Identify Gluten Allergy Symptoms and Develop Your Gluten-Free Diet

Celiac disease, the disease behind gluten allergy symptoms, is a growing phenomenon and the more we learn about it the more disturbing we understand the consequences of leaving it untreated to be.  First you need to know how to identify gluten allergy symptoms.  Then you need to understand how to approach starting your new gluten-free life.

Identify Gluten Allergy Symptoms

A person's gluten allergy symptoms, or gluten intolerance symptoms, will usually start so subtle that you don't even think of them as symptoms of anyting.  You'll experience perhaps a little indigestion there, a little bloating here... If left untreated for any period of time, however, Celiac disease symptoms grow more numerous and more severe.

First, you develop headaches and fatigue while the disease weakens your immune system and you get sick more frequently.

Then you become malnourished and begin suffering all the symptoms of malnutrition.  You may develop anemia, osteoperosis... some evidences suggests children can develop autism and some evidence even links untreated Celiac disease to cancer.  

If someone thinks they might be suffering from Celiac disease symptoms, I urge him or her to visit his or her doctor right away. A blood test can help identify if you have celiac disease and an allergy test can check to see if you have a wheat allergy separate from Celica disease.  However, only a strict gluten-free diet can help you identify if you have any gluten intolerances at all.

Develop A Gluten-Free Diet Plan

An obvious place to start is to determine how to replace all those wheat-based products in your diet.  Such a diet requires developing gluten and flour substitutions for your new gluten-free life.  

Flour substitutes include these options: tapioca flour, bean flour, potato starch flour and brown rice flour.

Gluten must be replaced separately.  The gluten in wheat products provide the elasticity and stickiness in a many recipes.  Two primary ingredients we use to replaces this function are guar gum and xanthum gum.  They are both totally natural and safe ingredients.  In some cases you might use them together along with one of the flours I identified earlier.

Guar gum, for example, will help your cookies have a familiar texture and be less crumbly. Xanthum gum, for example, will help your breads rise and functions as a good substitute for yeast.

I hope this helps you get started in identifying your gluten allergy symptoms and developing your new gluten-free diet plan.  Cheer up: better health and better vitality are ahead!