Irritable bowel syndrome and gluten sensitivity without celiac disease has now been linked by researchers. Will wonders never cease? For many in alternative medicine, that connection has been widely known for a couple decades. Irritable bowel syndrome and gluten sensitivity without celiac disease is treated the same way a gluten intolerance or celiac disease is…eliminate gluten from the diet. But, why the confusion?
Irritable bowel syndrome and gluten sensitivity without celiac disease has been “discovered” by researchers according to a new study in the March 2012 issue of the medical journal Gastroenterology though it has been a long accepted concern for alternative physicians for a couple decades.
The article said, “The authors felt that these data support the existence of non–celiac-associated gluten sensitivity. They concluded that gluten is indeed associated with overall IBS symptoms, bloating, dissatisfaction with stool consistency, abdominal pain, and fatigue in a subset of patients.”
Not happy enough to leave well enough alone, the authors also stated, “Although most would agree that gluten sensitivity exists, this condition remains shrouded in skepticism and confusion.”
They also admit, “…most physicians know little about gluten sensitivity”
They then concluded with this statement, “Although these results are certainly intriguing and hypothesis generating, they require validation in larger, randomized, controlled trials in other parts of the world. What is clear and important for providers to understand is that gluten sensitivity is here to stay and significantly more likely for them to encounter in day-to-day practice than celiac disease.”
No, it doesn’t need to be studied further and yes, gluten sensitivity is here to stay and yes, providers need to know they will encounter it more and more in their practice.
Many of us have for a couple decades.
In fact, alternative physicians consider there to be three separate problems with gluten: gluten intolerance, gluten allergy (sensitivity) and Celiac Disease.
Gluten intolerance is a digestive problem that happens entirely in the gastrointestinal system. It can cause many digestive symptoms such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, nausea, pain, indigestion, burping and belching.
Gluten allergy…found only through a food allergy test…happens in the bloodstream where gluten, passing through the tissue that lines the small intestine improperly into the bloodstream, causes the immune system to generate chemistry that then promotes the inflammatory process. Inflammation may not be visible as it’s created, but the cumulative effect of this chemistry may be evident after months and/or years of creating it.
Celiac Disease is an allergic response…different than a gluten allergy discussed above…where the immune system attacks and destroys the villi that lines the small intestine.
The solution for all three above conditions is the elimination of all gluten containing products from the patient’s diet. Celiac Disease patients need to go a step further and avoid any foods processed on equipment that also processes gluten and they must also inquire about the possibility of gluten used in personal health care products like lipstick, make-up and skin lotions, etc.
Full text of the article from Gastroenterology can be found here:
http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085%2812%2900088-1/fulltext
