Wheat Free Secrets

Intolerance or sensitivity to wheat has received much attention from the media in recent years. Perhaps as a direct result the number of people self-reporting an allergy or intolerance to wheat is increasing dramatically. However, there is no evidence that the true prevalence of wheat intolerance is on the increase and self-diagnosis or a flawed diagnosis from an unqualified alternative therapist can often do more harm than good, particularly if it results in poorer nutrition.

Coeliac disease is the main form of wheat intolerance. It is estimated to have a prevalence of about 1 person in 100 although this is reduced to 1 in 10 in families where coeliac disease exists.

There seems to be some confusion about the terms used to describe other possible intolerances to wheat. Wheat allergy (antibody mediated) is thought to be very rare. The true incidence is unknown but it is estimated to affect only a tiny fraction percentage of the population. Non-coeliac wheat sensitivity is a term much used and often misused to include wheat allergy. Both coeliac disease and wheat allergy are specific conditions, whereas non-coeliac wheat sensitivity probably includes wheat aversion, which is a psychological rather than a physiological response. For information about food allergy and intolerance, click here.

WHEAT AS A STAPLE IN THE UK DIET

Wheat is an important and nutritious staple in the UK diet. The avoidance of wheat is a formidable task. This is because, apart from the obvious sources such as bread, cakes, pasta and breakfast cereals, wheat is found as a thickener or extender in a wide range of foods e.g. soups, sauces, sausages, and paté. Both beers and malt have been shown to contain detectable levels of a protein present in wheat and so would also have to be avoided in truly intolerant patients. In a true wheat-free diet all these foods would have to be excluded, and many of these would be badly missed nutritionally, socially and in terms of palatability.

Statutory fortification of wheat flour in the UK makes it an important source of dietary iron, niacin and thiamin.  Many flours (except wholemeal and some self-raising varieties) are also fortified with calcium.  Wheat flour therefore makes a significant contribution to the dietary intakes of these nutrients. Additionally, diets that include wheat, particularly wholegrain wheat products, are more likely to be high in fibre. They are also likely to be lower in fat and high in starchy carbohydrate. Thus they are in line with current healthy eating guidelines.

WHEAT ALLERGY AND NON-COELIAC WHEAT SENSITIVITY

Wheat allergy is a very rare condition about which there is little published information (and that which exists is rather anecdotal). Such anecdotal evidence should not be over-interpreted in assessing risk from wheat allergy. Furthermore, there is no evidence to show increased incidence. However, a true reaction may be allergic in nature, and may take several hours or days to develop, unlike the immediate and severe reaction to foods such as peanuts. Diagnosis of allergy to wheat is made from a laboratory test called a radioallergosorbent test (RAST). However, diagnosis can be difficult, as precluding factors such as cross contamination of the allergen must be excluded.

Wheat has also been linked with gastrointestinal symptoms (people experiencing these symptoms are likely to have other intolerances such as a reaction to cows’ milk protein), asthma, urticaria (skin rash) and eczema. There is no evidence to show wheat is a causal agent in such conditions. In some cases, a psychological aversion to wheat may be responsible for the reported symptoms. Such an aversion can have a powerful impact on both perceived symptoms and perceived relief of symptoms when wheat is avoided.

Source: British Nutrition Foundation

• More information is also available in this ebook.

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 “The Essential Gluten Free Guide” reveals more than just information on a gluten and wheat allergy. It guides you through all the steps you need to take, in order to begin a new gluten free life.

Popularity: 88% [?]

Gluten allergy is a type of a illness that strikes different men or women who cannot digest gluten, a type of a protein that exists in several grains. Review more relating to it here, along alongside gluten intolerance symptoms.

Gluten is a kind of protein that is extremely intricate, and thus is extremely tough to digest. This is the explanation why babies are not fed wheat as soon as they are initially introduced to solid foods. They are fed a  porridge made of rice, which their young digestive zone can cope with readily.

Gluten intolerance is accepted as a food intolerance, and is also otherwise called as gluten allergy, or celiac disease, and is in the main genetic, with numerous people being born with the medical problem. If the diagnosis of gluten allergy is not made at babyhood, it only worsens with age.

Gluten allergy is on the whole a medical problem wherein the gluten used in a variety of types of food cannot be digested. The most well known foods that contain gluten are: wheat, oats, barley, and rye. All types of wheat grain carry gluten.  In actual fact this protein literally causes harm to the small intestine by flattening out the villi, microscopic protrusions whose task it is for the absorption of nutrients in men or women who have celiac disease.  

What are the Gluten Intolerance Symptoms?   In case you have gluten allergy, the protein will damage the walls of your intestines, which will result in restricting the absorption of foods, and lead to various gluten allergy symptoms, such as:

• headaches
• ulcers in the mouth
• weight loss or weight gain
• eczema and dermatitis
• aching joints
• depression
• exhaustion
• behavioral changes
• dental health problems
• prone to disease due to low immune system

  More information is also available in this ebook.

• 

 “The Essential Gluten Free Guide” reveals more than just information on a gluten and wheat allergy. It guides you through all the steps you need to take, in order to begin a new gluten free life.

Popularity: 100% [?]