So you think it could be gluten? Before you remove gluten, read this first…

Article:

You may be experiencing symptoms, related to digestion like diarrhoea, constipation, bloating or pain. Or you could just be really tired, feeling run down and having recurring mouth ulcers. Maybe someone you know suggested you should avoid gluten and see how you go. Either way there are some important steps you should follow, if you suspect gluten might be responsible for your symptoms.

You might think that getting rid of all your gluten containing food and researching all the new things you can eat would be your first step.

STOP. KEEP EATING GLUTEN PRODUCTS. Hang on, wait a minute… this is weird advice, especially coming from a naturopath like myself. “Aren’t we meant to hate gluten and put everyone on a gluten free, dairy free and sugar free diet?” Well let me explain why you shouldn’t abruptly stop eating gluten when you strongly suspect it might be causing your health issues.

If gluten was the cause and your doctor or health care practitioner suspect you have Coeliac Disease (CD), the first thing they will want to do is send you off for some simple blood tests. CD is an autoimmune condition, which means your body attacks self, in other words your body turns against itself and damages or destroys your cells. This is because in autoimmune conditions there “is a switch that is flicked” and the body sees its own cells as an enemy. The blood tests you are sent for, will be detecting if there are any antibodies (proteins found in the body that tag cells, viruses and bacteria that need to be destroyed) for gluten or for the cells found in the small intestine. This is what the body sees as an enemy in CD. If you are eating gluten and you have CD then your body will be making plenty of antibodies to gluten and to the cells in the small intestine (which end up being attacked and damaged, this is called villous atrophy- see picture).

Villi (small finger like projections) line the inside of the small intestine and increase the surface area for absorption and digestion to take place.

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Healthy villi         Damaged villi as they can appear in Coeliac disease

Picture 1- Illustration of what healthy villi look like as compared to damaged villi in CD. As you can see they are much smaller and inflamed. This damage hugely affects the small intestines ability to do its job of absorbing food due to the decreased surface area.

When you go on a gluten free diet, you will stop making antibodies, the ones present will be broken down and healing will begin to take place. Even if you just decrease gluten in your diet, the antibodies may drop below detectable levels. So you could have CD, be tested while on a gluten free diet and have a negative test result to the antibodies (as they are not being produced) and you would be told you do not have CD. So this is a case of having a false negative result. You can see how this would be quite dangerous. You get told you do not have CD, so you possibly go back to including gluten (even if it is in small amounts), all the while causing more damage to your gut. This leads to swelling and inflammation, which can then lead to other complications and/or any of the other related conditions.

The other danger I see in just going on a gluten free diet, is that it can delay people being diagnosed for another reason. I have spoken to many people who go on a gluten free diet and feel better, and then of course as their symptoms improve, they don’t want to reintroduce it in the amounts needed for correct testing.

In CD eating gluten causes damage that can take a year to completely heal, in Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity there is no damage to the cells. If you believe (possibly falsely) that you don’t have CD you just have a sensitivity, then you could spend years doing damage to your gut and ultimately the health of your entire body. Because if you don’t think you have to be 100% gluten free for ever, then you probably will eat gluten occasionally.

The amount of gluten you must consume to have reliable blood test results, equates to eating 4 slices of bread for adults and 2 slices for children for at least 6 weeks. (Coeliac Australia) This could also include things like crackers, pasta or baked goods.

If you were to have a positive result to either the gluten antibodies or to the small intestine cells, then your doctor would refer you to a Gastroenterologist (doctor who specialises in digestive conditions) to have a small bowel biopsy. This is a procedure that verifies without a doubt the presence of CD. It involves being sedated and having a camera and tube inserted down the oesophagus, through the stomach and into the small intestine (see picture 2). Here very small samples are taken to verify under a microscope if there is damage done to the cells that is consistent with CD. If these tests come back negative, then at least there can be further investigations done to rule out other medical conditions, that could need treatment.

Picture 2-Our food moves from our mouth to our stomach and then makes its way to the small intestine which is where gluten reacts with the immune system in CD and where the damage to the lining takes place. This is where the small samples will be taken from.

When I see many patients in clinic that have suspected gluten could be causing their problems, I always think about ruling out CD first, or ask if they have already had this done & were they eating enough gluten at the time of testing. Data shows that 4 out of 5 people that have CD do not know they have the disease (Coeliac Australia), this is why awareness about proper testing is so important. CD does not have clear cut symptoms, some do not have any digestive symptoms and some people do not have any symptoms at all. It is not a disease that you want to leave undiagnosed for years, especially when you consider some of the complications possible are thyroid disease, Type 1 diabetes and even bowel cancer. (Coeliac Australia)

I have created a guide to help you understand the 5 ways you can begin to
reduce your symptoms of bloating, pain and gas.

This guide is easy to understand, so that you can begin implementing changes today and  
get relief as soon as possible.

Don’t suffer any longer!

A bit about me!

 I am Danielle Elliott a qualified Naturopath and the owner of Tummy Rescue.

I have been helping kids & adults improve their health for over 16 years, with the last 11 years concentrating on helping patients with any kind of gut disorder. I began focussing on everything gut related after my husband was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. And lucky I did……as my husband and both our kids have Coeliac Disease and my daughter has a dairy allergy.

So…. I am well and truly where I am meant to be!

I love being able to help people to soothe and calm their symptoms, investigate the causes and support and improve their gut function.

I also get to write educational pieces to train practitioners and am often interviewed for podcasts and summits, which is another really rewarding part of my work. I love educating people (this is something I do in every consult), because I do believe knowledge is power. It gives you the tools to make the changes you need to!

So, when you opt-in to my E-book, you are beginning on a journey of learning and discovery, of how you can reduce your symptoms of bloating, gas & pain and improve your gut health.

I would be honoured to help you along the way.

Danielle xoxo