Can Gluten Intolerance Cause Constipation
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Celiac Disease Vs Gluten Intolerance
It must be noticeable to everyone to understand the difference between gluten intolerance and celiac disease, as a celiac disease has severe symptoms than gluten intolerance.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder leading to digestive system damage triggering more than 1% of the population. In that case, a small amount of gluten can affect the whole digestive tract and intestine. Celiac disease disturbs the natural nutrients absorbing process, and nowadays, it has been spreading more and more.
Opposite to that, gluten intolerance, said to be an allergy to that protein, causes non-dangerous issues affecting more than 13% of the population and is medically known as NCGS or Non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
How Is Gluten Intolerance Treated
Theres no cure for gluten intolerance. But most people find relief from symptoms by following a gluten-free diet. You should work with your healthcare provider and a dietitian to plan your diet.
You can also ask your healthcare provider about adding probiotics to your diet. Probiotics help increase the good bacteria in your gut. They may reduce symptoms of bloating, gas or constipation.
Some research suggests that taking certain enzymes may help you digest gluten. But experts are still investigating this treatment. Talk to your healthcare provider before taking any enzymes.
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What Health Issues Does Gluten Cause
There are two types of health issues that gluten may cause for people who are affected with the sensitivity to the protein. These are gluten intolerance and a less severe gluten sensitivity.
Gluten intolerance is an autoimmune digestive genetic disease, also referred to as celiac disease.
With celiac disease, gluten causes ones body to have an autoimmune response that inflames and damages the small intestines lining, which can cause pain and make it difficult for your body to absorb necessary vitamins and nutrients from food. People who suffer from celiac disease need to always avoid gluten.
This disease is becoming increasingly common. A study in the Gastroenterology Journal reports that in the past 50 years, celiac disease has gone from affecting 0.15% of people to 0.83% of people in 2009, and now that number has risen to 1% of the population.
Celiac disease is a serious disorder that can cause other health problems such as malnutrition, infertility, and bowel cancer. Here are 13 early signs of gluten intolerance in adults.
Action Steps: Tips For Avoiding Gluten
If you are making the commitment to avoid gluten and truly doing it for all the right reasons, you should get serious about it. You want to really focus on what it means to avoid gluten altogether. This is going to be an adjustment like anything else, but you can do it if you are truly committed. If you make this your mission you can adapt to gluten-free eating in a couple of weeks and hopefully get some relief from your challenging symptoms.
In order to make this your new way of life, here are a few tips to help you in avoiding gluten moving forward.
Gluten-free diets may be all the rage, but you know if its truly right for you. If you focus on doing it for the right reasons then you can get something out of it. If you are trying to manage your symptoms then this may be the diet for you. Understand if you truly have Celiac disease or a gluten intolerance or insensitivity and this comes from an appointment with your doctor.
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Frequent Infections Are Symptoms Of Gluten Intolerance
Frequent infections that seem completely unrelated to the digestive tract are common in gluten sensitivity however, they are very much related. Gluten sensitivity causes extensive damage to the lining of the small intestine which houses up to 70% of the bodys immune system. Some of the immune system tissue that becomes damaged in gluten sensitivity is the tissues that produce antibodies called Secretory IgA. Secretory IgA is one of the most abundant antibodies in the human body and is extremely important for killing pathogens that come into contact with mucosal tissue such as the:
Sinuses
Are you starting to see the connection?
So, really people who are otherwise healthy, but who get frequent colds or infections could possibly have symptoms of gluten intolerance even as unrelated as the two seem on the surface.
Why Constipation Is Not Just Uncomfortable But Unhealthy
Constipation isnt just gut pain, fewer bowel movements or the many other related symptoms such as bloating and constipation. Experiencing constipation symptoms indicates a dysfunction in your bodys ability to digest nutrients and eliminate toxins.
Not unlike bad traffic, celiac disease constipation represents slow transit time and thus leads to back-ups. When your colon becomes backed up, then eventually your small intestine will become backed-up. This then leads to delayed gastric emptying in your stomach. This also begins a domino effect of gluten allergy symptoms.
This gastric delay reduces absorption of nutrients at all points in the digestive system. This keeps toxins your body normally eliminates in your system for a longer period, taxing your immune system even further as some of these toxins may be reabsorbed.
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The 14 Most Common Signs Of Gluten Intolerance
Gluten intolerance is a fairly common problem.
It is characterized by adverse reactions to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.
Celiac disease is the most severe form of gluten intolerance.
It is an autoimmune disease that affects about 1% of the population and may lead to damage in the digestive system .
However, 0.513% of people may also have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, a milder form of gluten intolerance that can still cause problems .
Both forms of gluten intolerance can cause widespread symptoms, many of which have nothing to do with digestion.
Here are the 14 main signs and symptoms of gluten intolerance.
Depression affects about 6% of adults each year. The symptoms can be very disabling and involve feelings of hopelessness and sadness .
People with digestive issues seem to be more prone to both anxiety and depression, compared to healthy individuals .
This is especially common among people who have celiac disease .
There are a few theories about how gluten intolerance can drive depression. These include :
Take Home Message
Numbness In The Arms Or Legs
Another striking symptom of gluten intolerance is neuropathy, which causes numbness or tingling in the arms and legs.This is quite common in people with diabetes and vitamin B12 deficiency. It can also be caused by drug and alcohol abuse.People with celiac disease and gluten intolerance seem to have a higher risk of developing these symptoms than the healthy population.The cause of this disorder is unknown, although it is likely related to the presence of certain antibodies linked to gluten intolerance.
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Gluten Sensitivity And Constipation: Understanding The Link
Chronic constipation isnt just uncomfortableits can be a serious health condition. If you are suffering from this condition and havent been able to pinpoint the medical cause yet, I recommend setting up an appointment with your doctor to get tested for celiac disease or a food insensitivity, in particular to gluten. Commonly experienced by celiacs, chronic constipation has also been linked to hypersensitivies to gluten as well as to other foods.
First, an understanding of how does celiac disease and gluten sensitivity cause constipation is essential. Celiac disease is an autoimmune reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. The disease works by attacking the villi, the finger-like structures that line the small intestine, inhibiting proper absorption of nutrients. The results? After your colon is backed up, so will the small intestine back up, leading to a delay in gastric emptying in your stomach, resulting in reflux and heartburn, reducing nutrient absorption, and keeping toxins inside the body, causing stress on the immune system.
Tina Turbin
Gluten Intolerance And Celiac Disease Are Different
There are two different types of gluten intolerance: Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten intolerance.
Celiac disease is a genetic, autoimmune disorder that affects about 1 in 100 people worldwide. People with celiac disease are genetically predisposed to gluten intolerance, and even ingesting a very small amount can lead to severe damage of the small intestine.
The disease can develop at any age and, if left untreated, can lead to serious health problems.Most concerning? Many people who have celiac disease dont realize it. In fact, the Celiac Disease Foundation reports that an estimated 2.5 million Americans are undiagnosed, and therefore at risk for major long-term health complications.
But you dont have to have celiac disease to have a gluten intolerance. Non-celiac gluten intolerance can be tough to diagnose because its not an autoimmune disease or a food allergy . Non-celiac gluten intolerance means that your bodys digestive system cant tolerate any form of the protein gluten. If consumed, your body fights against it with inflammation, causing digestive issues like fatigue, abdominal pain, diarrhea and gassiness. Its estimated that 15 percent of the U.S. population has some sort of non-celiac gluten intolerance.
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My Familys Gluten Issues
When my son was a baby he had horribly smelly stools. They smelled so bad that if I was changing his diaper upstairs you could smell it all across the house and downstairs. The smell would hang in the air after. It smelled rancid like the stool had fermented in him. And to an extent, that is kind of what happened. The stool wouldnt move through normally and would sit in his intestines and get rancid. Even now, if I go to a public bathroom and the smell knocks me over I think, Someone needs to be gluten-free!
We have been told that bowel movements are really stinky but I have found that once foods that people arent digesting well are eliminated, stools have a relatively unoffensive smell. Not totally smell free of course, but not overwhelming either. Once those foods are eliminated, then gas also becomes less of a problem.
My son has been gluten-free since he was 18 months and about 6 years ago we realized that my husband also needed to gluten-free due to his Crohns disease. I agreed to go gluten-free as well to encourage my husband, and to make meal prep easier by keeping my kitchen completely gluten-free. I figured if I had gluten occasionally while I was out, it wouldnt be a big deal, but that I would generally follow a gluten-free diet as well.
Over the next year or two, I would occasionally get something with gluten and would inevitably get a migraine. It became undeniable that I was reacting to gluten.
Your Stool Is Hard And You Go Infrequently
Recent research shows that about 50% of those diagnosed with celiac disease experience diarrhea. Constipation, however, is also common in those with celiac disease, either before diagnosis or when eating gluten-free. Occasional constipation is normal, but when stools become infrequent or hard to pass for several weeks, its time to take action.
If youre feeling a little backed up, drinking more fluid and eating more dietary fiber can help. Youll find fiber in fruits, vegetables, beans and gluten-free whole grains. Increase your fiber intake slowly eating too much too soon can increase gas and bloat. Adequate fluid intake is important too, so drink plenty of water or other beverages to help stools pass more easily.
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Consult With Your Doctor
The first step in determining gluten intolerance is to consult with your primary care provider. They will be able to do tests to find out whether you have a more serious condition like celiac disease. The above symptoms can also be related to various other conditions, so it is good to rule out other causes before assuming gluten intolerance. If the tests do come back negative, then it may be a good idea to try a gluten free diet to see how you respond to it. Although, check with your doctor to make sure this is a good idea. If you do try a gluten free diet, you can make a food journal to keep track of the foods you have tried, along with what works and what doesnât.
Can Gluten Intolerance Lead To Health Problems And Weight Gain
With all the news about gluten and gluten-free diets, you may be wondering can gluten intolerance lead to weight gain? In fact, if your body cant process gluten you can have many problems including weight gain. However, weight gain isnt as common as weight loss.
With gluten intolerance, your body has trouble absorbing the protein gluten thats found in wheat, barley, and rye. As you continue to eat these foods you may have a wide array of digestive problems weight gain being one of them.
Gluten intolerance can cause gas, cramping, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. The symptoms you experience will be individual. One of the best ways to discover whether or not youre tolerant to gluten is to eliminate gluten from your diet and see if symptoms subside.
Many people find that a gluten-free diet can promote weight loss and better digestive health. A lot of that is because foods that are high in gluten also tend to be high in refined sugars, fats, and artificial ingredients.
But if you continue to eat gluten and you have an intolerance, you could actually end up having problems with too much weight loss. This isnt the kind that helps you shape up for summer its the kind that sends you to the hospital and makes you very ill.
Gluten intolerance can exacerbate problems such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and other auto-immune disorders because it causes inflammation in your body. It can even cause a severe allergic reaction called celiac disease.
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