Top Myths Overheard About Celiac Disease

Gluten intolerance, gluten allergy, and celiac disease may have similar symptoms and reasons, but they are completely different conditions. Celiac disease is a serious autoimmune disease, which means that if a person ingests food containing gluten, body’s immune system starts attacking the lining of the gut. If untreated or undiagnosed it may cause irreversible damage to the structure of intestine. Allergy is also immune reaction; it is a hyper reaction to the gluten which causes local inflammation. But in the gluten allergy immune system does not attack the intestine wall. Usually, allergy is a quick reaction. Intolerance is poorly understood, where a person may get symptoms similar to celiac disease, but neither there are antibodies nor structural damage typical of celiac disease. It is estimated that non-celiac gluten intolerance is much more common than celiac disease (1).

Gluten free diet is good for health, even if you do not suffer from celiac disease

Though gluten free diet may not be harmful, neither are there any benefits in a person not suffering from celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Wheat bread has been principal food for billions of people for hundreds of years, thus there is no reason to panic or believe in disinformation on the electronic sources about harms of grains.

Symptoms of celiac disease persist even if a person avoids gluten

That is rarely the case but if they persist then the doctor will have to look for some other additional health problems. In most people symptoms persist, because they unintentionally continue to consume gluten in small quantity.