2023-10-06 13:31:00
Contents
More and more people are suffering from gluten sensitivity and digestive problems. A creeping epidemic or is it all just hype? Gluten is not always responsible. The cause might also be sugar or overgrowth of bacteria.
Gluten-free substitutes are a billion-dollar market, with celebrities from Novak Djokovic to Gwyneth Paltrow advising people to avoid gluten because it would improve their health. The protein is found in many grains such as wheat or barley. In fact, the number of people suffering from celiac disease, an autoimmune reaction in the gut that causes serious health problems, is increasing.
Around one percent of the Swiss population has celiac disease. However, there are also more and more people who believe that they suffer from so-called gluten sensitivity. The symptoms such as stomach pain or fatigue are similar to those of celiac disease, but no inflammatory processes are triggered in the intestine. To date, there is no test that can clearly detect gluten sensitivity.
Gluten sensitivity: just your imagination?
To date, the condition has not been fully medically decoded. However, certain markers in the blood can provide clues as to whether a person is reacting to gluten. But a look into practice also shows that it is often not gluten that makes us sick. Meanwhile, research has found other food components to trigger chronic digestive problems.
Is sugar the problem?
Food components from the sugar family are increasingly becoming the focus of research. They are summarized under the term FODMAP (fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides as well as polyols). These can be fructose, milk sugar or sugar substitutes. They can all trigger various processes in the intestine, which ultimately result in excessive gas production.
Digestive problems, bloating and abdominal pain are the result, very similar to gluten sensitivity. But in recent years, a completely different possible cause has come into focus.
The “new” disease SIBO
SIBO is the abbreviation for “Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth”, i.e. a far too large amount of bacteria in the small intestine. The symptoms are similar to gluten sensitivity. In addition, the symptoms are triggered by components that can be found in foods containing gluten. In SIBO, however, it is specifically the oligosaccharides that trigger symptoms. These are multiple sugars such as those found in grains, but also fruits, vegetables or sugar substitute products. The excessive number of bacteria in the small intestine of those affected by SIBO produce a lot of gas from the oligosaccharides, which leads to the symptoms.
How do I find out what’s causing me problems?
Only celiac disease and SIBO are clinically detectable. If you have celiac disease, you need a blood test. SIBO is diagnosed using a breath gas test or a gastroscopy with analysis of the small intestinal juice. If you are sensitive to FODMAPs or gluten, only a change in diet and observation of the consequences will show whether these might be causing the symptoms. However, some uncertainty remains.
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