Understanding Gluten Intolerance

What is gluten?

Gluten is a fraction of the protein in certain cereals such as wheat, barley, oats and rye. Gluten is what gives the elasticity and "stickiness" to a dough made from flour and water.

Consequences for gluten-intolerant individuals

Some people are gluten intolerant; it is therefore necessary to adapt the diet and to make an "exclusion diet".

In intolerant subjects, ingestion of gluten leads to inflammation and damages the intestinal wall; there is destruction of the intestinal villi. Due to this, malabsorption of certain nutrients, vitamins and minerals is observed.

Therapeutic indications

• Celiac disease
• Chronic diarrhea without specific etiology
• After radiation therapy to the abdomen resulting in damage to the intestinal mucosa

Symptoms of the classic forms of celiac disease

• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Bloating
• Malabsorption
• Same weight loss

In practice, what to eat?

It is absolutely necessary to avoid foods that contain wheat, barley, oats, rye, in all their forms.

What is more difficult for us Europeans is that wheat is one of the staples of our diet; it is found in bread, pasta, all foods with wheat flour. Some people are also sensitive to corn, but this is much rarer; if so, it will also have to be removed from the diet.

• Deleted catering dishes, as the composition is not known; they can be prepared with wheat flour (to bind a sauce for example).
• Limit industrial prepared meals as much as possible and read the composition labels.
• Read the labels of processed products and rule out dishes or foods that contain the following ingredients:

Wheat, barley, oats, rye
"starch"
"vegetable protein"
"malt extract"
"starch material"

You can consume:

• Flour:buckwheat, chestnut, rice, soy, corn (if no intolerance for the latter).
• Starchy foods to eat:rice, potato, chestnut, corn, pulses.
• To replace bread and rusks:rice cakes, "homemade" bread without wheat flour, barley, oats or rye; "gluten-free" breads or crackers.
• “Specific GLUTEN-FREE” foods

You can find "gluten-free" foods in specialized stores, such as bread, rusks, pasta...
The taste and texture in the mouth are different compared to the same products with gluten, but this allows the less eating bread and pasta.

• Safe Foods:Home-Processed Raw:

Meat, fish, eggs
Fresh vegetables, plain frozen
Fresh fruits, plain frozen
Pulses (excluding abdominal pain)
Milk
Corn, rice, buckwheat, apple soil
Soy

• You can make cakes with potato, or potato starch to replace wheat flour
• There are a thousand ideas for "gluten-free recipes" on the Net, be it sweet or savory dishes; test and enjoy.

Regulations regarding information on labels

• EU Directive 2003/89/EC (amending Directive 2000/13/EC) on the indication of ingredients present in foodstuffs, obliges food manufacturers to mention 12 groups of allergens potential if used as an ingredient in pre-packaged products, including alcoholic beverages, regardless of their quantity. Gluten is referred to in this list as:"Cereals containing gluten (i.e. wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelled, kamut or their hybridized strains), and products made from these cereals." »
• List of food substances and ingredients provisionally excluded from Annex IIIa of Directive 2000/13/EC :

"Cereals containing gluten
Wheat-based glucose syrups including dextrose(1)
Wheat-based maltodextrins(1)
Barley-based glucose syrups
Cereals used in distillates for alcohols
(1) And derived products, insofar as the processing they have undergone is not likely to raise the level of allergenicity assessed by the EFSA for the commodity from which they are derived"

For info

Please note that some medications may contain gluten; Check with your doctor and pharmacist for each medication taken or new medication prescribed. If you buy a medicine without your doctor's advice (eg against pain, headaches, etc.), then tell the pharmacist that you are gluten intolerant.

As soon as the disease is diagnosed, and on proof, financial assistance can be provided:

• Social Security to compensate for the additional cost of purchasing gluten-free products;
• certain complementary mutuals which also provide financial assistance.

Find out more

• Association of People Allergic to Gluten (AFDIAG): You will find a lot of practical information there, especially on brands of gluten-free products
• Celiac disease site