Summary: Shelley Case gives us the lowdown on gluten-free eating.<br> <br> Host: Gloria Tsang, RD<br> Guest: Shelley Case, RD<br> <br> There are a lot of misunderstanding and myths out there when it comes to what a gluten-free diet means. If you are told to go on a gluten-free diet, the amount of information to wade through can be overwhelming. Nutritionist Shelley Case, author of Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide, gives us the lowdown on gluten-free eating.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Transcript:<br> Gloria Tsang, RD: There is a lot of misunderstanding and myths out there when it comes to what a gluten-free diet means. If you are told to go on a gluten-free diet, the amount of information to wade through can be overwhelming. Welcome to the Nutrition Tidbits podcast. This is Gloria Tsang, Editor-in-Chief for HealthCastle.com. Joining me today is nutrition expert Shelley Case, author of the book Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide. She is here today to give us the lowdown on gluten free living. Thank you for joining me Shelley.<br> <br> Shelley Case, RD: Thank you. It's great to be with you today.<br> <br> Gloria Tsang, RD: So what's gluten and what foods contain gluten?<br> <br> Shelley Case, RD: Gluten is the general name for specific proteins that are found in the grains, wheat, barley and rye. When someone that has a disease called celiac disease, when they eat any foods that are derived from those grains, they cause a toxic reaction in the small intestinal tract and causes a whole hosts of symptoms.<br> <br> Gloria Tsang, RD: So how do people know whether they have celiac disease or not? What symptoms will they experience?<br> <br> Shelley Case, RD: That's what makes it so challenging. Unlike diabetes and other diseases where they tend to have just a few symptoms, someone with celiac disease can have a variety of symptoms that range from gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea or constipation or even both. But they can also have other symptoms like bone and joint pains, migraine headaches, canker sores, easy bruising of the skin, depression, chronic fatigue, anemia, secondary lactose intolerance, menstrual irregularities, infertility - just a whole range of symptoms from person to person which is why it's difficult to diagnose.<br> <br> Gloria Tsang, RD: So are there any tests that one can go through to make that diagnosis?<br> <br> Shelley Case, RD: Yes, there are two tests that are used. One is a blood screening test. They are looking for specific antibodies to gluten. Although this is a very good screening test that the family doctor can order, it's only about 90-95% accurate. In other word, you will miss some cases of celiac disease, especially those that are in early stages of the disease because the blood does not tend to trip positive until the person has had a significant amount of damage in the gastro-intestinal track. So the only way that we can diagnose celiac disease definitively is through what we call a small intestinal biopsy. This is where the gastroenterologist will go down through the mouth and into the stomach and into the small intestine and take four or five biopsy samples to look and see if there is actual damage to the absorbing surfaces to the small intestinal track called the villi.<br> <br> Gloria Tsang, RD: Now you mentioned about celiac disease and it a nutshell, who else should be on a gluten-free diet?<br> <br> Shelley Case, RD: We know that there are people that can have gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity that don't have celiac disease and they may have some similar symptoms such as gastrointestinal problems and they would also need to follow a gluten-free diet. The third group that may purchase gluten-free products would be those with the wheat allergy. People with wheat allergy only have to eliminate the grain wheat and the related grains like spe...
