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Food intolerances explained
continued from page 2
Gluten intolerance
Gluten is a protein found in several cereals including wheat, rye and barley. Gluten sensitivity causes coeliac condition (gluten sensitive enteropathy), which can develop at any age. It is relatively common, affecting around one person in 2,000 - in Ireland, the incidence is one person in 300. The condition is commonly diagnosed in the third to fourth decade and affects more females than males.
Symptoms of coeliac disease vary. Some sufferers develop few problems and are unaware of their condition. Other sufferers develop a variety of symptoms that can creep up over months or years, and can include:
The symptoms of coeliac disease are due to abnormal changes in the lower part of the small intestine, the jejunum. These are brought on by exposure to dietary gluten and resolve when following a gluten-free diet. The condition seems to be a hypersensitivity to gliadin, a small protein (polypeptide) in gluten. This may be a direct toxic effect or be triggered by an over-zealous immune system - possibly brought on in susceptible people by exposure to a particular virus (Adenovirus 12).
The diagnosis is made most accurately by taking a biopsy of the small intestine (patients swallow a special capsule containing a small cutting device activated by remote control under X-ray vision). In coeliac condition, this will show abnormal smoothness of the jejeunal lining, in place of the normal tiny finger-like projections (villi). Signs of inflammation are also present. The biopsy is usually repeated up to three times - once when eating gluten, when following a gluten-free diet and when a gluten challenge is given to confirm the diagnosis. More recently, antibody testing is used to detect IgA antibodies associated with the condition, such as antigliadin antibody (AGA) and endomysial antibody (EMA).
Gluten intolerance
Gluten is a protein found in several cereals including wheat, rye and barley. Gluten sensitivity causes coeliac condition (gluten sensitive enteropathy), which can develop at any age. It is relatively common, affecting around one person in 2,000 - in Ireland, the incidence is one person in 300. The condition is commonly diagnosed in the third to fourth decade and affects more females than males.
Symptoms of coeliac disease vary. Some sufferers develop few problems and are unaware of their condition. Other sufferers develop a variety of symptoms that can creep up over months or years, and can include:
- tiredness
- generalised feelings of being unwell
- breathlessness
- abdominal pain
- bloating and wind
- diarrhoea
- vomiting
- passing pale, bulky, offensive, fatty stools that float (steatorrhoea)
- weight loss
- some sufferers are prone to mouth ulcers and sores at the corner of their mouth
- there may be skin changes including pigmentation, scaliness, easy bruising and a rash known as dermatitis herpetiformis
The symptoms of coeliac disease are due to abnormal changes in the lower part of the small intestine, the jejunum. These are brought on by exposure to dietary gluten and resolve when following a gluten-free diet. The condition seems to be a hypersensitivity to gliadin, a small protein (polypeptide) in gluten. This may be a direct toxic effect or be triggered by an over-zealous immune system - possibly brought on in susceptible people by exposure to a particular virus (Adenovirus 12).
The diagnosis is made most accurately by taking a biopsy of the small intestine (patients swallow a special capsule containing a small cutting device activated by remote control under X-ray vision). In coeliac condition, this will show abnormal smoothness of the jejeunal lining, in place of the normal tiny finger-like projections (villi). Signs of inflammation are also present. The biopsy is usually repeated up to three times - once when eating gluten, when following a gluten-free diet and when a gluten challenge is given to confirm the diagnosis. More recently, antibody testing is used to detect IgA antibodies associated with the condition, such as antigliadin antibody (AGA) and endomysial antibody (EMA).
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