4 Myths About Gluten-Free Diets and Celiac Disease
For someone who has been diagnosed with celiac disease, a gluten-free diet is not just a lifestyle choice — it's a way to avoid the complications of a real, recognized, autoimmune disease. The popularity of gluten-free diets, however, has also meant that there is some misinformation that comes with the fad.
Celiac disease is not to be confused with a food preference, even setting aside incidents of people claiming that they have food allergies when they really don't. Perhaps around 1 percent of the US population have diagnosed celiac disease or allergy to gluten.
Gluten allergic reactions can result in the inability to absorb nutrients from food, damage to the intestine, and a higher risk of intestinal cancer — a very different situation than just plain sensitivity to gluten.
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Myth #1: No bread, period.
It's a myth that Celiacs should not eat any sort of bread or bread products.
The fact is, while Celiacs certainly must avoid wheat-based and other gluten-containing bread at all costs, some bread types are actually safe for them to eat. There are plenty of gluten-free bread choices readily available, and there are recipes for those who like to bake it themselves to make sure that their loaf is 100 percent gluten-free, as well, as Business Insider pointed out.
Myth #2: Celiacs just need to avoid wheat bread.
Someone living with Celiac disease is not just being picky about what they eat — avoiding gluten in their diet is the only known measure for the disorder.
The fact is, Celiacs could also accidentally ingest gluten from other ingredients like barley and rye, and not just from wheat. A surprisingly varied list of food items could actually contain some amount of gluten just by being grown near rye or barley.
Even trace amounts of gluten are enough to cause intestinal damage to Celiacs. Even if it's just a bit of blue cheese that might have been made using rye bread spores, or bread crumbs used in a deep-fry, 50 milligrams of gluten per day is more than enough to cause harm.
Myth #7: Celiac disease starts from childhood.
There may be food allergy fakers out there, but that doesn't mean that someone claiming they were recently diagnosed with celiac disease is mistaken.
The fact is, Celiac disease can manifest itself regardless of age. One of the only reliable predictors, if a person is likely to be a celiac, is if they have a relative who's known to have been diagnosed with the disorder as well. For anyone else, anyone from any age group can suddenly experience the symptoms.
Myth #4: Celiac disease is a wheat allergy.
Wheat Allergy sufferers and Celiacs experience different reactions to ingesting wheat or wheat product, but both are serious medical conditions that could be life-threatening.
While wheat allergic reactions might involve swelling, hives, or in the worst of cases, anaphylactic shock within minutes or a few hours after exposure, Celiacs have a different response that varies between children and adults.
For adult celiacs, symptoms usually manifest as joint pain, anemia, and abdominal issues, while in children, irritability, stunted growth and delayed puberty may come as a result. In any case, one should always consult with a doctor.
