Celiac Vs. Gluten Intolerant

[wozzy]

What's the difference? Is there a difference?

I don't know which I have, but I know I'm better without gluten!

[Mango04]

Here's some info that kind of helps explain it:

GLUTEN SENSITIVITY

The subject of sub-clinical (or hidden) gluten intolerance is frequently the missing link in creating a health promoting diet. This recently discovered health problem is at epidemic proportions in certain populations in the United States and sadly is largely unrecognized. Later, I will discuss lactose intolerance, sucrose intolerance and the subject of food reactions in more detail.

DEFINITION OF SUB-CLINICAL

Sub-clinical means hidden. In other words, there are often no obvious symptoms that would direct a doctor or patient to suspect sub-clinical conditions and it is for this reason that sub-clinical gulten intolerance goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

GLUTEN/ GLIADIN

What exactly is sub-clinical gluten intolerance? Sub-clinical gluten intolerance refers to exposure to the gliadin molecule and to a specific inflammatory reaction taking place in the small intestine of afflicted individuals. In fact, gliadin intolerance would be a more scientifically accurate term than gluten intolerance to refer to this condition.

This subject is confusing and there is much misinformation about gluten and gliadin. To clarify, gliadin, the molecule that causes the problem, is present in some, but not all gluten containing foods. People with this problem must avoid glutens from the grains of wheat, rye, barley, oats, kamut, spelt, quinoa, amaranth, teff and couscous. Some of these grains, like oats have lower concentrations of both gluten and gliadin than wheat does, but any food containing this specific gliadin, even from a lower concentration food source, is not tolerated by people with sub-clinical gluten intolerance.

This dietary restriction eliminates bread, pasta, bagels, and cereals. There are rice and almond based breads available, usually found in the refrigerated section of your local health food store. There are also rice and corn-based noodles, cereals and crackers as well as other gluten free substitutes on the market.

COMMON MISDIAGNOSIS: CELIAC DISEASE

Sub-clinical gluten intolerance is often confused with a medical condition called celiac disease, celiac sprue or non-tropical sprue, sometimes referred to as gluten enteropathy or gluten intolerance. The reaction to gluten in celiac disease is similar to sub-clinical gluten intolerance, except as to the degree of intensity. Comparing sub-clinical gluten intolerance to celiac disease is like comparing first-degree sunburn from a day at the beach, to a third degree burn from a fire victim. They are both burns, but vastly different based on the severity or degree of damage.

Celiac disease is not hidden, or sub-clinical, and as such it is easier to diagnose. A person with celiac disease may have blood in their stool or experience disabling pain when they consume gluten-containing foods. Other symptoms of celiac include steatarhea, which is undigested, and unabsorbed fat in the stool and dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin condition. These obvious symptoms often lead doctors to recognize those with celiac in childhood when grains are first introduced in the diet. Others with celiac disease are not diagnosed until the adult years. In addition to the clinical presentation, celiac disease can be detected by a blood test and confirmed with a biopsy of the small intestine. The clear signs and symptoms of celiac disease make its identification relatively straightforward. Sub-clinical gluten intolerance, however, is difficult to diagnose based on symptoms alone.

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[CarlaB]

That is a great website!!! Thanks for posting it!

[Mango04]

That is a great website!!! Thanks for posting it!

That's the guy who kind of unofficially diagnosed me with gluten intolerance. I went to see him and he said, "I'm 100% positive you are gluten intolerant." I said "okay," and haven't eaten gluten since I've also felt a whole heck of a lot healthier since, so I guess it all worked out

[AndreaB]

GLUTEN/ GLIADIN

What exactly is sub-clinical gluten intolerance? Sub-clinical gluten intolerance refers to exposure to the gliadin molecule and to a specific inflammatory reaction taking place in the small intestine of afflicted individuals. In fact, gliadin intolerance would be a more scientifically accurate term than gluten intolerance to refer to this condition.

This subject is confusing and there is much misinformation about gluten and gliadin. To clarify, gliadin, the molecule that causes the problem, is present in some, but not all gluten containing foods. People with this problem must avoid glutens from the grains of wheat, rye, barley, oats, kamut, spelt, quinoa, amaranth, teff and couscous. Some of these grains, like oats have lower concentrations of both gluten and gliadin than wheat does, but any food containing this specific gliadin, even from a lower concentration food source, is not tolerated by people with sub-clinical gluten intolerance.

This dietary restriction eliminates bread, pasta, bagels, and cereals. There are rice and almond based breads available, usually found in the refrigerated section of your local health food store. There are also rice and corn-based noodles, cereals and crackers as well as other gluten free substitutes on the market.

OK Mango,

You get to be the resident expert today. Anyone else can jump on board also.

I tested allergic to both gluten (moderate) and gliadin (low) and tested gluten intolerant through enterolab. Does this mean I shouldn't eat quinoa, amarnth, or teff? I just bought some flour of those as well as quinoa.

[jnclelland]

OK Mango,

You get to be the resident expert today. Anyone else can jump on board also.

I tested allergic to both gluten (moderate) and gliadin (low) and tested gluten intolerant through enterolab. Does this mean I shouldn't eat quinoa, amarnth, or teff? I just bought some flour of those as well as quinoa.

Same question here - I thought that quinoa and amaranth were okay!

Jeanne

[Mango04]

OK Mango,

You get to be the resident expert today. Anyone else can jump on board also.

I tested allergic to both gluten (moderate) and gliadin (low) and tested gluten intolerant through enterolab. Does this mean I shouldn't eat quinoa, amarnth, or teff? I just bought some flour of those as well as quinoa.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

(that's how much of an expert I am LOL)

I seem to eat quinoa with no problems, but this might relate to Rachel's reaction she's been talking about on her thread. I really don't know

[AndreaB]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

(that's how much of an expert I am LOL)

Thanks Mango.

[billy]

Thanks Mango.

oats and amaranth bother me, not as bad as gluten, etc., but enough not to eat them for a long, long time (i'm gluten intolerant).

[wozzy]

Hmmm. I have a separate oat allergy (I found out from a scratch test). I don't know if I have trouble with all of that other stuff. It's hard to tell, but without gluten and caesin the last few days, I still haven't felt great...

[lbradley]

oats and amaranth bother me, not as bad as gluten, etc., but enough not to eat them for a long, long time (i'm gluten intolerant).

i seem to beable to eat anything, i don't notice symtoms for one to two days a pain in my stomache and constipation, so maybe i have gluten intolerence, i have'nt had the big test yet

[AndreaB]

Hmmm. I have a separate oat allergy (I found out from a scratch test). I don't know if I have trouble with all of that other stuff. It's hard to tell, but without gluten and caesin the last few days, I still haven't felt great...

If you are sure you're not getting any hidden glutens or cross contamination then aside from dairy products, soy could be a problem. You would need to give a little bit more time to see if eliminating dairy has a positive effect on your health. You could eliminate any soy you eat as well but then you wouldn't know if it was dairy or soy that was the culprit...or both. I would recommend waiting two weeks between eliminating them, if not more. After those three are gone you would need to explore with other foods. Those are the three main problems but others are nuts, eggs, legumes, corn primarily. If you eliminate the three (gluten,dairy,soy) and still don't feel better and want more immediate answers, you would want to have an allergy test ran. I had one done that measured IgG and IgE and was surprised by how much I was allergic to. I didn't even know it. The blood draw tests for allergies would be more reliable I would think.

[wozzy]

Yeah I'm going to wait a little longer before I eliminate anything else. I'm thinking it might be soy as well, but really hoping its not!

[eKatherine]

He seems to be saying that there are only two possible conditions: sub-clinical intolerance, showing no symptoms, and celiac, showing many severe ones. Clearly many people have symptoms before they would be diagnosed as celiac. You don't go to bed one day unaware of your intolerance (because you are having no symptoms) and wake up the next with full-blown celiac.

[Mango04]

He seems to be saying that there are only two possible conditions: sub-clinical intolerance, showing no symptoms, and celiac, showing many severe ones. Clearly many people have symptoms before they would be diagnosed as celiac. You don't go to bed one day unaware of your intolerance (because you are having no symptoms) and wake up the next with full-blown celiac.

I believe he's just saying sub-clinical gluten intolerance is more difficult to diagnose because the symptoms might not be as obvious and the biopsy won't show blunted villi. I went to him with severe stomach pain and he told me I was probably gluten intolerant.

[Green12]

OK Mango,

You get to be the resident expert today. Anyone else can jump on board also.

I tested allergic to both gluten (moderate) and gliadin (low) and tested gluten intolerant through enterolab. Does this mean I shouldn't eat quinoa, amarnth, or teff? I just bought some flour of those as well as quinoa.

Me too Andrea, although I was extremely high for both gluten and gliadin.

I just think there is so much that is not know about all of this, it's frustrating to know what to do, what to eat as far as grians/alternative grains go

[AndreaB]

Me too Andrea, although I was extremely high for both gluten and gliadin.

I just think there is so much that is not know about all of this, it's frustrating to know what to do, what to eat as far as grians/alternative grains go

Julie,

Sounds like you would benefit from going gliadin free as well. You're corn free too right? Can you use arrowroot, you could sub arrowroot for cornstarch in recipe/flour mixes...although arrowroot is more expensive. I buy it bulk from Azurestandard.com. They could UPS that to you and you can search for other things they have you can eat. Natural chicken etc. They also carry bobs red mills flours.

[Green12]

Julie,

Sounds like you would benefit from going gliadin free as well. You're corn free too right? Can you use arrowroot, you could sub arrowroot for cornstarch in recipe/flour mixes...although arrowroot is more expensive. I buy it bulk from Azurestandard.com. They could UPS that to you and you can search for other things they have you can eat. Natural chicken etc. They also carry bobs red mills flours.

Thanks for this link Andrea, I will look into it

I think that's the plan now is to make sure I am gliadin free as well. I don't really think I eat gliadin containing grains often, I am proabably getting them it in baked goods/packaged foods that I eat on only ocasionally.