RJ Hamster
When Gluten Sensitivity Isn’t Gluten
for Subscribers OnlyDecember 4, 2025When Gluten Sensitivity Isn’t Gluten from Amy Denney Epoch Health Reporter Few subjects illustrate the complexity of food, health, and our feelings about both quite like gluten. Found naturally in wheat, barley, and rye, gluten gives dough its elasticity and creates that pleasing texture we love in baked goods. For people with celiac disease, however, gluten can cause serious gastrointestinal and autoimmune reactions. Many people who don’t have celiac disease have also decided that gluten is their enemy, a condition called nonceliac gluten sensitivity. I used to be among those people. I had such severe bouts of heartburn that I made several trips to the emergency room and saw a gastroenterologist for testing. Doctors found nothing wrong. Then one day, a friend suggested gluten could be the culprit. I removed it from my diet, and lo and behold, I felt amazing. My problem was solved—or so I thought. I spent years avoiding gluten. Fast forward to 2019—a particularly stressful year when I developed more food sensitivities, especially to onions and garlic, which belong to the same food category as wheat. An allergist tested me for celiac disease and gluten allergy. I had neither—effectively eliminating the possibility of a nonceliac gluten sensitivity. The problem with nonceliac gluten sensitivity is that people are wrongly diagnosing themselves. Meanwhile, researchers discovered that those with suspected nonceliac gluten sensitivity react the same way to gluten, wheat, or a placebo. In most cases, gluten reactions are due to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a disruption of the gut-brain axis that has many causes and affects millions of Americans. Ditching a self diagnosis of nonceliac gluten sensitivity is hard to face, in part because simply cutting out gluten is a fairly easy solution that often helps, compared with more complicated short-term elimination diets and lifestyle changes associated with IBS. However, simply eating gluten-free carries potential risks such as getting less fiber and folate and essential minerals like zinc and iron, according to Jessica Biesiekierski, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne. Long-term changes to your diet can also upset gut bacteria, which can exacerbate IBS symptoms and lead to eating-related anxiety, she said. I found that addressing my gut microbiota imbalance and prioritizing sleep and stress-reduction had a profound impact on my digestion. As long as I don’t overindulge in wheat, onions, or garlic, I don’t experience digestive upset. Best of all, I no longer fear food. Read on to learn what you can do if you suspect you have nonceliac gluten sensitivity. May peace, joy, and health be upon you,  READ FULL ARTICLE HEREThere’s a Good Chance Your Gluten Sensitivity Isn’t GlutenREAD ON More on IBS Mediterranean Diet May Trump Current Recommendations for Irritable Bowel SyndromeNew study findings reveal that a Mediterranean diet is a successful first-line dietary intervention for IBS, rather than complicated elimination diets. READ ONThe Simple Test That Could End Your IBSAs many as 80 percent of IBS patients have an overgrowth of microbes in their small intestine—a condition with effective testing and proven treatment.READ ONThis Week’s Must-Read Alzheimer’s Disease: The Most Common Neurodegenerative Disease—Here Are the CausesLifestyle and environmental factors play an important role in the development and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Learn the risks. WATCH NOWThanks for reading. Stay tuned for our next edition coming your way next week.Want to wake up with us every morning? Subscribe to Rise & Shine.Thank you for being a subscriber! If you love this newsletter, please share it with your friends and let them know they can sign up and browse all of our newsletters here. Your Feedback We’d love to hear from you. If you have any suggestions for us to improve or a wellness story that you’d like us to cover, you can email me at healthnewsletter@epochtimes.nyc We may feature an excerpt of your response in the next newsletter.  You are receiving this email because you subscribed to The Epoch Times.The information in this newsletter is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of many experts and journalists. The Epoch Times encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.Copyright © 2025 The Epoch Times. All rights reserved. The Epoch Times, 229 W 28th St, Fl.5, New York, NY 10001Terms & Conditions | Customer Service | Privacy Policy | Manage Email PreferencesUnsubscribe |
