Modern wheat has been modified to increase its gluten content, and grown with many pesticides and herbicides, then milled and bleached, to make white flour for ultra-proceed foods.
Some North Americans have taken holidays in Europe and not been able to resist the croissants, and yet haven’t noticed ill effects such as bloating, gas or other digestive woes. The type and quality of wheat flour used in European artisanal pastry shops is often different from the flour used in North American industrial bakeries.
If I have a problem with wheat, does that mean I’m celiac?
No, it’s not that black and white. There are other ways wheat or gluten can cause digestive problems. Fortunately these other problems are less severe than celiac disease, but they can still really affect quality of life, so it’s useful to know about them. People with such problems don’t need to be scrupulously gluten-free the way that celiacs do, but would be wise to avoid it. That’s part of the reason to test whether or not you are celiac.
Some North Americans have taken holidays in Europe and not been able to resist the croissants, and yet haven’t noticed ill effects such as bloating, gas or other digestive woes. The type and quality of wheat flour used in European artisanal pastry shops is often different from the flour used in North American industrial bakeries.
Modern wheat has been modified to increase its gluten content, and grown with many pesticides and herbicides, then milled and bleached, to make white flour for ultra-proceed foods.
Some people react to modern wheat, but not to the ancient grains: kamut, durum, spelt, rye, red fife, einkorn, emmer, farro, barley and triticale. All these contain gluten, so people who experience problems after eating wheat but can tolerate these are unlikely to be celiac. They most likely just have an intolerance or sensitivity to modern wheat.
People who react to modern wheat and ancient grains, but have been tested properly and are not celiac, are most likely sensitive to all gluten.
Gluten can trigger the same mechanism that causes other food sensitivities: inflammation causes discomfort and leaky gut, and can cause symptoms in other parts of the body too, as outlined in the SHINE Health Posts on Allergies and Sensitivities and Leaky Gut.
But gluten can make trouble in your digestive system another way too: The cells lining the digestive tract are held together by junctions called “tight junctions”: they hold those cells tightly together! This is important because gut cells have specific mechanisms that take in the very small nutrient molecules we need from our digested foods, while those tight junctions prevent foods that are not fully broken down from slipping through the gut lining into the body, causing problems.
Consuming gluten triggers the production of a chemical called zonulin: only just discovered in the year 2000. Zonulin is a problem because it opens up the tight junctions, causing leaky gut. This leaky gut is transient, as tight junctions do later reassemble. In many of us zonulin production can be so short-lived, that it doesn’t get a chance to cause much concern. But celiacs make zonulin for much longer after exposure to gluten: an unfortunate double whammy. And if any of us continue to consume gluten, we continue to trigger zonulin production, and predispose ourselves to leaky gut.
Zonulin is currently considered the master regulator of tight junctions, both in the gut and in the brain. It is implicated in a variety of conditions including autoimmune, infectious, and metabolic diseases, and in autism. Learning about its effects has increased our understanding of leaky gut by leaps and bounds. Zonulin testing is in its infancy and may not yet be 100% reliable, however it is informative.
Here’s some good news: a polyphenol-rich diet has been shown to reduce zonulin levels, promote growth of some good gut bacteria, and was even found to reduce blood pressure!
Whatever the mechanism, most people find they do better without modern wheat, and many find they benefit from going gluten-free.
Although being celiac or intolerant of gluten or wheat can cause significant symptoms, in some people these reactions can be relatively quiet. You won’t know how much better you might feel until you try it. You may be surprised!
If you are thinking of going gluten-free, get a celiac blood test first. It’s only accurate if you’ve been eating gluten on a regular basis.
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