Allergy Hero!

Could The Symptoms Be Wheat or Gluten Allergies or Could it be Coeliac Disease?
By Dorothy Santoro

Food allergies, though fairly uncommon, can be so severe, as to prove fatal, therefore it is of the utmost importance to get a diagnosis of the offending culprit. It is also good to do some research.

Coeliac or Celiac Disease

Though believed to be underdiagnosed, Coeliac disease seems to affect about 1% of Indo-European populations. Coeliac disease is considered to be an immunologic disorder, and is diagnosed after runniing a series of blood tests in children. This autoimmune disorder generally occurs in genetically predisposed people and is diagnosed after early infancy.

Reaction to gliadin, a gluten protein found in wheat, and similar proteins found in barley and rye, is the cause of Coeliac disease. This results in a problem of the lining of the small intestine which interferes with the absorption of nutrients.

The malabsorption is what causes children with Coeliac disease to sometimes have a ‘failure to thrive’ symptom, which leads to a Coeliac screening and diagnosis.

Numerous other conditions are connected to Coeliac and malabsorption, such as osteopenia or osteoporosis, fatigue and anemia.

Coeliac disease is a gluten intolerance as opposed to a true food allergy. As such, food intolerances, like Coeliac, usually become worse with age. On the other hand, a food allergy could possibly become less severe or even, though only occasionally, go away as you grow older.

A gluten free diet for life, is really the only effective treatment.

Wheat Allergy

The over reaction of the immune system from exposure to wheat, can lead to severe symptoms for millions of people. This reaction involves antibodies to one or more proteins found in wheat. These proteins come from four groups:

• albumin
• globulin
• prolamin (most notably, gliadin) and
• glutelin (one of which is glutenin, a protein involved in the making of gluten)

But the first two, albumin and globulin, are where the majority of wheat allergies come from, reactions to the other two are more rare. And just like Coeliac disease, avoidance is the only real treatment. But in the case of wheat allergies, even inhaling flour particles, can be dangerous.

Anaphylactic shock is the most severe symptom of any allergy, requiring immediate attention, often emergency treatment with epinephrine, but there are other symptoms to wheat allergies that may include:

• coughing
• runny nose
• watery or itchy eyes
• hives
• asthma
• allergic rhinitis
• swelling
• abdominal cramps
• chest pains
• diarrhea
• headaches
• nausea
• palpitations
• rashes
• sneezing
• fatigue
• and more….

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America most children outgrow wheat allergies, but their are many who are allergic for their entire lives.

Gluten Allergy

Gluten is the substance that gives dough its elasticity, strength, and makes the dough rise and is also found in the malted barley used to make beer.l

In wheat, rye and barley, can be found a mixture of the proteins, gliadin and glutenin, or gluten which makes up around 80% of the protein contained in wheat. Wheat, of course, provides much of the world’s dietary protein. A very important source of protein, gluten is not only in wheat flour, but is added to foods that are low in protein.

But, for those who are allergic to gluten or wheat, in can be a nightmare scenario if injested or inhaled.

The same symptoms as outlined above occur in gluten allergies as well. These allergies are important to diagnose as some symptoms are life threatening. Professional medical care should be sought for a definitive guide for the treatment of allergies or any health problem.

For more information on allergies, please go to http://www.allergies.healthprobleminfo.com

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