Many people claim to feel better by stopping gluten, even though they do not have celiac disease. Is this diet really effective for diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease? Does it improve joint disorders and cognitive abilities? Does it really help to lose weight? Should everyone quit gluten? Specialists answered us.
Gluten not welcome? No, clearly, for some of the people who have decided to outside it from their plate. What do they blame him for? To cause bloating, spasms and transit disorders, but also headaches, fatigue, itching, joint pain…
Described for the first time in 1978, what is now called non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) has been the subject of scientific consensus for several years. “Doctors define it as a clinical entity in which the ingestion of gluten leads to digestive and extra-digestive symptoms which regress under a gluten-free diet, explains Catherine Grand-Ravel, researcher at Inra. But it is not based on autoimmune mechanisms as in celiac disease, nor on allergic mechanisms as in wheat allergies. “Symptoms to describe it but no diagnostic tool: what is this sensitivity? If eating gluten-free is vital for celiac patients, what about when you don’t suffer from this disease?
Is a gluten-free diet more digestible?
It’s possible. “Gluten proteins are rich in proline, an amino acid that makes them less accessible than others to enzymes in the digestive tract,” explains Dr. Nadine Cerf-Bensussan, research director at Inserm. Because of this, the digestion of gluten leaves small fragments. “In celiac patients and in those allergic to wheat, some of these fragments can be recognized by the immune system and trigger their disease”, she specifies.
In people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity, an effect on intestinal permeability has been suggested. “The submucosa being particularly innervated, this permeability can generate symptoms such as bloating or diarrhea”, says Professor Bruno Bonaz, gastroenterologist. However, without knowing why, this does not concern everyone. “One of the avenues explored is the inter-individual difference in perception of sensations: interception or awareness of the internal state of one’s body, continues Professor Bonaz. It can be assumed that the nerve signals sent by the intestinal sphere to the brain can be amplified in some. These could often be people who are stressed, anxious or depressed.
In the absence of characteristic markers such as celiac disease or wheat allergy, only the exclusion of gluten can determine whether digestive difficulties are linked to its ingestion. And again: not for sure.
