Gluten Intolerance

[lemonade]

IS there a difference between Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance?

Lemonade

[tarnalberry]

Celiac disease is a subset of gluten intolerance. Gluten intolerance - the immune reaction to gluten - causes celiac disease - the destruction of the villi. There is evidence that you can have an immune reaction to gluten that does not lead to the classic destruction of the villi that characterizes celiac disease. (That's not to say that if you're gluten intolerant without celiac disease that you could still eat gluten, of course!)

[Guest nini]

in my opinion, NO, but technically, Celiac is defined by blunting of the villi... if you cannot prove blunting of the villi, then "technically" you don't have Celiac, but if gluten bothers you and causes problems and your problems get better on the gluten free diet, then you do have Celiac... or you are just gluten intolerant! either way it's the same thing... you treat it the same way. Life long adherance to the gluten free diet.

[CMCM]

IS there a difference between Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance?

Lemonade

Some articles I've read say that many doctors would actually like to eliminate the designation "celiac disease" and call the whole thing something like "gluten intolerance" or "gluten sensitivity." These doctors consider the condition to be a spectrum of reactions, ranging from no observable symptoms (yet possible intestinal damage could still be occurring...or not!) to moderate symptoms to severe symptoms.

Some doctors, including Enterolab's Dr. Fine, say that once a diagnoses of gluten sensitivity has been made, and also if you test and have the genes, you should no longer eat gluten....the theory apparently being that if you don't have symptoms or damage going on now, you may have them later.

Going strictly gluten free for a period of time will either make you feel better or it won't. If it does make you feel better and eliminates many or most of the symptoms, it seems logical to continue a gluten free existence. Unless you like feeling bad, that is!