A new study published in the Lancet says that feeling sick after eating foods with gluten often has nothing to do with gluten itself. Instead, it’s about a complicated communication problem between your gut and your brain. Over the years we have seen many people avoiding gluten. According to NYU Langone Health, one-third American avoid gluten due to health concerns, but is gluten really such a big cause of concern for health? This condition, called Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS), affects many people around the world, and these new findings will completely change how doctors understand and treat it. The researchers from the University of Melbourne looked at lots of previous studies to figure out why people who don't have Celiac disease still feel bad after eating gluten. Common complaints are feeling bloated, having stomach pain, or feeling tired. The lead researcher says these results challenge the old ideas we had about what causes the sensitivity. Is Gluten The Culprit Behind Bread Bloating? The research reveals that it is not due to gluten. The study found that for most people who think they are gluten sensitive, their symptoms are actually being caused by two main things: FODMAPs (Fermentable Carbohydrates) These are types of carbohydrates found in many foods, including wheat, that are hard for some people to digest. They ferment in the gut and cause gas and bloating. The study found that these are often the real cause of discomfort, not the gluten part of the wheat. Psychological Reasons Researchers found that people’s symptoms were often triggered by what they expected to feel after eating the food. In many tests, people who thought they were reacting to gluten felt just as sick when they were secretly given a placebo, which is a fake, gluten-free substance, as when they were given real gluten. This shows that your brain's expectation plays a huge role. Is Bread Bloating Only Due to Gluten Sensitivity? The researchers concluded that we should stop thinking of NCGS as a problem with gluten and start seeing it as a communication breakdown between the gut and the brain. Because the symptoms are so similar, they say NCGS is more like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which is a condition where the gut and brain don't communicate properly. When people who have IBS and think they are sensitive to gluten eat gluten, wheat, or a placebo, they often react the same way to all three. This strongly suggests that how a person anticipates and processes sensations in their gut is heavily influencing their symptoms. This new view will help doctors stop focusing only on gluten and start treating the underlying communication problem. Doctors now have better information to help patients. Experts say this new knowledge is essential for making better diagnoses and creating personalized treatment plans for each patient. The study strongly suggests that public messages should stop telling people that gluten is automatically bad for their gut, because the research shows that is often not true. We need to change the public message about gluten. The researchers suggest that effective treatment for people with NCGS should include not only changing their diet but also psychological support to manage their gut-brain interaction. It’s also important to make sure people are still getting all the nutrients they need. The authors also want to see better testing tools, stronger guidelines for doctors, more funding for research, and clearer food labels.
Email
Google
Facebook Email Google Facebook