How Do You Know If You Are Gluten Intolerant?

There are literally dozen, if not hundreds, of symptoms of gluten intolerance few of which are gastrointestinal related. My rule of thumb is if you have a chronic health problem of any sort, you need to rule out gluten intolerance. If you have an autoimmune disease of any sort, but especially if it’s Hashimoto’s, then you need to remove gluten, and possibly casein, from your diet. In my personal experience I have seen gluten intolerance cause problems with the skin, lungs, joints, digestion, brain and behavior, growth in children, and nutritional deficiencies (especially calcium and iron). That said, here is a list of symptoms related to gluten intolerance from www.glutenfreedom.net:

The most common symptoms of celiac disease include:

• Fatigue
• Addison's disease
• Gastrointestinal distress (gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, reflux)
• Headaches (including migraines)
• Infertility
• Mouth sores
• Weight loss/gain
• Inability to concentrate
• Moodiness/depression
• Amenorrhea/delayed menarche (menstrual cycles)
• Bone/joint/muscle pain
• Dental enamel hypoplasia
• Short stature
• Seizures
• Tingling numbness in the legs

Symptoms also include:

• Abnormal liver test
• Addison's disease
• Alopecia
• Anemia
• Ataxia
• Autoimmune hepatitis
• Chronic abdominal pain
• Chronic fatigue
• Crohn's disease
• Dermatitis herpetiformis (a "sister" of celiac disease)
• Down syndrome
• Epilepsy
• Family history of celiac disease
• Gall bladder disease
• Hyperthyroidism/hypothyroidism
• Total IgA deficiency
• Insulin-dependent diabetes (type 1)
• Infertility/spontaneous abortions/low birth-weight babies
• Iron deficiency
• IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
• Malnutrition
• Multiple sclerosis
• Non Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Osteoporosis, osteopenia, osteomalacia
• Pancreatic disorders
• Pathologic fractures
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Primary biliary cirrhosis
• Psoriasis
• Recurrent stomatisits
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Scherosing cholangitis
• Sjogren syndrome
• Systemic lupus
• Turner syndrome
• Ulcerative colitis
• Vitiligo

MY FAVORITE BOOKS

There are now tons of books on gluten-free baking and living. I’ll just share my four favorite gluten-free books:

Garden of Eating, by Don Matesz and Rachel Albert-Matesz: This is an excellent book that is grain and dairy free, and emphasizes ample produce and pastured meats. I don’t agree with them on everything as they are salt-phobic, advocate low-fat eating and use powdered egg whites (gack!), but overall it’s a great resource. (www.planetarypress.net)

The Ice Dream Cookbook, by Rachel Albert-Matesz: To be honest, I haven’t made anything out of this dessert book since it was just released by the Garden of Eating author. It looks great however, as the recipes are dairy and gluten free, and use coconut milk, minimal natural sweeteners, and stevia. (www.planetarypress.net)

The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre, MS, CN: This is a little self-published gem I picked up after listening to Malterre deliver and excellent gluten-free presentation at the Naturopathic College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. His recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free, and very tasty. He has tofu recipes and tends toward vegetarianism, but the recipes I’ve tried so far make up for that. The bonus--I once called the published number to ask about modifying a recipe and got the author on the phone who was able to help me out while I was in the kitchen. (www.wholelifenutrition.net)

Sweet Alternatives, by Ariana Bundy: Ok, here I go recommending another dessert book. This book was written by a classically trained chef and the recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free. She calls for only the most exquisite ingredients for these high-brow desserts. Sweet Alternatives is worth it for the gorgeous photos alone, and my children love to just sit and look at it. Another confession, I haven’t actually made of any of the recipes, but my friends who have loved them. (www.whitecap.ca)

Elaine Fawcett, NTP

About the author:
Elaine Fawcett is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, health writer and creator of www.pdxglutenfree.com. She lives in Aurora, Oregon on a very small farm with her husband and two children. She can be reached at dandelion@wavecable.com.

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