Gluten Allergy May Cause Weight Gain

A good friend of mine suffered for many years with unexplained weight gain and painful indigestion. These problems persisted for so long with no diagnosis because it was so easy to attribute them to an unhealthy diet or just a finicky digestive system. After years of frustration my friend spent six months doing an elimination diet to find out if her symptoms were related to food allergies. To her surprise, when she eliminated gluten from her diet her symptoms stopped and at that moment she realized that she had been suffering from a gluten allergy all along. The irony of this is that my friend worked in a bakery.

Gluten, a protein that contained in wheat, barley and rye, can cause an allergy in some people and result in unexplained weight gain.

One of the most common ways that people find out that they have celiac disease, which is an allergy to gluten, is through the cravings that they experience. This may seem strange, but it has been documented by doctors around the world that people who experience an allergy to gluten will often feel cravings for foods that contain wheat, barley or rye. Unfortunately, the result of giving into these cravings can bring on some very unpleasant symptoms such as weight gain, as well as bloating, water retention, fatigue, flatulence and other indigestion-related symptoms.

Fortunately, reversing the symptoms of a gluten allergy is possible. It is a matter of eliminating gluten from your diet so that the symptomatic weight gain and other issues no longer occur. Indeed, this is easier said than done. After all, the grains that contain gluten including wheat, spelt, barley and rye are used in many foods that we consume today, particularly in processed foods.

If you have been diagnosed with a gluten allergy or intolerance, then it is up to you to learn about it and then begin reading the labels on every item you buy at the grocery store or that you consume in a restaurant. Find out about the ingredients in food whether by reading the package or asking a waiter or waitress. You need to know whether something contains gluten in any form, particularly flour, so that you can keep your symptoms under control and fight your body’s urge to gain weight unnecessarily.

As this allergy becomes more widely understood, more and more products are becoming available that are made to be gluten-free. Even some manufacturers are introducing product lines that are gluten-free. In fact, some have eliminated gluten from their shelves entirely. Walking through the grocery aisles, it is also increasingly common to see products advertising “gluten free” directly on the label. We are still a long way to go before it becomes very easy to eat a good-tasting, varied diet every day without touching gluten, but improvements are being made with leaps and bounds.

Foods that Contain Gluten

The following foods contain gluten and should be avoided if you have a gluten allergy or celiac disease: barley, bulger, couscous, dinkle, durum, einkorn, emmer, farina, fu, graham flour, kamut, matzah, mir, rye, seitan, semolina, spelt, triticale, wheat, wheat berry, wheat germ, wheat grass and wheat nut.

The following foods may contain gluten or be in contact with gluten-containing foods and may cause a gluten allergy: bran, cereal, starch, farina, grits, groats, hemp, malt, dry roasted nuts, oat bran, oats and udon.

Remember, too, that it is only wheat, barley and rye products that contain gluten, so you won’t have the same weight gain reaction to eating other grains such as rice and buckwheat. If you enjoy baking, but have a gluten allergy you can substitute the wheat flour you would usually add to your foods with other flours such as rice flour or potato flour which do not contain gluten.

Other Related Posts and Articles You May Find Interesting: “Gluten-Free Diet“, “Are Health Foods Really That Healthy?” and “Top Reasons Why You Cannot Lose Weight“.