CD's, Grid Systems, and Pounds.

An Age Old Question

The differences between Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity are not quite clear. It’s even been said that Wheat allergy is completely separate from the both Gluten Sensitivity/Intolerance (basically the same thing), as well as Celiac Disease (also mistakenly called wheat allergy). Upon a further look, there are slight differences between Celiac Disease and Wheat Allergy. Not to mention, it can all be confused with symptoms that resemble Irritable bowel syndrome.

A study showed Gluten Sensitivity to be “characterized by lack of intestinal damage, negative CD Serology, and a possible presence of anti-gliadin antibodies” (6). CD serology being the lack of the diagnosis of Celiac Disease as a possibility for the replicated symptoms that may be shown and thought to be Celiac Disease in the first place. Intestinal Damage is created via the velli in the small intestine to be eroded away, causing the small intestine to be flat, leading to malabsorption. Well, first it becomes inflamed, and over time, they erode away.

It’s been speculated and/or observed that often times, when peoples become symptomatic, they will take on a gluten free diet,based on the assumption that it’s Celiac Disease, and therefore test negative for Celiac Disease due to a well balanced Gluten Free diet that has made their symptoms disappear and helped their intestinal tract all together. It’s been mentioned that a couple of tactics would be to include gluten in the diet and monitor both symptoms and anti-gliadin antibodies, and another would be to check for HLA-DQ2, and HLA-DQ8. Meanwhile, there are people with Gluten Sensitivity, as well as a wheat allergy.

A couple other studies showed that Celiac Disease required a predisposition (genetically passed genes from family with history of Celiac), as well as a trigger, such as trauma, stress, or environmental issues. You could be born with HLA-DQ2, and HLA-DQ8, and not show any symptoms until activation, that’s when the Celiac Disease is considered latent or lying dormant.

Easily Confused!

If one wasn’t born with the symptoms already, they’re likely to assume it’s just gluten intolerance, which can be dangerous because Celiac can potentially destroy your small intestine and create more problems as you continue to consume more gluten. Either by saying you can “handle it,” or “what’s a stomach ache, every once in a while,” and doing it anyways, or by not paying attention to which products you consume contain gluten, and choosing to deal with the consequences.

It’s vice versa with Gluten Sensitivity/Intolerance. If you weren’t having problems with gluten previously, and you develop symptoms that resemble Gluten Intolerance, or wheat allergy, a quick search on the web may lead you to believe you actually have Celiac Disease, in which you are likely (as previously stated) to put yourself on a diet out of fear of having Celiac. In which case, when you go to the doctor, they will rule out Celiac regardless, because you’ve been on the gluten-free diet.

Which makes this type of distinguishment between Gluten Sensitivity, Celiac, or Wheat allergy difficult to make. It's more common to confuse Gluten Sensitivity with a Wheat allergy, because both of the symptoms are found to be more temporary and easier to get over, where as a Celiac Disease can (once again) potentially destroy your small intestine. Both Gluten Sensitivity and Wheat Allergy are equally as mistake for Celiac Disease, as well.

Since Irritable bowel syndrome can be considered a side effect or symptom of any one of the the three (Celiac, Intolerance, or allergy), it is difficult to tell if they purely a result of IBS, or a symptom of Celiac, Intolerance, or allergy. It’s not been declared if IBS and Celiac occur at the same time, or if they are a pair (kind of like Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome), or if the symptoms of either just happen to replicate each other. Currently, it seems that if one originally thought to have IBS, also tests positive for Celiac, they are only thought to have Celiac, but that doesn’t necessarily rule out IBS. Either way, you'd definitely be looking into a diet change.

Coffee and Wine

There are many options of foods that fall within the gluten free diet, as it turns out, coffee may actually not fit within the types. The coffee itself is gluten-free by nature, but depending on where and how it’s processed, it may become cross contaminated before it makes it to your favorite morning cup of coffee. Even if it does not become cross contaminated during that process, it may still cause some issues, due to the cross-reaction. As it turns out, coffee actually contains proteins so similar to gluten, it could trigger your symptoms regardless. So, if you love your morning cup, you may have to kick the bucket or find a different coffee type that will agree with your diet. However, if you have IBS, coffee is definitely something you will want to continue to avoid regardless of brand.

Other than coffee, another thing you may be wondering about is wine. Wine is completely safe for the gluten free diet, however, for IBS it’s completely different. Wine is unfortunately something you’d also want to avoid as well. Any alcohol, it appears, can disturb or disrupt your content body and create symptoms because of the acid it contains. You may notice abdominal pain or bloating of your tummy. On that note, the only type of alcohol for the Celiac to watch out for is certain types of beers (most actually) and other types that are processed with wheat, rye or barley.

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