To date, there have been more than 55 diseases that have been directly linked to the protein found in most of the breads we eat. It’s actually estimated that approximately 15% of the population in the US has either gluten intolerance or celiac disease but just don’t know it yet. Because evidences of gluten intolerance are not always easy to identify, it pays to know what they are so that you can identify whether or not you have been experiencing gluten intolerance symptoms.

Problems With Digestion

Some of the most evident symptoms of gluten intolerance are digestive issues. People often complain of feeling gassy, bloating, and frequent bouts with diarrhea and constipation. These can come and go with increasing regularity as long as you continue to consume gluten.

They may also complain of a condition called keratosis pilaris, a kind of ‘chicken skin’ that appears on the back of the arms. This is the result of a deficiency of fatty acids and vitamin A in the body caused by the gluten in the body. They may also declare having feelings of extreme fatigue or brain fog after eating anything that contains gluten. These issues are often accompanied by inflammation, swelling in the joints, as well as ADD, depression, anxiety, and mood swings.

Gluten Intolerance Testing

If you have any of these symptoms and suspect that you have gluten intolerance there is a pretty simple way to find out and this is through what is called an elimination test. Simply removing the gluten from your diet for a few weeks will clear away much of the gluten from your system. This will not remove all of it but it will be enough for you to begin to feel better if gluten is indeed the problem. Make a regular notation of how you feel without gluten in your diet over the weeks. The longer you go without the gluten the better.

After several weeks, start to gradually reintroduce gluten into your diet once again. If the symptoms begin to reappear, then you more than likely have an intolerance to the protein.

Caution

It can be very difficult to stop consuming gluten altogether, so you’ll have to take extreme care. Even the slightest amount of gluten can cause your body to react, even if it comes from accidental cross-contamination, thus causing the symptoms to reappear. While we all know that gluten is a major protein found in most breads, we may not realize that we are being exposed to cross-contamination of gluten in almost everything we eat. It might be found in our medications, supplements, and many of other foods as well. Before you begin to try the elimination diet, it would be best to read up on all the labels of the foods that you eat so you can be sure that you are truly going gluten free for the test.

It can be a challenge living with a gluten intolerance. To say the least, the gluten intolerance symptoms can be very disconcerting. But if you are experiencing these symptoms and you want them to stop, it will be necessary to consider taking the gluten intolerance elimination test to be absolutely sure.