In my pratice as a gut health dietitian I treat patients who come to me with non-celiac wheat sensitivity. On Instagram @AndreaHardyRD, I talk all about what you need to know about non-celiac wheat sensitivity!
Have you heard of ‘non-celiac wheat sensitivity’? 🧐 🍞
As we learn more about gluten-related disorders we realize, it’s not as simple as ‘is this celiac, yes or no?’
Non-celiac wheat sensitivity is a sensitivity to wheat that involves the immune system. It is a non-IgE mediated sensitivity, meaning a person will not test positive for it on an allergy test. They also will not meet the diagnostic criteria for celiac disease – however they may have histological changes (meaning upon duodenal biopsy, increased lymphocytes is seen, a marker of inflammation).
🌟There is no validated lab test (yet!) for NCWS. Your doctor & dietitian might do a wheat challenge to assess whether you could have NCWS (a double blind placebo controlled challenge with 8g gluten is the gold standard though not always practical)
Symptoms include:
– Abdominal pain
– Bloating/distension
– Diarrhea or constipation
– Nausea
– GERD
– Tiredness
– Brain fog
– Joint/muscle pain
Contrary to popular belief, it might not be the gluten causing the issue! There are several components of wheat that have been implicated including:
– gluten
– ATI’s (amylase/trypsin inhibitors)
– lipopolysaccharides, (ATIs)
– wheat germ agglutinins
To manage NCWS, a wheat-free diet 🍞 is the best course of action – however patients might not need to completely abstain, some studies suggest a low-gluten/low wheat diet to be adequate.
In our practice, we find striking a balance with quality of life important, and find cross contamination to not usually be an issue.
Any questions?
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