Eating gluten could be responsible for ill effects suffered by millions of people, not just coeliacs. Published in the journal BMC Medicine, the spectrum of disorders relating to gluten, including existing conditions such as coeliac disease and wheat allergy, were added to by the term ‘gluten sensitivity.’ This appears to exist alongside the other gluten-related conditions and shares many of the symptoms of coeliac disease, including diarrhoea or constipation, abdominal pain, bloating, headaches and could go as far as weight loss, behavioural changes, bone or joint pain, muscle cramps, leg numbness and chronic fatigue.
Recognising gluten sensitivity as a disorder will help non-coeliacs and non-wheat allergic individuals to identify the cause of their symptoms and take steps to help reduce them. Cutting gluten from the diet of certain individuals can improve their symptoms even if they do not have clinically proven coeliac disease.
