Gluten Sensitivity Can Trigger Autoimmunity and Chronic Pain

We all have that one chore or project in our house we never seem to get around to. Maybe it's cleaning the garage, finally getting the family picture framed, or reorganizing your kitchen. You know it would not take much time to accomplish the task and you will feel better when you are finished, but you just never quite seem to make the time.

Living with an autoimmune illness and chronic pain is similar. You know there probably is a better way to treat your ailments than the constant drugs, appointments and new treatments. Yet, you continue to go about your medical routine, succumbing what feels like the inevitability of living with chronic pain and autoimmune illnesses and the host of drugs and doctors that go along with it.

However, just like you will feel better when you finally tackle that nagging chore, you can find relief from your autoimmune illness and chronic pain by stepping outside the traditional approaches to these ailments.

Gluten sensitivity is an under-diagnosed common trigger of many autoimmune illnesses and chronic pain. Once patients discover they have a gluten sensitivity and commence a gluten-free diet, their illness and pain often disappears. It's an amazing yet incredibly simple diagnosis that brings relief to many people suffering needlessly each year. Let's take a closer look at how this simple diagnosis can bring the much sought after cure you have been searching for.

Gluten Sensitivity: The Basics

Gluten is a protein found in common grains, specifically wheat, rye, barley, malt and a few other grains like spelt and couscous. Gluten is what gives dough its elasticity and helps it to rise. It is the composite of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin. Most people can eat and digest this protein without any problems.

However, many people suffer from gluten sensitivity or essentially an allergy to gluten. Unlike other allergies, say to peanuts for example, gluten does not typically cause anaphylaxis. It does, however, trigger the basic allergic response. When you consume gluten, your immune system produces antibodies to fight off what it perceives as harmful to your health. This immune response causes inflammation in your body leading to a host of autoimmune illnesses.

Some of the most common autoimmune responses seen in people with gluten sensitivity include:

• Thyroid disorders;


• Neurological problems;


• Fibromyalgia;


• Celiac sprue disease;


• Skin problems such as psoriasis and eczema;


• Arthritis;


• And chronic pain.

There are also a set of secondary issues related to gluten sensitivity because of the way the gluten protein damages your intestines. As gluten passes through your intestines, it can trigger damage to the villi, the small follicles that pick up nutrients out of your food and pass it through your body, feeding and nourishing you and your organs. When the villi are damaged, they can't absorb nutrients from your food and you may experience chronic fatigue, anemia, narcolepsy and other symptoms related to nutrition deficiencies.

Ending Autoimmune Illnesses

The traditional medical community has only just now started making the connection between autoimmune illnesses and gluten. Those illnesses were always seen as standalone problems that doctors would treat with drugs. Doctors could test for gluten sensitivity but the old tests targeted just a fraction of the antibodies associated with gluten sensitivity. Many people went undiagnosed when these tests came back negative. They continued to eat gluten and continued to suffer needlessly.

Recently, newer tests that look at a broader spectrum of antibodies associated with gluten sensitivity have become available and patients can get more definitive answers from doctors who understand the link between autoimmune illnesses and gluten sensitivity. You can learn more about why the typical gluten intolerance test is not adequate by reading an informative white paper on the subject.

You can take action to address your chronic pain and autoimmune ailments without testing as well by simply moving to a gluten-free diet. However, often a gluten sensitive individual can have gluten cross reactions with many of the ingredients found in gluten-free products. Ideally you should endeavor to work with a gluten knowledgeable doctor who can guide you in the proper food selection process.

As you probably suspected for years, there is a better way to treat your autoimmune disorder and your chronic pain than regular doctor visits and handfuls of medication. Take the time to explore your illness a little deeper to find the root cause of your ailments. Who knows? Once you tackle your chronic illness, you might just be ready to clean out the garage as well.