Non-celiac gluten intolerance is the inability or difficulty in digesting gluten, which is a protein present in wheat, rye and barley. In these people, gluten damages the walls of the small intestine, causing diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating, in addition to making it difficult to absorb nutrients.
In celiac disease, gluten intolerance also occurs, but there is a reaction from the immune system causing a more serious condition, with inflammation, intense pain and frequent diarrhea. See more symptoms and how celiac disease is treated.
Gluten intolerance is permanent and, therefore, has no cure, and it is necessary to completely remove gluten from the diet for the symptoms to disappear. Learn more about what gluten is and where it is.
Main symptoms of intolerance
Symptoms that may indicate possible gluten intolerance can be observed in childhood, when cereals are introduced into the baby’s diet. The most common symptoms include:
- Frequent diarrhea, 3 to 4 times a day, with a large volume of feces;
- Persistent vomiting;
- Irritability;
- Loss of appetite;
- Weight loss without apparent cause;
- Dor abdominal;
- Swollen abdomen;
- Pallor;
- Iron deficiency anemia;
- Decrease in muscle mass.
In some cases, there may not even be any of these symptoms and gluten intolerance may only be discovered after the manifestation of other manifestations resulting from the disease, such as short stature, refractory anemia, joint pain, chronic constipation, osteoporosis or even sterility.
Find out more about each symptom that may indicate intolerance and take the online test to find out the risk.
What causes gluten intolerance
The causes of intolerance are not fully known, however, it is possible that gluten intolerance may have a genetic origin or occur due to altered intestinal permeability. Furthermore, it is also possible for intolerance to occur due to these two factors together.
In addition to the symptoms, it is possible to diagnose intolerance through tests such as:
- Stool test – known as the Van der Kammer test
- Urine test – called D-xylose test
- Serological test – blood test Antigliadin, endomysium and transglutaminases;
- Intestinal biopsy.
These tests can help diagnose gluten intolerance, as well as a gluten-free diet for a certain period of time to assess whether the symptoms disappear or not.
How the treatment should be carried out
Treatment for gluten intolerance basically consists of excluding gluten from your diet for life. Gluten can be replaced in many situations by corn, corn flour, cornmeal, corn starch, potato, potato starch, cassava, cassava flour or starch, for example.
By removing gluten from the diet, symptoms may disappear within a few days or weeks.
Diet for gluten intolerance
The diet for gluten intolerance consists of removing all foods that contain gluten from the diet, such as those prepared with wheat flour, such as cakes, breads and biscuits, replacing them with others, such as cornmeal cake, for example.
Anyone suffering from gluten intolerance should therefore exclude the following foods from their diet:
- Bread, pasta, biscuits, cake, beer, pizza, snacks and any food that contains gluten.
It is important that the person follows the diet correctly to avoid the complications that the disease can bring and, therefore, it is important to check whether the food contains gluten and, if so, not to consume it. This information is present on most food product labels.
See more tips for following a gluten-free diet.
Also check out other foods with gluten that you should avoid and which ones you can eat:
Furthermore, Tapioca is gluten-free and is a great option to replace bread in your diet. See what recipes you can prepare in Tapioca that can replace bread in your diet.
