The wall of the small intestine is
covered with little, finger-like
projections called villi. These increase
the intestine’s surface area for more
efficient absorption of nutrients. The
image on the left shows how the villi
become flattened and inflamed in
sufferers of coeliac disease, while the
image on the right illustrates the villi
in a healthy individual.It is still unclear why some
people develop coeliac
disease, but it appears to be
associated with certain
genetic mutations. The
unpleasant symptoms
illustrated here will clear up
once a sufferer adopts a
gluten-free diet.MOUTH
Ulcers
Enamel erosionJOINTS AND
MUSCLES
Pain
SwellingSTOMACH
Pain
NauseaIN FEMALES
Infertility
Miscarriage
Early menopauseSKIN
Acne
Eczema
Brittle nailsINTESTINES
Diarrhoea
Bloating
ConstipationWHAT’S COELIAC
DISEASE?Gluten
is made up of hundreds of
different proteins, the
most important being
gliadin and glutenin. It is
the gliadin protein that
causes the majority of
problems, leading to
intolerances. Gluten is
found in wheat, barley
and r ye, though it is also
present in soy sauce.
Wheat has been an
important part of our
diet since it was first
cultivated millennia ago.INSTANT EXPERT
DIET
It won’t be easy because so many foods have
gluten in them. You will also need to stick to
a strict gluten-free diet for at least a month to
see if your symptoms improve. Then, to make
doubly sure, you should gradually reintroduce
gluten and see what happens.
Foods that you will need to avoid on a
gluten-free diet include anything with wheat,
rye, barley or spelt. So bread, pasta, cereals,
cakes and biscuits are out. You will also need
to lay off the beer and read labels carefully as
many processed foods have gluten in them.
Fra n k ly, sk ippi ng out ma ny of t hese foodst u f fs
is likely to help you lose weight and make you
feel better anyway. The main disadvantage of
going gluten-free is that unless you are careful
you may lose out on essential nutrients.
You are not going to find many vital nutrients
in cakes or biscuits, but breads and cereals are
fortified with a range of vitamins and minerals.
Un less you compensate by eat i ng more f r u it a nd
vegetables, t here is a r isk of becom i ng def icient.
Avoid, like the plague, anything that markets
it sel f a s ‘g luten-f ree’. It w i l l a l most cer ta i n ly be
junk. A sad thing about this scare is that worried
parents are buying gluten-free children’s food
in the belief it’s better, when it is often packed
with unhealthy additions, like lots of salt.MILKING IT
The other popular food ‘allergy’ to have is
lactose intolerance. Lactose is a natural sugar
found largely in milk and other dairy products.
People who worry about lactose often do so on
the grounds that drinking milk is ‘unnatural’.
They claim that we are the only species on
Earth that consumes milk as adults, and this
can’t be a good thing.
Instead, we are encouraged to either avoid
milk altogether or try one of the other variants,
such as almond milk (vile) and soya milk (even
worse). Sadly, the enthusiasm for almond milk
has not even been slightly dented by studies
suggesting that the water catastrophe playing
out i n Ca l ifor n ia is pa r t ly dow n to t he enor mous
growth in worldwide demand for almonds.
Unlike gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance
is actually extremely common. When we’re very
young we get lots of lactose in our diet, either
from breast milk or from cow’s milk.5 had NCGS. In other words, 86 per cent of
this group of patients who thought they had
some form of gluten-related problem really
didn’t. Or at least cutting out gluten from their
diet made no difference.
The team concluded: “Self-perceived
gluten-related symptoms are rarely indicative
of the presence of NCGS”.
If you have lots of gut symptoms and think
you might be intolerant to gluten, then you
should get yourself properly tested to exclude
coeliac disease and wheat allergy. If the tests
come back negative and you still have a nagging
feeling you might have NCGS or some other, as
yet unnamed, gluten intolerance syndrome, then
you might want to give a gluten-free diet a go.