic reaction effect, very similar to someone who has an allergy to something like strawberries or nuts. Things can get complicated because along with the complication of gluten sensitivity, there can also be health problems because of the leaky gut present. These problems have the ability to affect all parts of the body like the endocrine system, digestive system, and neurological function leading to major dysfunction and disease, and can actually lead to developing other food allergies as well.

Lastly, there is gluten intolerance. One major difference between gluten intolerance and the other two is there is no genetic predisposition to getting it. So basically anyone can develop a gluten intolerance. Much like with gluten sensitivity, gluten intolerance happens when leaky gut is present in the intestines. Large gaps in the intestinal wall allow too many and too large food particles to pass through and in doing so cause problems in your body. The immune cells that mark gluten for destruction can also float around the body and stick to other cells in the body, like the cells that make up the thyroid. Then, the body's own immune system basically starts to attack itself and an autoimmune problem can result.

This is a very basic overview of the types of problems related to gluten, but also why I recommend to everyone to avoid gluten, especially if you have autoimmune type symptoms even if you have been tested for Celiac Disease. Lastly, although avoiding gluten can make a big difference, you can always get tested for gluten intolerance and gluten sensitivity to know for sure. Also, there might need to be some steps taken to repair the intestinal wall from all the damage that has been done; especially if leaky guy is present. If you want to learn more about leaky gut click here. 

Dr. Matt