Contrary to popular belief, gluten challenge isn’t the avoiding of gluten, it is actually the reintroduction of gluten into the diet. Most people suffering from gluten sensitivity or celiac disease have serious reactions to gluten that reduce their physical, mental and emotional functionality. In the simplest way to explain it, gluten does A LOT of harm and in some cases causes A LOT of pain.
Personal experience:
I have struggle with a variety of ailments and symptoms for a long period of time, all of them are not connected to gluten, but over the last two years, I realized that eating breads, and certain grains actually hurt a lot, so I joined the gluten-free group. I then saw a Naturopathic doctor who also recommended I go off gluten based on my symptoms, and that was that. I have been off gluten for about a year and a half.
I noticed a lot of good as a result of avoiding gluten. I cannot give all my praise to a gluten free lifestyle, but it helped a lot.
I noticed a reduction of a lot of symptoms such as extreme fatigue, sharp stomach pains and cramps, feeling of throat closing up right after eating, indigestion, bloating, heartburn, inflammation etc. I am grateful that I was able to discover that eating a gluten-free diet eliminated many of my symptoms and reduced the intensity of many others.
So…
What is the gluten challenge?
Before a celiac disease or gluten sensitivities diagnosis, most people who realize that gluten hurts eventually stop eating it. Although when trying to diagnose and figure out where the problem is, doctors ask patients to begin eating gluten again for a period of 4-6 weeks so that they can look at the gut through an endoscopy and take samples for lab analysis through the biopsy.
The reason itโs a challenge is because if you do have a problem with gluten, those 4-6 weeks will not be a walk in the park.
Why is the period of reintroduction so long?
The period of reintroduction is 4-6 weeks because it takes time for antibodies to build in the system and be noticed in the blood stream. In addition, this period of time allows the gluten to do enough damage in your gut for the doctor to see significant results in a biopsy. Sad but true.
What are the downfalls of the gluten challenge?
With the gluten challenge, the doctor is actually asking you to make yourself sick. Another sad but true fact. This way, the doctor will be able to put a label on your illness. This means that you are causing a lot of damage to your body, mostly your gut, and in most cases you will be un-doing all the hard work you did while being gluten-free.
What should you expect during your gluten challenge?
The weeks that you are on your gluten challenge will be very challenging and most likely make daily living very difficult.
You should expect the same symptoms you had before you decided to follow a gluten free lifestyle, and in some cases, expect new set of symptoms as well.
What are the most common symptoms?
Please understand that each person embodies celiac disease and gluten sensitivity differently. You may not have all the symptoms below and in some cases, you may have all the symptoms in addition to others not listed.
Fatigue,pains in your gut, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, depression, moods swings, anxiety, panic attacks, dizziness, canker sores inside and outside the lips, menstrual irregularities and pelvic pains, migraines and seizures, arthritis and bone/joint pains, earaches and infections, sinus infections, repeated bronchitis infections, cold and flu, random aches and pains across your body, inflammation, headaches/migraines and more.
For more information about celiac disease and the gluten challenge, please visit the Celiac Disease Foundation at celiac.org
Related Posts:
