Experiencing digestive problems can be very distressing and confusing. I hope you find this information insightful and valuable. Perhaps it will even help you to unravel what is going on with your health...

However, we can't claim to be medically trained so the best port of call if you are feeling unwell is your GP!

The most common food sensitivities  in the UK are against wheat and gluten and they cause three different conditions that are very often confused: food allergy, food intolerance and coeliac disease.

No one knows why a person develops allergies or intolerances but coeliac disease is slightly different in that it is a genetic, autoimmune disease.

Allergy describes the body's immune response to a food, which is not necessarily harmful in itself but which, within minutes, can trigger generalised rashes, itching, diarrhoea, vomiting, swelling of the lips and soft tissues, breathing difficulties and even anaphylatic shock.

Intolerance describes the unpleasant symptoms that occur after eating a substance that your body cannot handle because the body cannot produce sufficient quantities of particular enzyme or chemical, which is needed to breakdown the food and aid digestion.

Food intolerance symptoms take longer to surface than food allergy symptoms, which are almost immediate. They don't involve the immune system and they are not life threatening. Symptoms may include bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weight loss or weight gain.

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition that causes the body's immune system to attack its own tissues. Gluten triggers this immune reaction and causes the lining of the small bowel (gut) to become damaged and it may affect other parts of the body too.

Gluten reactions take place once the offending food moves into the small bowel, which may take between half an hour and four hours. This is simple a way of distinguishing between coeliac disease and a gluten allergy.

There are generally two types of very obvious reactions: extreme diarrhoea that lasts days or painful bloating of the stomach and abdomen combined with constipation. There are many other less obvious symptoms and they vary from person to person and can range from very mild to very severe.


They include nausea, excessive wind, heartburn, indigestion, constipation, any combination of iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency, tiredness, headaches, weight loss (but not in all cases), recurrent mouth ulcers, hair loss.

Also  skin rashes (dermatitis herpetiformis- 'DH'), defective tooth enamel, osteoporosis, depression, infertility, recurrent miscarriages, joint or bone pain, neurological (nerve) problems such as ataxia (poor muscle co-ordination) and neuropathy (numbness and tingling in the hands and feet)

Emma Willison expresses one of the symptoms she has experienced in her photograph, Piglet, above. The enamel on the edges of her teeth is defective resulting in a slightly opaque look with wavy/crinkly edges - as she says 'like the ends of a piglets ear!' 

When you are 'run down' you often get many of the above symptoms but the reason people with coeliac disease get them much more frequently is because gluten reactions flatten the villi in the small bowel. 

Villi are tiny tubes that line the gut and they absorb vitamins and minerals for us. When they are flattened, they cannot do this well, if at all. This renders a person constantly run down and if coeliac disease remains undiagnosed, it can cause long term health problems such as pernicious anaemia and osteoporosis.

For this reason, people with coeliac disease must adhere to a strict gluten free diet.

Only a gluten free diet will allow the small bowel to heal and the villi to stand up and start absorbing all of our vitamins again. 

A person's ability to tolerate gluten varies from individual to individual.

Some, like myself, can tolerate very, very little gluten (below 20 parts per million) and others can tolerate quite a lot more. Unfortunately the way to find out what your level is, is via trial and error. 

However, from January 2012, all food labelled 'gluten free' will have to be under 20 parts per million gluten. Roll on 2012 because until then you could be eating food labelled gluten free that is only below 200 parts per million gluten, which I, and many others, react to. 

As an assurance, all Delicious Alchemy products are guaranteed to be under 20 parts per million gluten, which means they should be suitable for everyone. In fact, all of our products contain far, far less than 20 parts per million gluten, which is a microscopic amount in itself, because our aim to to irradicate gluten contamination altogether and each product is tested throughout the supply chain to ensure this.

Conditions associated with coeliac disease are diabetes and thyroiditis. If you have coeliac disease and you are suffering from strange, inexplicable symptoms then consider whether you may have developed either of these conditions.

If you are generally under the weather and starting to live life from the sofa, this is a tell tale sign that something is wrong. It may just be that your iron levels are low, which can be determined with a simple blood test but generally, you need to keep a close eye on things with the help of your GP.

Some of the symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, increased need to urinate and losing weight for no reason but there are many, many more. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please go to the doctor and ask for a test for diabetes. It may seem like a pain and 'yet another' health issue to deal with but it's very important because diabetes is extremely dangerous if it goes untreated.

Symptoms of thyroiditis include excessive fatigue, poor appetite, inexplicable weight gain or loss, dry skin, mood swings, hair loss, depression, insomnia, over heating, joint pains. Once again, please go to your doctor if you are experiencing any of these problems. 

Once diagnosed, where do you turn for help?

Once you do know, it is a tremendous relief but on the other hand you’re probably wondering where to go next. 

The first step will be with your GP, who will discuss with you whether you need to see a dietician or be offered a bone density scan.

This scan is similar to an x-ray and it checks the  density of the bones in your hip joint. It should tell you whether you have symptoms of osteoporosis. 

This is incredibly important to find out. If your bone density is lower than it should be then you may need to go on a course of high calcium supplements to ward off osteoporosis in later life.  

You may also be offered some gluten-free products on prescription and/or supplements; if not, do raise this with your GP.

You may also want to explore the extensive Coeliac UK website, which offers an array of help in every area. 

It is essential, if diagnosed with Coeliac’s Disease to eliminate every scrap of gluten from your diet, so how will you know if you’ve done this? Well, you are about to become the world’s best label-reader! Even though Coeliac’s Disease is not an allergy, it is treated as one in the food industry. There is allergen labelling on most processed food products which will enable you to make a few basic decisions.

Most reliable manufacturers will include an allergy information box on their products but it is always wise to read the ingredients list as well, just to be sure. 

Finding gluten-free products in the UK is quite easy. Most major supermarkets have Free From bays and you can also find GF products in health food shops, on the internet and in some chemists.