Benefits of a Gluten Free Diet | Allergy

Benefits of a Gluten Free Diet

by Allergy Guy

The benefits of a gluten free diet depend very much on your genetic makeup, and the state of your health.

For some, eliminating gluten from their diet is a matter of life and death.  That’s not an exaggeration.

Others notice little change, if any. For many people, the benefits are somewhere in between: more energy, better health.

Why the variation?  And is a gluten free diet right for you? 

Why are My Results from a Gluten Free Diet Different From Yours?

You may be wondering why some people notice a profound difference when they go on a gluten free diet, while others notice very little difference.  We’ll look at that first, then look at how a gluten-free diet might affect you.

Celiac Disease

The worst reactions to gluten are for those with celiac disease.  Some have severe symptoms in childhood, others have no noticeable symptoms until well into adulthood.

Celiac disease is a combination of genetic disposition, exposure to gluten and other factors that research has yet to uncover.

A strong genetic disposition, meaning both of your parents carry the celiac disease gene, usually results in severe symptoms early in life.

If only one parent carries the gene, you are likely to have much milder symptoms, and may not notice any problems until later in life.

Celiac disease is most noted for its attack on the gut.  It can effect all the organs in the body.  Celiac disease is very serious, and can completely destroy your health.  If you have the more serious form, this will happen faster.

Gluten Allergy

A gluten allergy is quite different from celiac disease, although many of the symptoms are similar.

Most people with a gluten allergy have delayed symptoms, meaning they may notice nothing right after eating gluten, but a few hours, even a few days later, they are sick.

The challenge with noticing that you might have a gluten allergy is that most people, and I bet its the same for you, have gluten in their diet several times every day.

So if you feel sick right now from gluten, its more likely to be from yesterday’s meals and before than what you just had for your last meal.

It is quite common to feel poorly after each meal, but this is because your health has generally been compromised by eating gluten rather than a direct effect of just the last meal.

Gluten Sensitivity

Many people have what can not quite be described as an allergy, but certainly gluten effects them.

If you feel tired all the time, you may be one of these people.

Benefits of Eliminating Gluten From Your Diet

Now that you know a bit about how gluten might effect you, you can see how eliminating gluten from your diet may improve your health and energy, but only if you react to gluten in the first place.

If you have severe symptoms, you must see your doctor and get tested for celiac disease.  That way you will know how serious gluten is for you.

The most reliable way to see if you have a gluten allergy is to cut gluten out completely from your diet.  There is plenty of information on this website about going gluten free.

If you notice a difference (it might take up to 8 weeks, but usually you’ll notice an improvement within a few weeks), you still need to get tested.  A mild form of celiac disease can really destroy your health if you continue to eat gluten.

Gluten problems are much more common than most people realize.  Even most doctors don’t really understand how much of a problem gluten really is for their patients.

I encourage you to try a gluten free diet for a couple of months.  See what it does for you.

I’d love to hear what you find out after a few weeks or a couple of months.  Please come back and leave your comments after you’ve been gluten free for a while.

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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

1 gloria Scott March 30, 2013 at 10:53

I now have glacoma and wonder if gluten free will help take pressure off my eyes.It may be old age, will be 81 in a few weeks and have been tired feeling so I told my Dr. I am going GF and she seemed to think it is a good idea.I have been on GF diet for 2 weeks and don’t know ir I will feel any better.She said my thyroid needs stronger med.and mybe that will help.I like to clean the snow from my property and mow my lawn in the summer. I want to ne able keep at it.Do you think GF diet is hrloful in old age?

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2 Allergy Guy April 1, 2013 at 16:57

The only way to find out is to cut out gluten for a couple of months (minimum) and see if it makes a difference. Many people have problems caused by gluten. Almost 1% of people have celiac disease for example. You may have symptoms but be so used to them that you don’t notice them anymore. But a gluten free diet does not necessarily help everyone. Give it your best shot. Don’t expect too much, but if it helps, that will be good news for you?
Stop by in a couple of months and let us know how it goes.

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3 Brenda Vazquez February 11, 2012 at 23:45

I started my gluten free diet a few months ago and my Lupus symptoms suddenly decrease dramatically. Slowly I also started eliminating wheat (although it is almost impossible to find wheat free stuff), at least in the state where I am living now (San Antonio, TX) where healthy food is not promoted. The past two weeks I also eliminate aspartame and lactose from my diet and introduce myself to sweeteners like agave and to alternative milk like soy and/or coconut milk. I’m adapting very well to the change and I say I enjoy feeling better, don’t miss the greasy taste of any fast food, neither my food from back home (Puerto Rico). My biggest issue is to try to cook healthy meal from me and a totally different diet for my husband, not to mention that I travel 50 % of the time for work and it is quite an issue and a challenge to eat out.
Thanks for such a wonderful article and site.
Brenda Vazquez
Patient of SLE, raynaud phenomena, hyperthyroidism, fibromyalgia

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4 Allergy Guy February 12, 2012 at 16:51

Hi Brenda,

Glad you’re noticing an improvement from cutting out gluten/wheat, milk and a few other things. It is a bit of an effort but well worth it. Hopefully your husband will grow to love the food you make for yourself so you do not have to cook twice per meal. There certainly isn’t any harm in him learning how to cook, and you can tell him another man said that!

Drop by and leave a comment with a progress report later on if you like.

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