“Gluten-free” products and restaurants on the increase, sports stars and champions extolling the “gluten-free” diet â ?? ¦ A fad or a real health problem? Still, between the real celiac patients and the simple addicts to the trend, we must now reckon with the “sensitive” to gluten. Specialists indeed agree on the existence of a sensitivity to non-celiac gluten (SGNC). At the end of 2012, a group of international experts met in Munich to take stock of current knowledge on this new pathology.
What are the differences with gluten intolerance?
Gluten intolerance, also called celiac disease, is an abnormal immunological reaction to gluten, a set of proteins contained in certain cereals: wheat, rye, barley and oats. This causes an alteration of the intestinal membrane with consequent malabsorption of nutrients. The symptoms are many and varied: abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, fatigue, anemia… but also sometimes neurological and joint disorders. About 1% of the population would be affected. In recent years, doctors have seen more and more patients with the same symptoms, but in whom tests for celiac disease are negative. TO” Gluten sensitivity is a bit of a late form of gluten intolerance, notes Professor Bruno Bonaz, gastroenterologist at Grenoble University Hospital. Can she eventually break out on this one? For now, we don’t know TO”. More common, it is estimated that SGNC affects 6% of the population.
How to diagnose gluten sensitivity?
TO” We start by ensuring that it is not a gluten intolerance, with blood tests to look for specific antibodies (anti-tranglutaminase IgA), or even a biopsy of the small intestine. Â ”, explains Bruno Bonaz. If the pathology is ruled out, we can suspect NCGS. The problem is that there are no specific biomarkers for this disease. The only certainty: a person “sensitive to gluten” suffers from various digestive disorders quickly after consuming foods containing gluten, and sees his condition improve when he stops consuming it. The improvement is rapid because the intestinal membrane is not altered as in the case of intolerance.
What if we think we are concerned?
No self-diagnosis and gluten-free dieting without prior medical advice. TO” I see a lot of people who have excluded gluten from their diet because they feel better that way, notes Bruno Bonaz. The problem is that afterwards, it is more complicated to diagnose a possible gluten intolerance. TO”. Indeed, the antibodies and intestinal lesions characteristic of this disease disappear when we stop consuming gluten. Now the diet is not the same in case of intolerance or sensitivity. TO” Intolerant people must follow a strict, restrictive and expensive regime  », recalls the doctor. In the case of sensitivity to gluten, there is a certain degree of tolerance specific to each. TO” We gradually decrease the amounts of gluten and we observe what is happening in terms of digestive comfort », Explains the dietitian Virginie Grandjean-Ceccon. For some, removing the main sources of gluten (bread, pasta, cakes) is enough. For others, it will also be necessary to go hunting down the gluten hidden in processed foods TO”. The diet must therefore be completely adapted on a case-by-case basis.
Should we reduce our consumption of wheat as a precaution?
Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain the recent increase in SGNC. Among them, the fact that wheat has undergone many genetic modifications in recent years to meet the needs of the food industry. Thus, its gluten content (necessary for breadmaking) has been increased. Another avenue: ATI (amylase / trypsin inhibitor), a protein associated with gluten. TO” To make the wheat more resistant to insects, the ATI content has been increased, says nutritionist Barbara Konitzer. It could lead to abnormal immune responses, according to a research group from the University of Mainz in Germany TO”. Finally, wheat is more present than before in our diet, via processed products, in which it is used (often in the form of starch) for its binding and thickening properties . In short, even if the reasons for SGNC are not yet clearly identified, it is strongly recommended to vary your diet by varying the cereals (and thinking of legumes) and to cook at home!
With or without gluten?
Foods that contain gluten …
– Bread
– Pasta
– wheat, oats, spelled, kamut, rye, barley
– Breakfast cereals
And those that do not contain it …
– Rice cakes, crunchy buckwheat sandwiches, gluten-free breads, in specialized stores.
– Soy vermicelli, soba noodles (100% buckwheat), rice vermicelli
– Rice, quinoa, amaranth, millet, kasha (roasted buckwheat), dried vegetables (lentils, split peas, dried beansâ ?? ¦)
– Corn or buckwheat flakes, mueslis made from chestnut flakes, puffed quinoa grains, amaranthâ ?? ¦
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