May is Celiac Awareness Month so I wanted to take this week to talk all about moving though life with ease without gluten. A celiac diagnosis can feel devastating at first; however, there are so many options and allergy friendly restaurants these days that this, my friend, is not the end of enjoying food!

In this weeks blog, I’ll talk about what celiac disease is, how to recognize the symptoms, as well as non-celiac gluten sensitivity and the difference between a sensitivity and celiac disease. I will also discuss gluten free swaps you can make to enjoy the meals you have grown to love as well as some strategies while traveling.

What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac Disease (CD) is an autoimmune condition that is triggered by consuming gluten-containing grains including:

• wheat
• barley
• rye
• spelt
• and any products made from these grains
• oats, unless labeled “gluten free” are contaminated with gluten due to shared process equipment

For those with celiac disease, when they consume gluten, their immune system creates damage to the intestinal villi which are tiny, finger-like projections that line the length of your small intestine. Villi absorb nutrients from your food and carry them to your bloodstream for delivery where they are needed in the body. When the villi become damaged, the body cannot properly absorb nutrients and eventually this can lead to malnourishment and nutrient deficiencies which can lead to a host of other issues.

Symptoms of Celiac Disease

Symptoms can vary widely and are easy to confuse a number of other conditions. Someone might have 1 symptom or many symptoms and they may come and go without warning.

Digestive symptoms include:¹

• Bloating
• Chronic diarrhea
• Constipation
• Gas
• Lactose intolerance (due to damage of the small intestine)
• Loose, greasy, bulky, and bad-smelling stools
• Nausea or vomiting
• Pain in the abdomen

Symptoms not related to digestion:

• Dermatitis herpetiformis (itchy, blistering skin rash – occurs in 10-20% of adults)
• Fatigue
• Joint or bone pain
• Mental health problems such as depression or anxiety
• Nervous system symptoms such as headaches, balance problems, seizures, or peripheral neurophathy
• Reproductive problems in women and infertility in men
• Canker sores

Children tend to have different symptoms than adults. This includes:

• Damage to the permanent teeth’s enamel
• Delayed puberty
• Failure to thrive (not gaining weight as expected for their age)
• Mood changes (easily annoyed or impatient)
• Slowed growth/height
• Weight loss

What Causes Celiac Disease?

Genetics can certainty play a part and those with two groups of normal gene variants (DQ2 and DQ8) tend to develop celiac disease. Its interesting that while 30% of people have both variants, only ~3% of those end up developing celiac disease. Also if you have a genetic predisposition for celiac disease AND you eat a lot of gluten in early childhood, you seems to have a higher likelihood of developing the disease. With all of this information, I feel like more genetic testing in early childhood could really save people from struggling for years before they are diagnosed and maybe even prevent them from developing it at all!

Other causes can be related to gut infections which impact the microbiome and a persons ability to help with proper digestion. This shows why addressing microbiome imbalances quickly are so critical to long-term health.

Additionally long-term leaky gut (which will cause inflammation) might play a role. I talked about leaky gut on my previous post “Identifying and Addressing Food Sensitivities for Optimal Wellness and Performance“. If you have leaky gut, you will inherently develop an intolerance to foods that you eat the most.

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) is a condition where someone who does not have Celiac Disease (an autoimmune condition) or a wheat allergy experiences symptoms after consuming gluten-containing foods. This condition can impact 13% of people and it is more common in women, teens and those in their 30’s and 40’s.² There are a lot of overlapping symptoms between Celiac Disease and NCGS. NCGS can still cause negative impacts to our health, like a greater incidence of anemia and an immune response as well as an anti-gliadin IgG antibody³ response.⁴

Some studies have shown that even if you do not have NCGS that the gliadin protein in wheat can create gut permeability (meaning that over-consumption of wheat may cause leaky gut).⁵ More studies need to be done, but it does make me caution that consumption of wheat may not be the best way to support your health! Anyone with an inflammatory bowel disease should most definitely eat a gluten free diet regardless of having CD or NCGS. A gluten free diet in this population will support inflammation in their GI system and often in other parts of the body as well. In fact, a randomized trial showed that in patients with IBS, “gluten significantly worsened their overall symptoms, abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, tiredness, and satisfaction with stool consistency”.⁶

What do I do if I have Celiac Disease or Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS)?

Unfortunately there isn’t a way to reverse this Celiac Disease, so if you have been diagnosed, the best course of action is to remove ALL gluten containing foods and beverages from your diet and even gluten-containing cosmetics and personal care products. Because, if you continue to consume them, you WILL end up with nutrient deficiencies and subsequent health conditions.

As discussed above, if you have Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, gluten can still create an inflammatory response in the body and your symptoms may even be just as severe as someone with CD. I would still recommend to remove gluten from your diet, but you may not need to watch out for cross contamination as much (this will depend on your personal sensitivity).

Hidden sources of gluten:

• Shared friers in restaurants create cross contamination
• Broths, sauces and condiments
• Herbal and Nutritional Supplements
• Vitamin Supplements
• Cosmetics (lipstick, makeup)
• Skin and hair products
• Toothpaste and mouthwash
• Communion wafers
• Modified food starch
• Malt falvoring
• Preservatives
• Play Dough

Healthy Swaps:

• Regular bread >>> Gluten free bread
• Wheat pasta >>> Brown rice or quinoa pasta
• Flour tortillas >>> Corn, casava, rice or almond flour tortillas
• Wheat pizza dough >>> Try a gluten free mix and make pizza at home
• Eat more sweet potatoes and tubers for more nutrient density
• Try gluten free grains like teff, millet, amaranth, buckwheat and rice
• Swap grains with more veggies

Travel and Coping Tips:

• ALWAYS pack snacks for the road!
• Plan ahead and google “gluten free” under restaurants in the area you are traveling or planning dinners out.
• Opt for an AirBnB or VRBO rental over a hotel so you can cook some of your meals (especially breakfast as this can be harder when traveling). Plus it saves you $$!
• If your child is gluten free be sure to tell the school and offer to drop a treat they can enjoy and participate in special events.
• Customize a meal to make it gluten free. Most all restaurants will work with you on this.
• Lean toward Asian style restaurants but watch out for curries and sauces because many of them use contain flour as a thickening agent just be sure to ask and get rice or rice noodles.
• Salads are a great option when traveling just make sure the protein is not breaded.

Testing Options

If you suspect that gluten or wheat might be causing problems for you but you want to stop guessing and test to confirm, lets talk! I can use a test from Vibrant Labs called the Wheat Zoomer and together we can confirm if you should talk to your doctor about further Celiac Disease testing (endoscopy) or if it is a Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. This information can be SO powerful in taking charge of your health and wellbeing.

I hope you have learned more about ways in which you can thrive on a gluten free diet. It may take some adjustment at first, but it is more than worth it to support your long-term health. If you need 1:1 support, I’m here to help!

Click HERE to book a FREE Discovery Call Today!

This is not medical advice and not intended to treat or cure any disease or affliction. Please consult your medical professional before utilizing the techniques and tools listed above.

If you aren’t ready to jump all in but want to start making the small shifts to improve your health, check out my new offering:
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1. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/celiac-disease/symptoms-causes ↩︎
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6182669/ ↩︎
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25446732/ ↩︎
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6182669/#ref-8 ↩︎
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19355902/ ↩︎
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6182669/ ↩︎