It is immensely difficult to find out signs you’re gluten intolerant. Gluten Intolerance can manifest itself in a variety of symptoms much more than the IBS or stomach related issues. Some of the symptoms like depression and anxiety can also be indirect indicators of underlying issues caused by gluten insensitivity. In a nutshell, gluten sensitivity can not only cause problems regarding the digestive tract but many issues that exceed beyond that scope. It is necessary to know the exact symptoms because most people continue to consume gluten without knowing about their intolerance.
Gluten Intolerance Facts
- Nearly 55 diseases are associated with gluten sensitivity.
- Almost 99% never get to know that are suffering from gluten intolerance.
- Wheat, rye, and barley are the primary sources of gluten.
- In America, 15% people are gluten intolerant.
- Migraine headaches, constipation, gas, bloating, and diarrhea are the signs of gluten intolerance.
- Keratosis Pilaris is the result of gluten damaging.
- It can take months and even years to cleanse body thoroughly from the harmful gluten ingredients.
- A negative test of celiac disease does not mean that you aren’t gluten sensitive
- Anti-gliadin antibodies, Anti-tissue transglutaminase and Intestinal Biopsy are all improper testing ways to know gluten intolerance.
- To diagnose gluten intolerance go through genetic testing.
- Change your lifestyle permanently to get rid of gluten intolerance.
Following are some of the most obvious signs you’re gluten intolerant.
20. Digestive Issues
There’s a wide variety of stomach issues which can be traced back to gluten intolerance. These include gas, bloating stomach and constipation along with possibilities of diarrhea on consuming foods which contain gluten. This is the primary symptom and it is the direct result of gluten sensitivity. Another symptom is IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). If you have digestive issues, they are signs you’re gluten intolerant if they go away by stop eating gluten rich grains.
19. Keratosis Pilaris
This syndrome is also known as chicken skin and it manifests itself on the back of your arms. This syndrome is caused due to Vitamin D deficiency which is linked to deficiency of fatty acids. This deficiency in fatty acids in the body is normally due to their malabsorption from the digestive tract, which is often due to damage to the guts by gluten. Although many other syndromes can be caused by Vitamin D deficiency and fatty acids deficiency, but keratosis pilaris is the first to manifest itself in cases of gluten intolerance.
18. Depression And Anxiety
Insignificant as it sounds, depression can be a serious concern for many patients of gluten sensitivity. Depressions reveals itself in the form of emotions of hopelessness, lack of interest as well as appetite changes, sleep changes along with lack of energy. In certain cases, depression may get serious and severe enough to initiate medication for the patient. With further investigation, link has been found between depression and gluten intolerance. Celiac disease in particular causes depression in varying form. These cases of depression as well as anxiety can be easily resolved by changing diet habits and switching to non gluten foods. In these cases, anxiety accompanies depression invariably. This vicious combination of the two prevents you from thinking clearly, with combined symptoms like heart racing, anxiety attacks and many other issues.
17. Joint Problems
Aching joints or sore joints are quite clear signs you’re gluten intolerant! This is caused by joint inflammation and is especially seen in finger and knee joints. Joint pain can be indicative of several different autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis and many others. If you are not into aggressive forms of exercise and still are suffering from pain in knee, hip and finger joints, it may lead to any one of the number of autoimmune diseases, most of which can be traced back to gluten intolerance.
16. Skin Problems
If you think that you are gluten intolerant, you need to keep an eye on skin issues and changes in your complexion. Keratosis Pilaris aside, there is a number of other skin issues which are caused by gluten sensitivity. The symptoms such as flushed complexion, acne and rashes cannot be explained by any other individual diagnosis than celiac disease and gluten intolerance. The rashes occur mostly under the knees, back, buttocks and elbows along with the back of your neck. If such a rash becomes chronic and itching serve as a sign you’re gluten sensitive.
15. Migraines
Migraines frequently combined with a symptom known as brain fog indicate a probability of gluten intolerance. You may have one or both of these. Migraines are severe headaches and brain fog makes it hard for you to concentrate on the task at hand and that leads to confusion and dizziness. Both of these cases, one seen frequently are debilitating and make it extremely difficult for a person to function properly. Consequently, both of these lead to the same result in the majority of cases, and that is irritability and depression. With any number of the symptoms listed here, migraines and brain fog indicate most conspicuous signs you’re gluten intolerant.
14. Stomach Distension
Commonly known as bloating, this is a physical manifestation of gluten intolerance combined with prolonged intake of gluten, when the patients are not aware for many years that they are sensitive to gluten in diet. Bloating stomach is often a consequence of any number of dietary intolerances. These occur after eating a meal that contains gluten, and that is often used to pinpoint the causative agent behind the stomach bloating. Often stomach bloating is accompanied with aches as well.
13. Fatigue and Sluggishness
If after a good night’s sleep, you wake up still feeling sluggish and to some extent fatigued, the most likely culprit in question is gluten. There are a number of issues that originate from this sluggishness; the most common and bothersome is a change in sleep pattern. Either you may start sleeping much too long or you may begin to registered insomnia or symptoms related to sleeplessness. It is because despite sleeping the healthy 7 hours, your body is not receiving the deep rest which is needed prior to long waking hours. This fatigue varies from mild to rather severe in different circumstances.
12. Numbness in Extremities
It is directly linked to gluten intolerance but very often the feeling of numbness is associated inaccurately to food or hard work. The people, who are not engaged with any hard work, think they are tired or exhausted in consequence of taking heavy meal. To some people, their tiredness is due to hard work. The numbness appears in limbs, either they fall asleep or give a feeling of pins and needles. Either way, this almost occurs in conjunction with joint pain and reflect signs you’re gluten intolerant.
11. Mood Issues
Commonly known as mood swings, unexplained mood issues become more common and frequent despite any triggering incidents around you. This occurs due to depression and anxiety, which are caused by Celiac disease and gluten intolerance in general. Some mood issues are related to anxiety, others can be affiliated with depression and there are some which neither of them can explain. This is often seen as if you go to sleep feeling normal but wake up feeling extremely anxious or depressed. With prolonged gluten intake despite gluten intolerance, these mood swings can become quite severe and may require medication of psychiatric assistance.
10. Diagnosis of an Autoimmune Disease
Recent and ongoing researches have indicated a lot of possibilities where gluten sensitivity combined with gluten intake can lead to autoimmune diseases. That suggests a direct relation between gluten sensitivity and immune diseases varying from Hunter’s to Myasthenia Gravis, Ulcerative Colitis, Psoriasis, Sclerosis, Scleroderma, Lupus and Arthritis. In other cases, autoimmune diseases lead to gluten intolerance. Either way, if you have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, that’s one way to start a thorough diagnostic study to look for signs you’re gluten intolerant or not. Either way, there is a reasonable probability that your autoimmune disease is related to gluten sensitivity.
9. Neurological Symptoms
These symptoms are not the same as psychiatric issues because they have little or no effect on behavior but they particularly target the ability of the motor system to function properly. Some people with gluten intolerance have also been found to have neurological symptoms of varying types and intensity. These symptoms inhibit our daily functions and prevent us from doing anything without trouble. For example, you may feel off balance, which will make it difficult for you to walk straight. A reduction in coordination over a span of time without any focus point of motor deterioration is also commonly witnessed and so are episodes of dizziness. To make diagnosis easier for you, these symptoms mostly arise about an hour after taking a meal with gluten in it. Stay sharp and mostly they can be spotted easily.
8. Hormonal Issues
Hormonal imbalance leads to a wide variety of metabolic and physical malfunctioning and among this variety, the main cause is often difficult to pinpoint. If you are gluten intolerant, a number of hormonal issues may occur, and it is important to spot them in order to reinforce the diagnostic interpretation of the signs you’re gluten intolerant. Recent research has proven this connection and ongoing research has discovered a remarkable correlation with hormone imbalance diseases like polycystic ovarian syndrome, premenstrual syndrome, and unexplained fertility. If you have been diagnosed with any of these issues before, gluten intolerance can worsen them further when gluten is consumed in diet.
7. ADHD Syndrome
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a syndrome which affects both children and adults, and has recently been proven to be connected to gluten sensitivity. A child with ADHD responds to a gluten free diet much better than to the drugs for this disorder. This indicates that this disorder is exacerbated by gluten intake. Alternately, further research has discovered another connection, where food sensitivities and stomach problems have been reported to be the root cause of behavioral disorders particularly ADHD. Malabsorption issues in the gut facilitate a number of mental issues among which ADHD is the most important. This way, certain proteins enter the body, whereas in a healthy gut, they are prevented from doing so.
6. Low Immunity
This is different from autoimmune disease. This decreased immunity is because of decreased immunoglobulins in the body, which are proteins that fight toxins. Especially, IgA levels have been reported to have decreased in patients with gluten intolerance and Celiac disease. This is a type of immunoglobulin which is found in saliva and stomach secretions decrease the body’s first line of defense against foreign infection. This infection may be in the formal of gastrointestinal infection, which consequently leads to the other signs you’re gluten intolerant. This same immunodeficiency is also witnessed in a number of other autoimmune diseases.
5. Dental Issues
Strange as it sounds, dental issues do arise from gluten intolerance, whether directly or indirectly. Cavities, canker sores (mouth ulcers) as well as tooth decay and certain cases of broken teeth can be a headache for you if you are gluten intolerant. This is seen in patients with a previously undiagnosed celiac disease or gluten intolerance. The best explanation is that calcium levels of gluten intolerance patients can be surprisingly low. This calcium is always needed by healthy teeth to maintain enamel and for the gums to stay strong. These levels are low because of malabsorption, which is caused by gluten intolerance and yet gluten intake in the diet.
4. Unexplained Weight Loss
It often happens that despite a highly controlled diet schedule, your weight is on the fall, or on the rise. Either way, there’s a clear chance that gluten intolerance is the culprit in disguise. Most of the time, any drastic or gradual yet unexplained weight changes indicate a bigger problem. Especially for patients suffering from gluten intolerance, malabsorption leading to weight loss can have serious effects on the health, and it must be tackled with by aggressive means. Alternately, stubborn weight gain can also be mimicked by a bloating stomach in gluten intolerance. These are signs you’re gluten intolerant, and they must be dealt with.
3. Extreme Fatigue
Gluten intake for a long period in patients with gluten intolerance can cause extreme cases of fatigue. If you ever sleep for as long as 11 hours and still wake up to find yourself tired to the bones and feeling lazy as if you were drugged, the reason is gluten intolerance most probably. This extreme exhaustion can persist for the greater part of your day and for several days on end. When your body is in a state of inflammation, it is spending its resources faster than they can be refilled. This leads to a gradual decrease in available energy stores, and you begin to witness a gradually increasing fatigue and exhaustion. Gluten intolerance signs are often diagnosed among patients of exhaustion, and they work as a marker for the disorder.
2. Adrenal Fatigue
Adrenal fatigue is targeted hormone imbalance, which mostly occurs in patients of celiac disease. Women with undiagnosed gluten sensitivity, suffer obstruction in their ovarian function. They reach a peri-menopause. The imbalance caused by decrease in sex hormones stimulates the adrenal glands to produce cortisol, a hormone which is destined to maintain and control blood sugar concentrations. This is worsened by consumption of gluten and unstable blood sugar. The increase in cortisol is responsible for certain above mentioned symptoms because it leads to increased body fat, unstable moods as well as fatigue. This is one of the important signs you’re gluten intolerant among women.
1. Breakouts
This is the casual word for abrupt and transient change in mood and temperament from normal to extreme anxiety and anger. This sudden change in mood is often due to hormone imbalance, and that is exacerbated by confusion, anxiety and depression all of which are signs you’re gluten intolerant. This forms a connection of various syndromes which are connected to one another and to celiac disease. If you are a full grown person, but still often have breakouts like teenagers, this may be because of an underlying gluten intolerance you were unaware about.
The signs you’re gluten intolerant, given here, can help you get closer to your diagnosis. Although all of them are almost impossible to coexist, a good number strengthens the authenticity of the chances that you may be gluten intolerant.
