Gluten intolerance, just a fad? For several years, the gluten-free diet has been on the rise and more and more products are appearing on supermarket shelves. However, celiac disease, an autoimmune digestive pathology that affects people genetically intolerant to gluten (present in wheat but also in barley and rye), only affects 1% of the population. So how do you explain that many people feel better avoiding gluten, when they are not intolerant to it? American researchers have looked into the matter.
The study, conducted at Columbia University and published July 25, 2016 in the scientific journal Gut, sought to determine whether gluten sensitivity was linked to a specific cellular marker. And the answer is yes. For this, the researchers studied 160 people:40 with celiac disease, 80 with non-celiac gluten sensitivity and 40 people without any digestive disorder. They estimate that 1% of the population is sensitive to gluten.
To shed light on the marker involved in gluten sensitivity, the researchers observed reactions after ingestion of gluten. In intolerant people, abdominal pain, diarrhea or even bloating are felt, and the immune response is limited to the small intestine. On the other hand, in people sensitive to gluten, the inconveniences are more varied:in addition to gastrointestinal disorders, they suffer from fatigue, cognitive problems or even mood disorders. Above all, the researchers discovered the presence in large quantities of a marker of damage in the epithelial cells of the intestine, FABP2, in addition to a more porous intestinal barrier (which explains the overall immune reaction of the organization). The good news is that the study also found that after six months without gluten, FABP2 levels returned to normal levels and people felt much better. Thus, the observation of this marker could make it possible to diagnose people sensitive to gluten and give them access to effective treatments. To be continued…
