NaturalWay – Margit Slimáková

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Gluten allergy

Gluten allergy or celiac disease is described by modern medicine as a lifelong autoimmune condition. Gluten is predominantly a mixture of two proteins: gliadin and glutenin. It is found in wheat, barley and rye, but some people can be also sensitive to oats which contain a gluten-like protein called avenin. In coeliac disease, gluten causes the immune system to produce antibodies that attack the delicate lining of the bowel, which is responsible for absorbing nutrients and vitamins from food. Villi, which are tiny hairs or tiny fingers along the inner lining of the intestines, could become inflamed and over time, villous atrophy occurs. What this means is that the body’s overreaction to gluten slowly wears down and destroys off the villi, making the small intestine less capable of digesting all foods. This malabsorption has serious and far-reaching consequences leading to diarrhea, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, anemia or osteoporosis and in some cases to depression, extreme tiredness, or recurrent miscarriages.

Gluten is found in bread and pasta, but may also hide in many other foods, such as cold cuts, salad dressings, and beer. A gluten-free diet can be nutritionally adequate and balanced. However, the gluten-free diet tends to be low in fiber and whole grains, which can cause constipation in some people. To counteract this, it is advisable to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

The main treatment for celiac disease is to avoid eating any foods that contain gluten. Even the smallest amount of gluten is harmful and even if you don't have symptoms, you still need to avoid gluten altogether in order to prevent damage to the intestines and long-term problems. Some people with celiac disease must also avoid cow's milk and other milk products in the first weeks of the treatment.

According to practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, most gluten allergies, lactose intolerances, and other food allergies are actually varying forms of a spleen deficiency. The spleen, as referenced here, is not what is known in the West as the spleen. In terms of Chinese medicine, the spleen refers to the intelligence and timing of the digestive system.

Spleen problems, in the view of Chinese medicine, can include all the digestive symptoms and most of the other supposed symptoms of celiac disease. The origin of spleen deficiency may be in eating habits, lifestyle habits, or overuse of antibiotics. Because antibiotics introduce a very cold environment into the digestive system, the result is a depletion of spleen yang and the disruption of spleen-stomach harmony. This impairs the digestion and absorption of foods and fluids. Digestive disharmony connected with gluten allergy could therefore benefit from proper treatment including diet and Traditional Chinese herbal medicine, after a correct TCM diagnosis has been made.

My recommendations

• In the case of chronic, unexplained digestive problems, it is advisable to try elimination of the most common food allergens: cow’s milk and/or gluten.
• In the case of gluten allergy, avoiding all foods that contain gluten generally results in an improvement, or even the disappearance of damage to the bowel lining.
• When looking for the source of an allergy and subsequent treatment, consult a TCM practitioner.

For more information I would recommend: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/