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The Gluten Effect: Could Wheat be the Root of Your Health Problems?

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Chelsea McKean
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Rachael Brandt
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCD chapter.
Did you know that it takes, on average, eleven years for someone with Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity to get diagnosed? Gluten sensitivity is one of the most overlooked health problems; but, due to new knowledge and exposure, the gluten free lifestyle is becoming the mantra to many people’s lives. The availability of gluten free products has increased dramatically in the past few years as people realize the beneficial effects of a gluten free lifestyle.

What is gluten? Gluten is a protein component of wheat, rye, and barley. For those that are allergic to gluten, their body sees it as a toxin and, instead of breaking it down, they launch an attack against it. This defensive reaction to gluten adversely affects various regions of the body. Gluten, surprisingly, doesn’t only affect the digestive system as many would assume. Many symptoms of gluten intolerance are found outside the digestive system in places such as the nervous system, immune system, and hormonal regulatory system. The majority of affected individuals don’t show digestive-related symptoms at all! Symptoms that could actually be gluten related are often mistreated with medication. Could you be allergic to gluten?

Take the Gluten Sensitivity Self-Test

Established by Drs. Vikki and Richard Petersen, D.C., C.C.N.

Founders of the HealthNOW Method

Check all symptoms that apply to you:


 

 

If you checked 1 to 3 boxes: Gluten sensitivity may be playing a role in your health problems.
If you checked 4 to 7 boxes: There is a definite possibility you have gluten sensitivity.
If you checked 8 or more boxes: There is a strong likelihood that gluten sensitivity is having a negative effect upon your health

If your numbers were above four, it wouldn’t hurt to get yourself checked for gluten sensitivity or even Celiac Disease (a form of gluten sensitivity that attacks the small intestine and destroys the villi). First things first, don’t eliminate gluten quite yet. In order to test for Celiac Disease, there needs to be gluten in your system, so that the blood test can pick it up. If you cut it out prior to testing, your results can be inaccurate. Your doctor may recommend that you have a biopsy of your small intestine or a colonoscopy. If your results do come back negative for Celiac Disease, it is still possible that you have a gluten allergy. Celiac Disease is but a small fraction of the gluten sensitivity category.  If you are looking for a less invasive way to go about diagnosing gluten sensitivity, another effective route is to eliminate gluten from your diet for a month. Breathe, it’s not as hard as it sounds, I promise!

Check out this list online: http://www.charlotte-celiac-connection.org/files/CeliacDotCom_UnSafe_Ingredients.pdf

Make this  list your bible for the next month. Keep it with you wherever you go, and make sure to record everything you eat. If you experience any negative symptoms, mark that day and go back to double check the ingredients in the food you ate. This will allow you to pinpoint which foods are causing you problems.  You will not notice any changes right away because it takes some time for the gluten to leave your system. On average, you can expect significant changes to occur around two weeks after you cut out gluten from your diet.  If at the end of the month you feel noticeably different, you may have just found your new life mantra too!
 

#Drs. Vikki and Richard Petersen, D.C., C.C.N. (Founders of the HealthNow Method)

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Rachael Brandt is your typical collegiette. Her free time, you'll find her roaming the CoHo, nourishing her hourly caffeine fix or rocking out at the campus rec center in Zumba class. Rachael has interned at Acosta/Salazar PR firm in Sacramento, CA --working with politicians and interest groups to aide their campaigns. She now spends her days working at the Events and Conferencing Center, in hopes of saving up for the many goodies she hopes to acquire while studying abroad next year. After cultivating an obsession for Her Campus, she opened the UC Davis branch, and now serves as campus correspondant.