While there are more than 55 diseases linked to gluten either directly or indirectly, there are five common signs many people exhibit when they are gluten intolerant:
• Digestive Issues
• Mood Changes
• Joint Aches
• Skin Issues
• Brain Fogginess
When I was eating a lot of carbs, I was miserable with many of these signs and symptoms. Read on for an explanation of what you can look for.
5 Common Signs You Are Gluten Intolerant
Digestive Issues
A gluten intolerance shows up most commonly as gas, bloating, and either constipation or diarrhea after eating foods containing gluten – a nutrient found in wheat, rye, and barley. Many people diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome do considerably better once they stop eating gluten. In children, it usually shows up as constipation.
Mood Changes
Because gluten causes hormonal imbalance, mood changes like depression, anxiety, and ADD worsen after eating a food containing gluten. These symptoms usually improve once gluten is taken out of the person’s diet.
Joint Aches
Gluten intolerance can cause inflammation which shows up as joint pain in some people. The fingers and knees seem to be particularly sensitive to gluten intolerance.It is amazing to feel it disappear once the gluten is removed!
Skin Issues
Known as Keratos Pilaris, a sensitivity to gluten can show up as raised bumps on the skin (known as chicken skin) caused by the malabsorption of fatty acids and vitamin A. The malabsorption is caused by damage to the intestines due to long-term exposure to gluten.
Other skin issues such as dandruff, is actually eczema of the scalp. Many people also develop an itchy rash as part of their skin issues. My skin was horribly dry!
Brain Fogginess
This can range from just thought sluggishness to outright forgetting to do things. You might have trouble concentrating or focusing on things and may even have short-term memory lapses.
Losing your train of thought when writing or conversing is common as is becoming disoriented or confused in extreme cases.
Testing for Gluten Intolerance
One of the best ways to test for gluten sensitivity is to eliminate it entirely from your diet – 100% absent for two weeks to a month. If you feel better without eating gluten, you are most likely gluten intolerant.
Removing it From Your Diet
While it is relatively easy to not eat foods known to have gluten, such as wheat, rye, or barley in pasta, bread, cakes, cookies, crackers, and cereal, it gets more difficult when purchasing foods or eating out in a restaurant. Quinoa, amaranth, and millet are three good gluten-free grain substitutes.
When purchasing packaged food, read the ingredients label! Sometimes it shows up in foods you would not expect to have gluten.
When eating out, explain you are gluten sensitive and ask if your entrée or meal contains gluten. Many stores and restaurants make note of what is gluten-free in their offerings.
Extreme gluten intolerance, known as Celiac Disease, can be quite serious; even eating gluten for the extreme intolerant once a month increases their risk of death by 600%!
Once I removed much of the carbs other than high fiber, natural grain whole carbs, I felt so much better! Do yourself a favor if you are seeing some of the symptoms and test yourself. See how you feel and decide if it worth keeping in your diet.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.