Loaf or
deathFOODSTYL
ING:^ TAMARAVOS40 | SEPTEMBER 2019 Women’s Health
Q
WHERE DOES COELIAC
DISEASE FIT IN?
There’s something different about
those tiny blades of wheat inked next to the
bakery selection. ‘Coeliac disease isn’t
an intolerance or allergy,’ says dietitian and
Coeliac UK director of policy and research
Norma McGough. ‘It’s an autoimmune
disease.’ Although your immune system
is involved, coeliac disease is characterised
by the body damaging its own tissues,
specifically the lining of the small intestine.
It can be extremely painful and difficult to
live with. ‘It’s triggered by rye, barley and
wheat,’ says McGough, the problem being
that even foods free, in principle, from these
triggers can be contaminated. And it’s also
on the rise. ‘Diagnosis of coeliac disease has
increased both in the UK and globally,’ adds
McGough. ‘Increased awareness, combined
with the introduction of blood tests in
screening, has likely played a role.’ Many
other researchers cite the Westernisation
of traditionally rice-based diets in China
and India, introducing gluten to populations
that previously weren’t exposed.Q
HOW DOES AN
INTOLERANCE DIFFER?
‘By intolerant, most people
usually mean a food will cause stomach ache,
diarrhoea or nausea,’ explains Professor
Roberts. ‘Sometimes, it’s because their
digestive system doesn’t produce the right
enzyme to digest that particular food
protein. Other times, it’s because other cells,
called T cells, in the immune system become
erroneously activated when they sense the
food. You see slower onset symptoms than
in true allergy sufferers,’ says Professor
Roberts. ‘It’s usually four to six hours after
consuming the lactose enzyme – and the
indicators will be gastroenterological.’ For
people of North European descent, rates of
lactose intolerance are way lower – roughly
5% of the adult population, a figure that
rises to 20% when other intolerance-
inducing foods (gluten, caffeine, FODMAPs,
sulphites) are accounted for. ‘People who
experience symptoms of intolerance should
see a gastroenterologist or allergist,’ advises
Professor Roberts. ‘Typically, they’ll advise
that you go through an elimination process
to identify exactly which foods you need to
cut out. Ideally, no one should lose a food
group from their diet, as the less varied
your nutrient sources, the more difficult it
becomes to consume what your body needs.’Q
HOW DO I GET
A DIAGNOSIS?
As the hype around allergies
grows, so, too, does the market for dubiously
labelled ‘at-home’ allergy test kits – being
flogged online for anything between £13.99
and £299.99 – but they’re a mixed bag.
‘There’s a type of testing kit that looks at
level of the immunoglobulin G (IgG)
antibody,’ says Professor Roberts. ‘IgG
goes up with exposure, so if you add egg or
whatever, you’ll have IgG antibodies against
it, and it won’t tell you anything about an
allergy. There are other tests that look at
levels of the IgE (or immunoglobulin E)
antibodies, and they can help to diagnose
allergy, but results can be very difficult to
interpret. So I wouldn’t recommend these
DIY tests. If you think you have an allergy,
particularly an immediate allergic reaction
to any foodstuff, you need to see your GP
as soon as possible.’ Not only will your
doctor know which tests to run, they’ll
order them in, too.‘The immune
response has
started to attack
non-harmful
stimulants’
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