Gluten allergy and intolerance: how can you treat your digestive system?

People with the ability to ingest gluten without direct or indirect health consequences are becoming increasingly rare. Our lifestyle and diet often cause problems with digestion, bloating or heartburn and a growing number of people experience symptoms of gluten intolerance.

Gluten, which is present in grains, contains toxic prolamins, which are poorly digested by certain people. In this article, we give you some tips to help you support your digestive system and put an end to heartburn and stomach cramps.

Supporting your digestive system

You can help your digestive system cope with your gluten intolerance with a few simple changes and habits:

Gluten diet

Drastically reducing or completely excluding gluten from your diet will greatly alleviate the symptoms of heartburn and bloating. It has been scientifically proven that some grains contain more toxic prolamins than others. We advise you to completely avoid wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, barley and maize, the latter being one of the most prolamin-rich grains. Others like oats and rice can be easily digested because of their low toxicity. Buckwheat and quinoa are excellent replacement options as, strictly speaking, they are not grains and therefore do not contain gluten.

Limit cow’s milk

Unless it is processed with wheat starch, milk does not contain gluten. Nevertheless, milk originating from animals, and particularly cow’s milk, is often poorly digested in the stomach. As such, avoid consuming these products and opt instead for milk derived from vegetable sources, which make your digestive system’s job much easier. This will help prevent symptoms of gluten allergy and intolerance, including bloating and heartburn.

Prioritize certain foods and food supplements

Fortunately for gluten-intolerant people, there are many products that will help you support your digestive system or even drastically reduce your discomforts.

• Red elm, aloe and marshmallow will help your intestinal wall fight against the effects of products that cause intolerance and recover from damage;
• Lobelia or a muscle relaxant will significantly reduce stomach cramps and resulting abdominal pain;
• Digestive enzymes will promote food absorption, while reducing feelings of bloating, acid reflux and gas. They will destroy proteins and carbohydrates responsible for these symptoms in those with gluten intolerance;
• Probiotics will promote intestinal flora reconstruction and fortification;
• Supplementation with glutamine and mucosal protective nutrients such as turmeric, peppermint oil, green clay or green tea will allow you to limit certain symptoms and stomach pains while avoiding nutritional deficiencies related to the gluten diet.

Ultimately, supporting your digestive system is dependant on adapting your lifestyle and diet to avoid contact with gluten. Additionally, this can be achieved with the help of certain dietary supplements that help fight deficiencies and combat symptoms of gluten intolerance.