Do You Need to Take a Look at Your Gluten-Free Diet?

As frustrating as it is, it is not currently legally required for companies to list wheat or gluten as an ingredient if it’s present in their product. If they do list “contains wheat” or “may contain wheat,” it’s merely as a courtesy, not because of any legal obligation to the consumer. That being said, those with celiac disease often have to stay vigilant when grocery shopping and cooking. There have been products that I’ve used for years that I later found out actually had gluten in them and I was getting micro-dosed every time I ate them. It’s important that you recognize the signs and are able to notice if something’s off in your health so you can clean up your gluten-free diet if necessary. Here’s some common signs for which you can be on the lookout.

1) Exhaustion/Fatigue

Do you find yourself tired all the time? No matter how much sleep you get, do you still wake up feeling exhausted? You might have been getting cross-contaminated by something in your diet.

While a small amount may still go unnoticed in the moment, the damage and effect adds up overtime, leaving you feeling bad seemingly mysteriously for a longer period of time.

2) Increase in Migraines

Does it feel like you seem to always have a migraine at some point during each day? No matter what you do, does there always seem to be some pressure or nagging pain in your head? Consuming gluten can commonly cause migraines in those with celiac disease.

If you have noticed an increase in your migraines, especially if you can nail down a time frame for the increase, you might need to examine your gluten-free diet closely and make sure there’s no sneaky, accidental gluten hiding anywhere.

3) Irregularity in the Bathroom

One of the key signs of cross-contamination in those with celiac disease is what I like to refer to as “bathroom troubles.” Irregularity in the bathroom, especially for a long period of time, can be a red flag that something’s made its way into your diet that shouldn’t be there. If the time frame of your irregularity matches that of the migraines and/or exhaustion, you’ve most likely been getting cross-contaminated somewhere.

4) Inexplicable Weight Loss

Cross-contamination can make it hard or even impossible for the body of someone with celiac disease to absorb the nutrients of the rest of the food they consume.

This leads to increased weight loss and can even lead to sudden and dramatic weight loss. If you’ve noticed you’ve dropped a couple of sizes without trying, you might want to investigate your gluten-free diet.

5) Increase in or Lack of Appetite

This may sound contradictory, but eating gluten with celiac disease can cause either increase in appetite or lack of appetite. On the one hand, gluten can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach discomfort, and diarrhea, symptoms that don’t often lead to a person having much of an appetite. On the other hand, it also keeps you from absorbing nutrients, so if you’re not feeling sick, you’re likely to be more hungry, because your body didn’t get the nutrients it needed to make it full.

How to Examine Your Gluten-Free Diet Closer

If you’ve been experiencing any of the above symptoms for a prolonged period of time and have determined that it’s most likely gluten, it’s time to examine your gluten-free diet a little closer. So, how do you do that? First off, there are two things that will be your best friends: the ingredients labels and the internet. Google each ingredient you don’t know and examine the ingredients list closely for hidden gluten. If you’re still unsure, go straight to the source. Call the company. They’re going to be the only guaranteed source of truth about exactly what’s in your product. Call your pharmacist or the makers of your medications and/or vitamins to ensure that nothing you’re taking has gluten hidden somewhere in it.