Treating Gluten Sensitivity Symptoms

Possibly the best way to deal with gluten sensitivity is to watch your diet carefully. Changing the way you eat to avoid the foods that cause you trouble can offer relief from gluten sensitivity symptoms.

Maureen Leonard is a pediatric gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She told Science News, "Non-celiac gluten sensitivity can be defined as follows: individuals without celiac disease whose symptoms improve on a gluten-free diet after ruling out other conditions."

Consult a doctor or dietician if you suspect you have gluten sensitivity. Your doctor may perform a test to determine if you have celiac disease or a wheat allergy, and may recommend dietary changes and monitor the results. There are some changes you can make in your diet that will allow you to eat a full range of foods without paying the price afterward. A trained nutritionist can guide you on how to remove gluten from your diet to see if gluten is at the root of the discomfort.

Much like with people who suspect they have an allergy, the easiest way to go about testing for gluten sensitivity it to eliminate all gluten products from your diet for a couple of weeks. Note how you feel each day, particularly after eating gluten-free meals. If you are sensitive to gluten, then you should feel better without it in your system. Slowly add gluten products back into your diet for a couple of days. Again, note how you feel after eating it. If you feel the same symptoms listed above, you may have this condition. Of course, consult your doctor to avoid common self-diagnosis mistakes.