Avoiding Gluten : Missing Nutrients

"We found that among those that tested positive for the blood test, 90 percent of them indicated 'no' to having been diagnosed with [celiac disease]."
"[With adult-onset-diagnosed celiac disease, people] just never really felt right. The symptoms are not as clear-cut as other types of disorders, where it's perhaps more localized just to the digestive system."
"The prevalence of it being undiagnosed is incredibly high: 90 per cent. What I guess was a little bit surprising is just how common [undiagnosis] still remains given that gluten-free started becoming popularized well over a decade ago."
"There are a lot of gluten-containing whole grains that are very nutritious, have a lot of central minerals and fibre and they're good sources of a variety of nutrients."
"And also, you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. You don't just cut out all sources of gluten when it's only the carbohydrates that may have been the culprit."
Ahmed El-Sohemy, professor, nutritional science, University of Toronto

Researcher Ahmed El-Sohemy was surprised to find how many cases of celiac disease go undiagnosed given that gluten-free diets started becoming popular over a decade ago. (Marcy Markusa)

"It's a preference to try eating without gluten."
"I would say the majority would be people who prefer the lifestyle."
Andrey Malkov, Hibiscus cafe, gluten-free restaurant, Kensington Market, Toronto

"This [study] will give us an idea of the magnitude of the problem in our country, and is essential for health care planning."
"It is very important to highlight that blood samples and biopsies to confirm celiac disease should be tested while the patient is consuming gluten, to prevent false negative results."
"A great proportion of the population is following a gluten-free diet even though celiac disease was not confirmed, which makes the diagnosis difficult."
Dr. Maria Ines Pinto Sanchez,specialist in gastroenterology and nutrition, McMcaster University's celiac clinic, Hamilton, Ontario

Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disease in which people are unable to fully digest certain proteins from wheat. The partially digested products that remain trigger inflammation and can damage the lining of the small intestine. (Health Canada)

One percent of the population is calculated to have -- likely undiagnosed -- celiac disease. Not just in Canada but world-wide. At the University of Toronto researchers undertaking a study of the disease found that most people living with celiac disease have no awareness that this disease is what makes them feel physically unwell. They can be suffering with constant fatigue, sore muscles or ongoing and inexplicable-seeming gastrointestinal problems, yet still be unaware that their symptoms are caused by celiac disease.

There are two manifestations of celiac disease, the condition that makes people with it intolerant of gluten. One type is diagnosed at an early age in children and it represents the more severe form of the disease. Pediatric gastroenterologists are on the lookout for the disease in the children they treat. And the less severe form is the type that has less severe complications, and it is generally diagnosed in adulthood.

Dr. El-Sohemy, a nutritional scientist, is the senior author of a newly-published paper (in BMJ Open) that has revealed these details. To reach their conclusion, researchers compared blood tests of roughly three thousand people using their responses to a health questionnaire. The autoimmune disorder is triggered when gluten is eaten and the disease causes damage to the small intestines which in turn leads to malabsorption of nutrients --  and vitamin deficiencies then result.

Symptoms can manifest that might seem to be totally unrelated to celiac disease, such as bleeding gums, brittle bones or weak muscles. It has become popular over the past few years for people to eschew gluten in their diets despite not being diagnosed with celiac disease. Simply put, it has become a popular diet, and from that an enduring lifestyle for many people. In cutting out gluten, many grains are simply not eaten, reducing carbohydrate intake; ergo, weight loss.