Do you suffer from wheat intolerance?

Fiona Cathcart looks at the down-side of biscuits, cakes and pasta

More of us suffer from wheat intolerance than we realise. It is no wonder when we learn that our distant ancestors ate no grains. The cultivation of grains only began 10,000 years ago and some scientists believe that we have not yet adapted to tolerate them. This may explain why grain allergy and intolerance is so widespread with wheat as the number one culprit. Modern wheat is also very different from bronze age wheat which was more like a wild grass. This is mainly due to its gluten content. Gluten contains an intestinal irritant called gliadin which makes up 78% of the total protein in modern wheat. When making bread, yeast reacts with sugar and the gluten is activated to produce a 'lighter loaf'. Of course this is great for the manufacturers, since their material costs are lower, but it is bad for our intestines.A small amount of wheat can normally be tolerated, but most people eat wheat in the form of biscuits, cakes, cereals, pastry and pasta, at least 3 times a day. Baking also increases the ability of gluten to react with our gut wall.

Coeliac disease is the most classical form of wheat allergy and any wheat that is eaten will have a diverse affect. The toxic element, gluten, can cause partial destruction of the lining of the small bowel, resulting in diarrhoea, bloating of the abdomen and malabsorption of essential nutrients. Therefore, symptoms can be extensive because they are caused by various vitamin and mineral deficiencies. In extreme cases of gluten sensitivity, the villi, tiny protrusions that make up the small intestine, can be completely worn away. Irritable bowel syndrome can also be caused by a wheat allergy, but there are many other causes of this.

Allergies and intolerances to many foods, are widespread. Allergies are quite rare and the symptoms usually appear within minutes and are reasonably easy to diagnose. However with intolerances this is not the case. These are fairly common and adverse affects can take hours or days to manifest themselves In some cases, the symptoms may be fairly slight and the sufferer may not even be aware that they have an intolerance.

Do you suffer from any of the following?:
• Watery, itchy eyes which may be swollen and heavy feeling eyelids.
• Runny nose, excessive mucus or burning and blocked nose.
• Earache, ringing in ears, burning sensations and itching.
• Feeling faint and dizzy, a heavy feeling, headaches
• Swollen stomach with bloating after eating, flatulence, cravings for food
• Weakness, fatigue, cold hands and feet, swelling of limbs, face, hands, feet and ankles
• Swollen joints, fluid retention, obesity
• Depression, apathy, poor concentration, mood swings, aggressive behaviour, excessive sleeping

These are just some of the symptoms of wheat intolerance! This is why it is so difficult to diagnose. They could be caused by any number of things - headaches can be caused by tension or eye strain for example. However, if you suffer from a number of these symptoms and they do not seem to be going away, there is a chance that you have a wheat intolerance. Excessive tiredness in particular could point to a wheat intolerance. It is natural to feel sleepy after a meal, but if you suffer from constant lethargy, it is not! The process of digesting wheat appears to release chemicals in the brain which induce excessive sleepiness. Try keeping a detailed food diary for several weeks and see if some sort of pattern emerges. You can also try cutting out wheat completely for a while, see how this makes you feel, and then gradually re-introduce it to see what effect this has.

So what can you do? … Check your labels!

Did you know that wheat is used in thickening, binding, dusting, making liquids creamy, gravies, soups, casseroles, desserts, spices, burgers, sausages and much more. You need to check the label carefully when you do your shopping. This may seem laborious at first, but with time it will get easier. Anything which says, modified starch, rusk, cereal protein, cereal, edible starch, food starch, binder, vegetable protein, thickening or thickener, could contain wheat. It may be much safer for you to prepare your own foods from scratch until you have sourced foods which you know are free from wheat.

You will also find eating out hard at first. Until you know what you are doing, it would be easier for you to stick to basic foods, such as fish or meat without sauces and vegetables. Wheat bran is still the most effective fibre for the digestive system, without it there is a chance that food will move more slowly through the body. Whilst other brans are not quite as effective, plenty of fruit and vegetable fibre are a good replacement, as well as drinking plenty of water, and taking plenty of exercise.

You may well find that there is a big gap left after you give up wheat, in fact you may even crave food which contains wheat. This is perfectly normal and you will adjust in time. It is just like having had an addiction, and like any addiction, it will lead to withdrawal symptoms.

Another thing to think about are the vitamins and minerals contained in wheat which you will be giving up. For example, iron, zinc, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), nicotinic acid (B3), and Vitamin E. Wheat bran, which is the outer covering of the wheat berry, also contains B6, folic acid, pantothenic acid and phosphorus. You will need to make sure that you replace these nutrients with other foods. This is not difficult and will just require some research.

I have an intolerance to wheat and have suffered with many of the symptoms above. In particular I suffered from extreme lethargy, stomach bloating, fluid retention and swollen joints. Through changing my diet and eliminating wheat from my food, I have managed to reverse these symptoms. I now have loads of energy, feel more positive, more motivated and have lost weight. It was this realisation of just how much our health is affected by what we eat that first led me to study nutrition.

If you have any questions on wheat intolerance or any other health and nutrition matters, please write in and we will do our best to answer your questions.