Do You Have Gluten Intolerance Symptoms?
Gluten Intolerance And The Symptoms:
Gluten free diets are becoming more and more popular these days, with a lot of media coverage making people suspect they may have Gluten Intolerance.
Still, most people don’t really know what gluten is, what it does and whether they’d be better off ditching it? Some are even resistant to it yet don’t know what the gluten intolerance symptoms are. Let’s investigate.
What is Gluten Anyway?
Gluten is a combination of two proteins find mainly in wheat and barley based products. The two proteins Gliadin and Glutenin combine to create Gluten. Gluten helps to make wheat products gooey and stretchy.
Gluten, of itself is not a bad product for the human body. However, people who suffer from a chronic digestive disorder known as celiac disease, are not able to eat gluten. That’s because the Celiac’s body views gluten as an invader, proceeding to trigger an immune response, which causes damage to the small intestine. This can cause major nutritional deficiencies.
Recently another group of people have been identified who aren’t Celiacs but have and adverse reaction to gluten. They suffer similar reactions as Celiacs after eating gluten. So, what are the gluten intolerance symptoms?
Gluten Intolerance Symptoms
Heaviness: After eating bread you feel heavy, dizzy and somewhat drunk and off balance.
Digestive Issues: If after eating wheat you suffer from bloating, gas, diarrhoea or constipation, your body is telling you loud and clear that it can’t process gluten properly.
Headaches: If you suffer from headaches or migraines after eating wheat, this is a very clear gluten intolerance symptom.
Hormonal Imbalances: Such hormonal problems as PMS or unexplained infertility could be tell tale signs of your body’s negative response to gluten
Inflammation: Joint inflammation and stiffness are allergic reactions that could be caused by intolerance to gluten.
Mood Problems: Anxiety, moodiness and depression may not be caused by a gluten intolerance symptom – but, the again, it just might be.
Chicken Skin: If after eating gluten, the skin on the back of your arms is not smooth, but crinkled and rough it may be a symptom of the inefficient utilisation of Vitamin A, which can be a result of a gluten intolerance.
Problems with Gluten Free Diets
Gluten free doesn’t necessarily mean that a food is any more healthy, natural or lower in calories. In addition, foods without gluten do not bind very easily. Often this problem is compensated for by adding fats and sugars.
Conclusion
The popularity of a gluten free lifestyle has led to a proliferation of food products geared towards this lifestyle. That’s great news for people with Celiac disease and those who display gluten intolerance symptoms. The jury is still out on the health benefits of going gluten free as a general health choice, however. If you do decide to go down that route, just ensure that you will be getting the vitamins and minerals that your body needs and that you aren’t compensating, wittingly or unwittingly, with more sugar and fat.