Wall Street Journal Reports on Gluten Intolerance

Why are so many people sensitive to gluten in recent years?  The journal BMC Medicine recently released a study that may give some insight to the question.  The study showed that gluten can trigger a distinct reaction in the intestines and the immune system that can affect people who are not diagnosed with celiac disease.

"For the first time, we have scientific evidence that indeed, gluten sensitivity not only exists, but is very different from celiac disease," says lead author Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research.  Gluten has been a staple of human diets for 10,000 years; it now triggers an immune response like an enemy invader in some modern humans.

The symptoms of gluten intolerance include:  hives, congestion, nausea or in serious cases, potentially fatal anaphylaxis. Less than 1% of children have the allergy and most outgrow it by age five. A small number of adults have similar symptoms if they exercise shortly after eating wheat.
The symptoms of celiac disease (the case in which the immune system to mistakenly attack the body's own tissue) include: cramping, bloating and diarrhea, and can cause malnutrition, osteoporosis. Celiac's can be diagnosed with a blood test, but an intestinal biopsy will confirm the diagnosis.
The incidence of celiac disease is on the rise affecting 1 in 133 Americans. It's also being diagnosed in people as old as 70 who have eaten gluten safely all their lives.   At the present time, a gluten-free diet is the only treatment recommended for gluten sensitivity, though some may be able to tolerate small amounts
Courtesy: WSJ online 3.15.11
Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, your first order of business is to eliminate gluten from your diet for at least 2 weeks and re-evaluate how you feel.  Here's some food for thought:  perhaps mankind is metamorphosizing as a species and that is the reason for this intolerance after milleniums??  Would anyone like to share their own thoughts??
I'm taking tomorrow off from blogging.  Have a great weekend and I'll be back with more healthy tips on Monday!