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?⁠