What’s the difference between a gluten intolerance and coeliac disease? | Revisited.

Revisiting an earlier article we wrote for UK Food Intolerance, here’s a bit more insight into the difference between intolerances to gluten and coeliac disease. It is important you know the difference. It’s also vital you know the benefits of gluten before removing it from your diet unnecessarily. Choosing to eliminate gluten from your diet isn’t uncommon. Supermarkets now provide various gluten-free products, and most restaurants have meals on the menu suitable for those following a wheat-free diet. But what makes people want to avoid gluten altogether? Is it the result of food intolerance or being diagnosed with coeliac disease? And if so, what’s the difference, and how can you get tested for gluten intolerance? The answer could be in a gluten intolerance test. 

Food intolerance vs coeliac disease 

Although any kind of gluten sensitivity is a source of discomfort, the main difference between coeliac disease and food intolerance is the cause behind the onset of symptoms.

Digesting gluten will cause your immune system to attack healthy tissues if you are a coeliac. When this happens, the small intestine’s lining is damaged, meaning the body can’t absorb nutrients properly.

A gluten intolerance (or non-coeliac gluten sensitivity) presents similar physical symptoms, but antibodies are not produced. Plus, there is no internal damage to the gut. It means you have difficulty digesting foods that contain gluten, but it is a less severe condition, which brings us to:

The severity of your intolerance symptoms

If you’ve been diagnosed with coeliac disease, you’ll already know that symptoms can be damaging to your mental and physical health. They come on very quickly after consuming gluten. Stomach pains, bloating, nausea and diarrhoea are all commonly experienced if you have been diagnosed and can make you feel extremely unwell. Coeliacs are also more likely to suffer from long-term health problems such as anaemia, osteoporosis and fertility issues if their condition is left untreated. It’s, therefore, imperative to get diagnosed quickly if you regularly feel unwell after eating food containing gluten to avoid further complications.

If you are intolerant to gluten, your symptoms will be similar but not as severe. They also will not result in any long-term problems. You’ll also be able to eat a small amount of gluten without feeling seriously unwell. In contrast, coeliacs need to remove it from their diet entirely because even a small amount will cause internal damage.

Family ties – have they been tested for gluten intolerance or coeliac disease?

Although coeliac disease is much more widely recognised, it is still rare and only affects around 1% of the population. It’s also a genetic condition. Therefore, if you have a parent, child or sibling diagnosed, you’re more likely to experience symptoms.

Gluten intolerance is much more common and affects up to 13% of the population. It is currently unclear whether being intolerant is linked to genetics but experiencing mild digestive problems after eating gluten isn’t particularly unusual. Many people are opting to avoid it and eliminate it from their diet.  

Getting a Gluten Intolerance test

Completing a gluten intolerance test is one of the easiest ways to determine whether you are sensitive to certain products. From brown bread to pasta, we test against 20 different gluten-based items. You can learn if there is anything specific that’s causing your symptoms to flare up. Once your test has been received at our lab, your results will be emailed to you within 72 hours. This should help to put your mind at rest. Your sensitivities will be scored at 85% and higher. The reasoning is that this is the critical point at which most physical symptoms present themselves.

If your symptoms are severe and come on quickly, you can take some routes. UK Food Intolerance recommends seeking medical advice and talking to a doctor to prevent any long-term damage.

If you have questions about how gluten intolerance affects your health, please email [email protected]. You can also fill out our contact form, and we’ll aim to get back to you within two hours during the working day.